Why is it that scientists can build so many awesome things that actually work? It's not just because they're smart - science has developed a language for talking about things that's more precise than the languages we typically use, like English. But that language doesn't just apply to science and engineering! By choosing the right tools and applying a little creativity, we can explain issues in philosophy, psychology, sociology, and even everyday life. Without requiring any prior background knowledge, we'll explain concepts like graphs, maps, spaces, and distributions, and interactively apply them to interesting situations.

Building with paper - no cuts, no glue, no sweat. Relaxing as opposed to hardcore. (See 'Crazy Giant Origami' for hardcore)

See "Origami Construction Inc. (Day 1)"

See "Origami Construction Inc. (Day 1)"

See "Origami Construction Inc. (Day 1)"

An impractical introduction to Scheme, a ridiculously flexible and powerful programming language. I will teach how to implement Scheme in Scheme, while learning Scheme.

See "Metacircular Scheming" After the lecture I will guide you through using Dr. Scheme and the online XTutor to explore the language.

Have you ever wanted to fold a sheet of paper so big that your whole family could picnic on top of it? Then this is the class for you. I will teach groups of ~four students to fold something awesome from a 9 foot by 9 foot square of paper. Note that this class will be split up into two days and it may potentially run over time on the second day.

See "Crazy Giant Origami (Day 1)"

What is the fate of human civilization? This is not a class about prediction, but about plausible speculation. Will we destroy ourselves with thermonuclear war, catastrophic climate change, or unfriendly artificial intelligence? Will we continue to improve with biotechnology, space colonies, or brain uploading? What forces are at work, and how do they interact? We'll give a lecture about some of our ideas, and then lead a lively discussion in a follow up class.

See "The Future" (class 3231)

We will buy the largest paper we can find (and afford/transport). And then we will teach you how to fold something awesome out of it. Depending on the size of the paper, you may be working in teams with 10 foot squares, or individually/pairs with 3 foot squares. (So you probably will not be able to keep what you make - but it might not fit in a car anyway so don’t feel so bad.)

An impractical introduction to Scheme, a ridiculously flexible and powerful programming language. I will teach how to implement Scheme in Scheme, while learning Scheme.

We will buy large paper. And then we will teach you how to fold something awesome out of it. Everyone will make one or more separate modules, which we will then put together to make a gigantic geometric object. (You will not get to keep what you fold) The current plan is to make a polyhedron with an 8 foot diameter...

In this class we will start with the basics of digital logic and build up to a fully functional adding machine - and then a computer.

An introduction to Scheme, a ridiculously flexible and powerful programming language.

An impractical introduction to Scheme, a ridiculously flexible and powerful programming language. I will teach how to implement Scheme in Scheme, while learning Scheme.

Learn about how computers do stuff. We'll begin with a single bit and go up to an adder and hopefully a cpu.

An impractical introduction to Scheme, a ridiculously flexible and powerful programming language. I will teach how to implement Scheme in Scheme, while learning Scheme.

An impractical introduction to Scheme, a ridiculously flexible and powerful programming language. I will teach how to implement Scheme in ...

We start with simple logic gates and bits, and build up to a binary adder, and end up with a ...

We will work together to build something HUGE out of origami by connecting smaller pieces of paper (without tape or ...

An impractical introduction to Scheme, a ridiculously flexible and powerful programming language. I will teach how to implement Scheme in ...

This class will teach you how to fold cubes and everything that can be made from them.

This will be a discussion based class about the future of humanity, both short and long term. I will give ...

An introduction to Scheme, a ridiculously flexible and powerful programming language. This class is meant for people who don't know ...