Last updated: November 30, 2024
Course description I included in my proposal for a mini-course at Carleton University.
TikTok. YouTube. Email. These are boring problems for a computer. Did you know computers can perform a billion tasks every second? Let’s assume that typing a word is one task. That means a computer could type the entire Harry Potter series within the blink of an eye! What problems could someone solve if given this unbelievable speed?
This mini-course provides students hands-on activities exploring and collaborating with peers on problems that utilize the full potential of computers. The course starts small, exploring the secrets of life and discovering new molecules, and ends big with how computers can simulate a galaxy evolving over billions of years. Along the way, we will also work on not-so-boring problems such as predicting and controlling the weather and solving the climate crisis. No programming experience is required.