CSE 142

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Exploration Sessions

Thursdays, 4:30-5:20pm, in ARC 147

Each week we will offer a different opportunity to explore extra topics in computer science. You will accumulate one "exploration point" for each week that you attend the lecture. At the end of the quarter, your total exploration points will be divided by 3 and will be added to your homework points. There will be approximately 150 homework points total, so this isn't adding a lot to your potential score. As an example, if you were to participate in 3 exploration sessions, you would have 1 point added to your homework points, which is like getting one more point on a weekly programming assignment. The idea is to give people a small reward, but not something that is so large that people feel obligated to participate in these optional sessions. You can get fractions of a point (e.g., getting two-thirds of a point for attending 2 sessions).

Please come prepared to listen to and ask questions of the guest speaker. We have a strict no-laptop policy in these sessions. If you are using a laptop, you will be asked to put it away or leave.

This schedule is subject to change. We will send an announcement email the day before each session with information about the topic for that session.

Week 1: No session

Week 2: What is a computer?, Alex Miller - Thursday, October 6th from 4:30-5:20 in ARC 147

  • Computers have invaded every corner of our lives -- you probably have a personal computer, and you almost certainly have a smartphone in your pocket. But have you ever stopped to think about what a computer actually is? What differentiates a computer from other types of machines? We'll talk about the formal definition of a computer, and why computer scientists are interested in these questions.
  • Recording

Week 3: Binary, Hunter Schafer - Thursday, October 13th from 4:30-5:20 in ARC 147

  • You might be familiar with the fact that computers are filled with 1's and 0's. But when you interact with a computer, you see a whole lot more than binary code -- so where are all those 1's and 0's hiding? In this session, Hunter Schafer will explore what binary is, and how it makes your computer work.
  • Recording
  • secretMessageActivity.zip

Week 4: Fractals, Alex Miller - Thursday, October 20th from 4:30-5:20 in ARC 147

  • When they were first discovered, fractals were called "mathematical monsters" because of their strange, unintuitive properties. The arrival of computers enabled mathematicians to study fractals in ways they hadn't before, and realize the infinite beauty they contain.
  • Recording
  • DrawingPanel.java
  • Complex.java
  • Mandelbrot.java
  • Koch.java

Week 5: Cellular Automata - Thursday, October 27th from 4:30-5:20 in ARC 147

  • Some label the field of cellular automata as "recreational science". A cellular automaton is a strange sort of game. However, these games turn out to have implications in many fields, and some think they can explain the nature of the universe! You will take a close look at some interesting cellular automata and discover why mathematicians and computer scientists are so obsessed with them.
  • Panopto Recording
  • Golly - free Game of Life simulator
  • A New Kind of Science - Free book on cellular automata by Stephen Wolfram
  • MathWorld article on elementary cellular automata
  • LifeWiki - A wiki dedicated to the Game of Life
  • Life in Life - YouTube video of Game of Life simulation within the Game of Life

Week 6: No session (week of midterm)

Week 7: Python, Alex Miller - Thursday, November 10th from 4:30-5:20 in ARC 147

  • Panopto Recording
  • In CSE 142/143, we learn the Java programming language -- but Java is only one language amongst many! In this session, we'll go over the basics of the Python programming language, and discuss why the creators of Python made different design decisions than the creators of Java.
  • Beginner's Guide to Python - Has instructions on how to install Python.

Week 8: Computer Networks, Kevin Wallace - Thursday, November 17th from 4:30-5:20 in ARC 147

Week 9: No session (Thanksgiving)

Week 10: Kasey Champion, Kim Nguyen - Thursday, December 1st from 4:30-5:20 in ARC 147