3.0

Average Course Rating

This seminar is a hands-on survey of the fundamental concepts of computer science, spanning everything from the art of “thinking slowly” to the cutting edge of machine learning and AI alignment. We’ll learn to design clear, step-by-step problem-solving strategies, represent them in flowcharts, and see how encoding information in binary enables circuits to perform logic and math. We'll learn how structuring information makes it possible to build data processing machines and we'll learn how those machines recognize patterns, follow instructions, seek goals, keep secrets, see, and learn. You’ll complete the seminar with a synoptic view of the conceptual terrain of computer science and a set of critical thinking skills that dovetail with those cultivated in the humanities and social sciences. Class sessions will focus on lively discussions, hands-on exercises, debates, and collaborative problem-solving during our meetings. No prior coding experience is required; although you’ll encounter some code, learning to program is not a primary goal of the course and is not part of the assessment.