Previous Weeks in STS 350
This page will record what we actually did on each day of the
class.
Week 1:
Monday, January 15
Reading:
Topic: Introduction to the course
Monday
- Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday. No classes or office hours.
Wednesday
- Introduction to the course
Friday
- Descartes sets the stage
- First read-and-respond assigned
Other Notes:
- Office hours begin next week.
Week 2:
Monday, January 22
Reading:
- Turing paper
- Textbook chapter 1
- Readings: Simon (reading 1)
- Lisp handout (for next week)
Topic: Algorithms and computation
Is intelligence computable? Can intelligence be modeled in some fashion
using computers? Or is this idea a dead end? In order to decide what "computational intelligence" might mean, we need to
know something about computation. We begin this part of the discussion by
looking at what a modern computer can do, and how it might be programmed.
We use the programming language LISP for several reasons: Firstly, it is a
programming language which is likely to be new to everyone in the class, the
parts that we will need are fairly easy to learn, and,
finally, since it is one of the primary languages used in artificial
intelligence.
Monday
- Turing responds to Descartes
- First read-and-respond exercise due.
- No office hours today (Department meeting)
Wednesday
- A basic model for a computer
- Instruction fetch-execute cycle
- What a computer can do
Friday
- No class (instructor ill)
Other Notes:
- Readings from the reader will correspond to chapters assigned in the
textbook. Please see "Guide for the Reader" just following the table
of contents in the book of readings
- Office hours begin this week.
Week 3:
Monday, January 29
Reading:
- Lisp handout
- Textbook chapter 2
- Readings: Johnson-Laird (reading 2)
- Marr (a read-and-respond on this paper, to be handed out this week, will
be part of our discussion next week).
Topic: A gentle introduction to Lisp
So - we have a notion of what a computer is and what it can do, and we have a
notion of what an algorithm is. How do we combine the two? One way
is to write programs in some basic computer language. One of the easiest
to learn is the programming language Lisp which is use for much of AI.
We will look only at enough of LISP for us to get an idea of how an algorithm
may be implemented in a programming language, and will not examine the language
beyond the basics needed to do this. I can recommend books for those
interested in taking these ideas further.
Monday
- Algorithms
- An introduction to LISP - calculations, move data about
Wednesday
- Basic programming in LISP
- Lisp Introduction distributed
- Marr paper distributed
- Marr Read-and Respond assigned
Friday
- Basic programming in LISP - defun
- Compare-and-branch
Other Notes:
- We will go into the computer lab on Friday, Feb. 9 (next Friday).
Week 4:
Monday, February 5
Reading:
- Lisp handout
- Marr handout
- Textbook chapter 3
- Readings: The readings book should be in the bookstore. Start with
chapters 1 - 3
Topic: An introduction to AI
We next examine experiments (as Simon would put it) attempting to explain
cognition by writing computer programs which implement models and theories of
cognition. We begin with a brief overview of AI (symbolic and
connectionist), and then dig deeper into the representations and algorithms of
symbolic AI. We will look at connectionist AI later on.
Monday
- A final discussion on LISP
- The Turing-Church hypothesis
- Discussion of term paper/project
Wednesday
- Distribution of the LISP lab document (we will go into the lab Friday to
work through this, but students are welcome to start at any time)
- The tri-level hypothesis (Marr)
- Read-and-Respond on Marr due
Friday
- LISP lab day. We will meet in Thompson 331A on this day (instead
of our usual Library 020).
Other Notes:
- The first hour exam will be next Friday
Week 5:
Monday, February 12
Reading:
Topic: An introduction to AI
We next examine experiments (as Simon would put it) attempting to explain
cognition by writing computer programs which implement models and theories of
cognition. We begin with a brief overview of AI (symbolic and
connectionist), and then dig deeper into the representations and algorithms of
symbolic AI. We will look at connectionist AI later on.
Monday
- An introduction to AI
- Newell and Simon read-and-respond assigned (see
rr03.html)
Wednesday
- Introduction to AI
- Review for exam #1
Friday
Other Notes:
Week 6:
Monday, February 19
Reading:
Topics:
Monday
- History of AI
- Knowledge Representation (notes):
- The case of the mild cat.
Wednesday
- No class (instructor ill)
Friday
Other Notes:
- There will be no class or office hours next Thursday and Friday (March 1,
2): History of Science conference.
- Term paper proposals due next Monday.
Week 7:
Monday, February 26
Reading:
Topics:
Monday
- Problem solving as search
- Term paper proposals due.
Wednesday
- Uninformed search
- breadth-first
- depth-first
- An introduction to heuristics and informed search
Friday
- No classes or office hours Thursday and Friday (History of Science
Conference)
- Newell and Simon read-and-respond will be due next Friday (March 9)
Other Notes:
- There will be no class or office hours this Thursday and Friday (March 1,
2): History of Science conference.
- Please note that the last day to withdraw with an automatic 'W' is
Monday, February 26. The rules for withdrawing from a class have
changed. Please review the revised policy on course withdrawals in the
Student Handbook
Week 8:
Monday, March 5
Reading:
Topics:
Monday
Wednesday
- Means-ends analysis
- A brief overview of knowledge representation systems
Friday
- Overview of knowledge representation systems
- Review of Symbolic AI
- Discussion on Newell and Simon. Read-and-respond due.
Other Notes:
- Mid-term is Friday, March 9 (not an exam date for us)
- Next week is Spring Break! (no classes or office hours)
- Annotated bibliography due Monday after Spring Break
- Hour Exam 2 will be Friday, March 23 (Friday after Spring Break)
Week 9:
Monday, March 12
SPRING BREAK! (no classes or office hours
Other Notes:
- Annotated bibliography due Monday after Spring Break
- Hour Exam 2 will be Friday, March 23 (Friday after Spring Break)
Week 10:
Monday, March 19
Reading:
- Textbook: through chapter 6
- Readings: Through chapter 7
- CLIPS handout (to be provided Monday. It is also available at the
CLIPS Handout
Topics:
Monday
- Discussion of readings so far
- Final discussion on KR schemes
- Introduction to Expert Systems and to CLIPS
- Annotated bibliography due
Wednesday
- Introduction to CLIPS
- Review for exam #2
Friday
Other Notes:
- Annotated bibliography due Monday
- Hour Exam 2 will be Friday, March 23
Week 11:
Monday, March 26
Reading:
Topics:
Monday
- Further discussion on CLIPS
Wednesday
Friday
- CLIPS lab day. We will meet in Thompson 331A (the same
place as our Lisp lab earlier in the term).
Other Notes:
Week 12:
Monday, April 2
Reading:
Topics:
Monday
- Final comments on CLIPS
- Introduction to Connectionism
Wednesday
Friday
- CLIPS exercise assigned (finally!)
- Connectionism: the geometry of perceptrons
Other Notes:
- Paper/Project draft due Friday, April 13 (Next Week!)
- Hour exam 3 will be Friday, April 27. Please note that this is in
the last full week of classes.
- Last day of class is Wednesday, May 2
Week 13:
Monday, April 9
Reading:
Topics:
- Connectionism
- Computation and Language
Monday
Wednesday
- Final discussion on connectionist models
Friday
- Computation, and language
- Paper/Project draft due
Other Notes:
- Paper/Project draft due Friday, April 13
- Hour exam 3 will be Friday, April 27. Please note that this is in
the last full week of classes.
- Wednesday, May 2, is the last day of classes. No class work can
be accepted past 5:00 on that date.
Week 14:
Monday, April 16
Reading:
Topics:
Monday
- Computation, and language
Wednesday
- Grammars, computation, and language
- Turing Machines
Friday
- Grammars, computation, and language
Other Notes:
- Hour exam 3 will be Friday, April 27 (next week!). Please note that this is in
the last full week of classes.
- Wednesday, May 2, is the last day of classes. No class work can
be accepted past 5:00 on that date.
Week 15:
Monday, April 23
Reading:
Topics:
Monday
- Natural language processing
Wednesday
- Return of homework and notes on the homework
- Review for hour exam #3
Friday
Other Notes:
- Hour exam 3 will be Friday, April 27 (next week!). Please note that this is in
the last full week of classes.
- Wednesday, May 2, is the last day of classes. No class work can
be accepted past 5:00 on that date.
Week 16:
Monday, April 30
Reading:
Topics:
- Language
- The future of CogSci
Monday
- Discussion of the Pinker reading
Wednesday
- Exam returned and discussed
- Review for final exam
Friday
- Reading period: no classes. Office hours as announced.
Other Notes:
- Wednesday, May 2, is the last day of classes. All course
materials due. No class work can
be accepted past 5:00 on that date.
Return to the STS 350 Home Page