Registration Survey Summary Responses

1-3. Names:

Arielle, Andrea, Andrew, Anoop, Boyd, Dan, Dave, Ed, Grace, Hassan (Has-Sun), Justin, Jimmy, Jeff, Jessica, (N.), Jessica (R.), Krystal, Katrina, Lauren, Lindy, Mai ("My"), Katie, Matt, Meg, Nolan, Owen, Patrick (L.), Patrick (R.), Qi ("Chi"), Ramsey ("Ram-zee"), Robert ("Bobby"), Steven/Alexander, Salvatore ("Sam"), Sam, Sarah (B.), Sarah (P.), Sean, Tim, Victoria, Will, Zach.

4. Major and year:

1st years: 15
2nd years: 17
3rd years: 3
4th years: 3
Staff: 1
Professors: 2

Cognitive Science: 11
Undecided: 8
Pre-Commerce: 3
Cognitive Science (prospective): 3
Computer Science: 2
Economics: 2
Physics: 2
Electrical Engineering: 2
Biology: 1
Computer Engineering: 1
French: 1
Neuroscience (prospective): 1
Math: 1
Mechanical Engineering: 1
Music: 1
Pre-Law: 1
Russian Studies: 1
Systems Engineering: 1

5. How did you find out about this class?

Course Offering Directory: 9
From a friend: 8
Cognitive Science department and web site: 7
Emailing lists: 5
Faculty (advisor, other teachers): 4
Web: 3
From Dave directly: 2

6. Why are you taking this class?

• It has a rep. for being interesting and worthwhile.
• because I am really interested in computers, I enjoyed Visual Basic, and I am thinking about concentrating in IT in the commerce school (if i get in)
• Because I really like the problem solving involved in computer science. It also is growing feild.
• Because I want to learn more of the conceptual ideas that are the foundations of computing.
• Because it sounded interesting and that it might foster thought and an ability to understand the basics of programming.
• Cognitive science requirement of a cs course
• Curiosity
• For credit towards my major requirements, but more specifically this course (rather than another computer science course) because it sounded more exciting than just straight programming
• I am interested in programming.
• I enjoyed CS 120 so much that I am considering a concentration in information technology if admitted to the commerce school. Therefore, I am very eager to learn as much as I can about computer science!
• I really enjoy coding in VB and C++ but since I have a good handle on the syntax I want to learn more about design.
• I take this class as a replacement for engr162.
• I want to get a better understanding of how computers work, how they got to be the way they are, programming, the world wide web, etc.
• In hope that it might enhance my understanding of the structure, philosophical basis, and application of computing and enable me to incorporate this understanding in the rest of my life.
• Interested in computer science as well as fulfill a major requirement it seems like it's going to be a lot of fun
• [Name removed] recommended you highly, it sounds interesting, there is a strong possibility that I will have a tech related job next year
• Learn about many topics that seem interesting to me
• personal enrichment
• Tech-Elective, enlightenment
• The chance to take an entirely different computer science class interested me
• The course seems interesting
• The subject matter seems interesting and I need to take a technical elective.
• To fulfill the CS requirement for Cognitive Science majors, and also to learn as much as I can about computer usage
• To fullfill the cognitive science requirement and to be able to understand computers, how they work, and how we interact with them.
• To get some use out of filling the CS requirement.
• It looks interesting and computer science is something i've wanted to try
• I want to learn how I can improve the thought proceess I use while designing programs.
• The broad spectrum sounds interesting.

7. Have you ever written a computer program?

Yes: 20
No: 15

What programming languages have you used and how much?

C++: 14 (3 years: 3, 2 years: 2, took CS101: 4, took CS201: 2)
BASIC: 9 (took CS120: 3)
Pascal: 6
Java: 3
Others: Karel the Robot, JavaScript, C, Logowriter, PERL

Would you prefer to work on assignments alone, with assigned partners, or with partners who you choose?

Prefer to work with choosen partners: 17
Prefer to work with assigned partners: 14
Prefer to work alone: 12

We will have assignments with each of these collaboration policies.

Would you prefer to have take-home or in-class exams? (All tests will be open book and notes.)

Prefer take home exams: 21
Prefer in class exams: 13

I prefer take-home exams so you can think in a relaxed way without time pressure. As long as I am confident I can trust all students to follow the course pledge, all the exams will be take home.

Who is your intellectual hero and why?

• My father is my intellectual hero. He has reinvented his legal practice every few years. I wish I had his work ethic
• My dad, he was a physicist, now a teacher, and the way his brain works is amazing.
• My Dad. I can ask him anything and he will know it. I just feel he is the wisest man I know. I can ask him a definition of a word, and he knows it. Or I can ask him a history question or music question-he knows it (or he pretends very well!) I admire his dedication and persistance.
• My dad. He taught me how to be a hard worker, and always helped and guided me.
• My dad, he's just a smart guy
• My father, not for the quality, but the quantity of thought guidance he provided me.

  These responses always remind me of the comedian who did a bit about the baseball player who grows up playing catch in the back yard with his Dad, learns the rules of the game from Dad, has Dad coach his little league teams, etc. and then when he gets to the World Series and has a chance to say anything he wants on national TV, invariably says "Hi Mom!". Of course, there's nothing wrong with your Dad being your intellectual hero, or a baseball player acknowledging his Mom. But it seems strange to me that so many people identify their fathers as their intellectual heros, and no one ever identifies their mother, when at least in traditional families it is much more common for Mom to be the one who teaches the children about language, reading, and understanding numbers.

• Myself. I don't like history.
• I don't think I know about enough people to have an intellectual hero.

• My intellectual hero is my former AP Chemistry teacher Pam Pulver because she not only demonstrates a broad knowledge of many subjects, but she also exhibits many wonderful personal characteristics that deepen many others' respect for her; she is such a smart and pleasant woman, I can't help but admire her!
• My intellectual hero is Prof. Wilsdorf. She is amazing. She grew up in Nazi Germany in the 1940s, got her doctorate in physics in a time when women were almost unheard of in that field and now is the prof in the University Seminar "Science and Religion". Her goal in life is to find answers to the big questions, to learn all she can and teach all she has learned.

• Thomas Jefferson - he created this University that was built on a different value/belief system than other colleges and universities at the time, and his beliefs and desires for the college are still upheld today and have helped this college to become one of the best in the country
• Thomas Jefferson, extremely innovative
• I've never really thought about that. Maybe Thomas Jefferson because thats the safe answer at UVA

• Albert Einstein because the theory of relativity is truly temendous.
• Einstein because of his contributions to physics
• Einstein, his work was incredibly original and earth shaking for me
• Einstein because he did not do very well in school early on, but went on to suceed despite his past and was very determined

• My hero is Richard Feynman. Although I need Einstein's poster to remind me that it is okay to have problems with math, I like Feynman's lifestyle. People who think about physics all the time and still have exciting lives.
• Tough question, but after careful consideration, I'd pick mainly Richard Feynman, due to his unflagging search for knowledge of all sorts. He was a physicist, a painter, spoke Portuguese, translated Mayan heiroglyphics, played the bongos, and had an excellent sense of humour and his place in relation to his world. Rimbaud, Sherlock Holmes, and Jackie Chan came close, but I'll go with Feynman.

• My intellectual hero is Ayn Rand; she developed a philosophy quite radical and unwelcome, encompassing everything from human passion to economics, and followed it for her entire life.
• Ayn Rand, for taking an uncomprimising position
• George Washingon Carver. He was a brilliant man and he created many products that exist today. Also, because of the adversity he had to face, and his ability to overcome racism.
• da Vinci because he was so beyond his time and was amazing in so many areas.
• John Franchak, because he made me take this class. Other than that, probably Leonardo da Vinci.
• Hernando de Soto — a contemporary Peruvian economist who has written two books (The Other Path and The Mystery of Capital) and founded the transnational Institute for Liberty and Democracy. He's my hero because he has ideas that can be implemented practically to spur economic growth in the Third World by empowering its poorest citizens, and through his institute, on the invitation of several third-world leaders, he's working to implement them.
• Hercule Poirot because he is supurb at logic thinking.
• Probably Sigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo for his genius designs of games, characters, stories, and the brilliant cybernetic connections between the gamer and the game.
• Andrew Wiles and his dedication to the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem
• Shawn Michaels...Okay he's not an intellectual be he sure is my hero. Why? Because he is the most gifted performer to ever grace the wrestling ring.
• Al Franken, who, in case you have not heard of him, is a Harvard graduate that pioneered the writing for Saturday Night Live and has written such classic works as Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations as well as Why Not Me? - The Making and Unmaking of the Franken Presidency. Franken is a political and satirical genius and I absolutely love, respect, and admire all of his work.
• William Shakespeare
• Thoreau, because i have been influenced by transcendentalism and the idea of civil disobediance.
• Paul Schuster. He had the lab next to me at work and he made things that amazed me.
• Alexander the Great, Descarte, and Dante Alighieri, because they each represent the same general tradition from a trillion different philosophies.
• Daniel Quinn - author of 'Ishmael" - for his philosophical stance on humanity.
• Most religious figures are my intellectual heros, because they took time to stop and think.
• C.S. Lewis- he approached philosophy, religion, and life with inquisitiveness and openness and displayed both creativity. HIs work sparkles with intellectual creativity and insight.
• w.z.p. jackson o'lazer, who, encountering another zen master on the way, met him neither with words nor silence - but an uppercut
• Frank Zappa — He was not afraid to speak his mind on all sorts of issues, music or otherwise. Musically, he was a genius in his playing and arrangements for his band and orchestral works. Failure was not a concern of his. He did what he loved.

If I have to pick just one, it would be Richard Feynman. Feynman was best known as a physicist, but he was also an accomplished computer scientist, musician, adventurer and a tremendous teacher. Feynman actually taught a course quite similar to this one in the early 80s --- his son, Carl, was a student at MIT and took the intro CS course from Gerry Sussman (based on the notes that turned into the textbook we use in this class). Then, Prof. Sussman went visited CalTech and Feynman and Sussman co-taught a CS course based on those notes.

I encourage everyone to read, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character and What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character. After this course is over, you may also want to read Feynman Lectures on Computation.

Those of you who are still looking for an intellectual hero will encounter some good candidates in this class including: Euclid, Ada, Grace Hopper, David Letterman, John Backus, Thomas Watson, Filus Bonacci, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Guy Steele, Gerry Sussman, John McCarthy, Alonzo Church; Tony Hoare; Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Thomas Jefferson, Tommy Flowers; Alan Kay, Kristen Nygaard, Ole-Johan Dahl, Steve Jobs; Aristotle, Netwon, Whitehead, Russell, Epimenides, Gödel; Alan Turing; Von Neumann; Heisenberg; Barbara Liskov; Homer, Marco Polo, Claude Chappe, Edelcrantz, Kleinrock, J.C. R. Licklider, Bob Taylor, Vannevar Bush, Tim Berners-Lee and Leonard Adelman.

Anything else you think I should know about you?

• I'm taking half of the four coolest classes at UVA. CS200 and Snowboarding at Wintergreen.
• I would like to learn about evolutionary models and artificial intelligence. I would probably major in computer science if it did not involve software "engineering": maybe if you lead the department. (No, I am not just sucking up, its true.)
• I love to learn about database programming language and I'm especially interested in designing webpages. I also love to learn about website security issues. (Note: we will do all of those, but not until the last month of the course.)
• I'm from Boston, I like sports, I play Baseball on the Club Team here, I also do a little professional wrestling, I'm also really into music, I play trumpet/piano/guitar and also do some composing on my computer
• My favorite football team is The Buffalo Bills. They will make it to the SuperBowl next year.
• I am fully proficient in the construction and maintenance of bi-wheel velocipedes.

Anything you want to know about me or the course?

The questions and my answers are below.

I would like to know if programming swarms is like studying AI.

It depends on how you define AI. I prefer the more traditional cognitive-science definition that AI is about trying to understand intelligence by building artificial "thinking machines", and the work I'm doing on swarm computing isn't directly about that, but more about understanding how to build predictable systems from lots of unpredictable parts by trying to understand how nature does it so well.

Does this serve as a replacement for CS 101?

It doesn't count as CS101 for graduation requirements, and doesn't satisfy the 101 prereq for cs201. It does satsify the prereq for CS201J (which counts just like CS201), but I can't guarantee at this time if CS201J will be offered in the Fall.

I was surprised to see that we will be making lots of money by the end of the course (as indicated by 3 dollar signs on wednesday's slides.) With that in mind, how much money will I make from this endeavour, and how much will I have to give to the government?

You won't necessarily be making lots of money by the end of the course, but you will know enough to be able to if you want. The PS8 projects will be as computationally involved as ebay, which is worth about $22B these days. Of course, making your project worth that much will depend on having a good business idea and finding good marketing/management/finance/etc. types, but you'll know all the CS you need to do it. (As for how much you give to the government, that's between you and your accountant.)

Where are you from? How did you get interested in Computer Science?

I'm from Michigan, suburban Detroit. I liked playing with computers (mostly programming simple video games) when I was young, but got interested in Computer Science after my Mom gave me a copy of Gödel, Escher, Bach to read when I was in middle school.

I am worried about the grading...do people without computer background have a chance of making a good grade?

Don't be worried about the grading --- the very best student from last year's course had no computer background at all before she took the course, and everyone who put effort into the course ended up with a good grade (and no one got worse than a B+, although of course I can't guarantee that will be true this year). You should be more concerned with what you learn in your classes than with the grades you get anyway.

What motivated you to teach this course? What subject in the course interests you most?

When I was a first year undergraduate, I took 6.001 from Gerry Sussman, which is what the SICP book is based on. That course inspired me to want to be a computer scientist. Since coming to UVa, I've believe the most important thing I can do is make most students learn some real computer science. You can read more details about my motivations in my fellowship proposal (which I wrote to get to start this class last year): http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~evans/pubs/teachingfellowship.pdf

To answer the second question, everything in the course interests me (otherwise it wouldn't be in the course, of course!) but I'd say what I'm most interested in are the biological models of computation that we'll talk about the next to last class (probably). That's one of the things my research group works on (see swarm.cs.virginia.edu).

What, if any, languages are we going to be using?

All the lectures will be in English, with maybe a smattering of French and Korean, but that's probably not what you meant. For PS 1-7 you will be writing code using Scheme; for PS8 you will learn a few new languages (PHP, SQL, HTML).

Is this the right course to take if I'm interested in programming?

Yes!

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