Week 3 of CSC104

Week 3

I am very pleased with how the class is developing. Prof Heap introduces concepts in a very slow and deliberate way that allows us to understand them, yet keeps them interesting.

The binary translation in class of the first phrase of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was especially enlightening. It made me aware of the massive task of coding and decoding that computers undertake constantly, and that we take for granted.

I also enjoyed the quick look at the Jacquard Loom and the Babbage difference engine. These machines have the elegance of a past, hand crafted age, yet they essentially run extremely simplified operations that modern computers run.

I am confident that I performed well on this week's quiz. On the first quiz I only got one question wrong, on the matter of rotation in Dr. Racket. I rotated the object 90 degrees, but in the wrong direction. I won't make that mistake again in the future.

Week 1 and 2

Week 1 and 2

So far this course is great. I especially enjoy the discussions about algorithms, specifically the history and limitations of algorithms. I've never thought about it, but it seems that websites like Amazon use algorithms to determine what kind of merchandise to show you based on what you buy. This makes me consider the professor's question "is there an algorithm for everything"? Unfortunately, though, an algorithm will never tell you to stop buying stuff on Amazon and go outside for a while.

Dr. Racket is a pretty cool guy. It codes programs and doesn't afraid of anything. It seems to be a very intuitive and student-friendly environment to get into programming. It's for all of us Arts students who need to take a computing course for a science credit.

Another course I am taking is Music, Media and Technology, and obviously computers play a large role in shaping 20th century music. It's not feasible to record music in the current industry without a computer or some sort of digital hardware. Therefore this course intersects with my music course in a meaningful way.

I look forward to the coming weeks of CSC104