Quantum mechanics is known for being weird - it says things that don't fit with the way we intuitively think about the world. What does it mean to say that an object can be in two places at once - or alive and dead at once? Why can't we know where something is and how fast it's moving? In this class, we'll try to see why physicists came up with QM in the first place, and we'll try to understand how it works. We'll be mainly explaining things with words, not with math.

Ever wanted to feel more like a ninja?... Us too. However, that takes years of training. What we can offer you however is fifty minutes of self defense training! Learn to defend against common grabs, holds, and jumps. Learn response techniques in dangerous situations. Learn skills we hope you will never have to use! Both instructors of this course have trained in martial arts for over fifteen years. We will provide a safe and friendly environment to learn self defense in.

Inside your computer, phone, fancy TV, newish car, digital camera, printer, etc, there's a small collection of electronics called a processor the device work. We're going to see how processors themselves work. We're not going to talk too much about the low level electronics - mostly we'll be one level of abstraction up, using logic gates. By the end you'll have an idea of what's going on inside your computer as you use it.

Quantum mechanics is known for being weird - it says things that don't fit with the way we intuitively think about the world. What does it mean to say that an object can be in two places at once - or alive and dead at once? Why can't we know where something is and how fast it's moving? In this class, we'll try to see why physicists came up with QM in the first place, and we'll try to understand how it works. We'll be mainly explaining things with words, not with math.

What is Quantum Mechanics? Why do we have it? What was wrong with physics before we came up with QM? Why does QM have with the weird consequences we hear about - being in two places, Schrodinger's cat, entanglement, etc? Why can't we know both the location and velocity of an object at once (Heisenberg uncertainty)? In this class, we intend to answer those questions. But rather than trying to mathematically derive everything and solve equations, we'll focus on understanding at an intuitive level.

What is a puzzle to you? A crossword puzzle? Sudoku? A brain teaser? Logic puzzle? For us, puzzles include these things and more. It's simply anything which can be solved somehow for a single answer. How about a simple list of words written in different colors: http://www.mathcamp.org/2009/hunt/acolorfullist.html is a puzzle, and it has an answer. In this class, we'll dissect puzzles, going through many kinds of puzzles and some common techniques for solving them. Then we'll let you get some hands-on experience, trying some real puzzles from past puzzle hunts.

Come play Magic: The Gathering! Please bring your own deck.

We'll at how similar very different areas of higher mathematics can be, and to do this we'll look at a type of math called category theory, also called abstract nonsense (not kidding). As examples we'll compare a few fields of study: simple things, algebraic things, and geometric things.

The most important thing in life is clearly cake. But sometimes, you have more people than you have cakes, and so you need to cut the cake. But wait! What if part of the cake has some fruit on it, part of it has more ice cream than the rest, and part of it just looks awesome? What you really need to make sure your life is never ruined by not getting enough cake: a way to cut the cake such that everyone is happy. In this class we'll examine the question of dividing up a cake (or anything that can be cut) into pieces to distribute to a group of people, such that each person is happy with what they get. We'll of course have to make precise what we mean by happy. If we have time, we'll talk about dividing things that make everyone miserable (chores, of course), and try to make everyone equally miserable.

There will lots and lots of crosswords to solve, ranging from easy to impossible, both themed and themeless. Come work on one by yourself, or even better, pick a hard puzzle and attack it as a group.

Many prominent newspapers, such as the New York Times and LA Times run daily crosswords, and anyone can submit a puzzle in the hopes of having it published. In this class, we’ll go through the construction of a few different crosswords, see some different types of themes and grid shapes, and look at the various tools used by constructors to aid them.

I'll have lots and lots of crosswords to solve, ranging from easy to impossible, both themed and themeless, small and large. Come work on one by yourself, or even better, pick a hard puzzle and attack it as a group.

In this walk-in seminar, I'll have lots of crosswords for everyone to solve! Crosswords from sources such as the New York Times and LA Times, ranging from easy to impossibly difficult, both themed and themeless. Perhaps a few cryptics will sneak their way in as well. Anyone welcome, even complete beginners.

Problems. We will have them. You will do our problems. Mathy/physicsy/CSy/logicy/whatevery problems!

Do you like mental challenges? Do you want to find the answer without anyone telling you how? Then you should come solve a puzzle hunt! We will start off by introducing puzzles, and then we will work together to solve a puzzle hunt, which is a themed collection of puzzles.

Many prominent newspapers, such as the New York Times and LA Times run daily crosswords, and anyone can submit a puzzle in the hopes of having it published. In this class, we'll look at the different types of crossword puzzles,* practice solving a few, and then go through the construction of crossword puzzle by actually making one. *: American-style only. No cryptics or other such things, sorry