Previous Weeks in SCXT 350
This page will record what we actually did on each day of the
class.
Week 1
Monday, Sept. 2
Reading:
- Copeland, Chapters 1, 2
- Descartes selection in
coursepack
Monday
Wednesday
- Introduction to the course
Friday
- Setting the stage: Descartes
Week 2
Monday, Sept. 9
Reading: Notes
Monday
- A basic model for a computer
- What a computer can do
- Algorithms
Wednesday
- A gentle introduction to LISP
Friday
- More on Lisp (Laboratory session)
Week 3
Monday, Sept. 16
Reading:
- Copeland Chapter 3
- Notes
- Coursepack (Turing article)
- Part01.ppt
Monday
- A reminder from Descartes
- The Turing test
Wednesday
- Review: What a computer can do
- Some history of computers
Friday
- Video (history of AI: The Thinking Machine)
Other Notes:
Week 4
Monday, Sept. 23
Reading:
- Coursepack (Marr)
- Copeland chapters 4,5
Monday
- More on AI:
- Engineering vs CogSci
- Symbolic and connectionist
- Connectionist portion of Friday's video
Wednesday
- Three levels of explanation
- What is an algorithm?
Friday
- What is the computational stance?
- A first (brief) look at the Physical Symbol System
Hypothesis
- The Turing-Church Hypothesis
- Preliminary discussion of the first hour exam.
Other Notes:
- The first hour exam will be next week
Week 5:
Monday, Sept. 30
Reading:
- Article on expertise (to be provided)
Monday
- Problem Solving in humans
- Problem solving in computers - an introduction to search
Wednesday
- A class exercise
- Review for first hour exam.
Friday
Other Notes:
Week 6:
Monday, Oct. 7
Reading:
- Powerpoint slides (Part02)
Monday
- Guest Lecturer: Mark Reinitz
Wednesday
- More on search: states and operators
Friday
- Heuristics
- Means-ends analysis and GPS
- Return exam
Other Notes:
- Exam 2: was scheduled for Friday, Nov. 1 but has now
been rescheduled to Wednesday, Nov. 6 due to a conference
on Nov. 1
Week 7:
Monday, Oct. 14
Reading:
- Powerpoint slides (Part02)
- Notes on CLIPS (PowerPoint slides)
Monday
- Heuristic search
- Knowledge Representation - a survey
Wednesday
- Problem solving in computers: Expert Systems
- Paper / project proposals due
Friday
- More detailed survey of knowledge representation
techniques.
Other Notes:
- Next Monday is Fall Break Day: No classes or office
hours
- Exam 2: was scheduled for Friday, Nov. 1 but has now
been rescheduled to Wednesday, Nov. 6 due to a conference
on Nov. 1
Week 8:
Monday, Oct. 21
Reading:
- Powerpoint slides (Part02)
- Notes on CLIPS (PowerPoint slides)
Monday
- Fall Break Day - no classes or office hours
Wednesday
- Continued discussion: Knowledge Representation
- Knowledge representation in logic
Friday
Other Notes:
- Exam 2: was scheduled for Friday, Nov. 1 but has now
been rescheduled to Wednesday, Nov. 6 due to a conference
on Nov. 1
Week 9: Monday,
Oct. 28
Reading:
- Powerpoint slides (Part02)
- Notes on CLIPS (CLIPS01)
Monday
- More on CLIPS
- Annotated bibliography due
Wednesday
- Lab day on CLIPS (class will meet in T120)
Friday
- Final discussion on CLIPS
- Discussion of the Newell and Simon paper (coursepack)
(moved to Monday)
Other Notes:
- Exam 2: was scheduled for Friday, Nov. 1 but has now
been rescheduled to Wednesday, Nov. 6 due to a conference
on Nov. 1
Week 10: Monday,
Nov. 4
Reading:
- Copeland Chapters 4 - 6 (in chapter 6, material on Turing
Machines), 9
- Course notes
- Re-read Turing paper
Monday
- Discussion of Newell and Simon paper
- Review for Exam #2
Wednesday
Friday
- No class - doctor's appointment
Other Notes:
- Exam 2: was scheduled for Friday, Nov. 1 but has now
been rescheduled to Wednesday, Nov. 6 due to a conference
on Nov. 1
- First draft of the paper is due Monday, Nov. 18
Week 11:
Monday, Nov. 11
Reading:
- Copeland Chapters 4 - 6 (in chapter 6, material on Turing
Machines), 9
- Course notes
- Re-read Turing paper
Topic: What is computation?
Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Other Notes:
- First draft of the paper is due Wednesday, Nov. 20
- Please read the Searle paper for next week
Week 12: Monday,
Nov. 18
Reading:
- Copeland Chapters 6,10
- Searle (Coursepack)
- Course notes
- Re-read Turing paper, PSSH paper
Topic: Connectionism: a response to GOFAI
Monday
Wednesday
- Turing Machines
- First draft of paper due
Friday
- Computation, the physical symbol system hypothesis, and the
Turing-Church hypothesis
- Searle's response to Turing
Other Notes:
- Exam #3 will be given on Friday, Dec. 6. Please note
that this is in the last full week of classes.
Week 13: Monday,
Nov. 25
Reading:
- Copeland: Chapter on connectionism
Topic: Connectionism: a response to GOFAI
Monday
- Connectionism as a response to GOFAI
Wednesday
- Limitations of perceptrons, and a geometric interpretation of a
perceptron.
Friday
- Thanksgiving Vacation: No classes or office hours
Other Notes:
- Exam #3 will be given on Friday, Dec. 6 (next week).
Please note that this is in the last full week of classes.
- Next week we will look at one of the test pieces of cognitive
science: the problem of language.
- All work must be submitted by 5:00 Wednesday, Dec. 11. The final
copy of the term paper (due the last day of class) will be accepted until
the final exam with an increasing penalty.
Week 14: Monday, Dec. 2
Reading:
- Copeland: Remaining chapters
- Pinker (CoursePak)
Topic: Language
Monday
- Final discussion on neural networks
Wednesday
- The problem of language
- Natural Language Processing
- Review for exam
Friday
Other Notes:
- The final exam for this class is scheduled for 4:00 PM
Wednesday, Dec. 18. It is expected to be a two-hour in-class
mandatory exam.
- All work must be submitted by 5:00 Wednesday, Dec. 11. The final
copy of the term paper (due the last day of class) will be accepted until
the final exam with an increasing penalty.
Return to Course Home Page