Where do I go from here?

I am often asked about courses after COS 109 -- courses that go deeper into CS, other aspects of computing, other courses about technology and society. Here are some suggestions for Spring 2007. I don't have first-hand experience with most of these and some are new, but this might give you ideas, and I'm happy to talk more about them, or help connect you with better sources of information than Course Offerings.

COS 116, The Computational Universe (ST)

COS 126, General Computer Science (QR)

This is the basic intro course for CS majors, the certificate in applications of computing, the SEAS programming requirement, etc. If you liked the more technical end of 109 and found the programming more interesting than terrifying, 126 is a good bet; it's definitely the best way to take the next step if you think that CS or the certificate might be an option, or if you just want to try the next course.

FRS 104, What do your DNA and your iPod have in common? (QR)

Everyone knows that computers are everywhere: the most ubiquitous, versatile tools in existence today. Fewer know that the science behind computing is likely to be the most disruptive intellectual paradigm shift since quantum mechanics. The "algorithm" is destined to replace the "formula" and the "differential equation" as the main conceptual template for the natural sciences of the 21-st C. This seminar will prove this assertion by exposing the students to some of the most radical ideas in computing: for example, why all computers are alike; why Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?" goes to the heart of computing; why a living cell is not that different from an iPod; why even cheaters can play poker over the phone; why I can convince you of a fact without revealing a thing about it; why to believe, to trust, and to persuade are not what you think; and much more.

ELE 102, Hands-on Optical Engineering (ST)

ELE 386, Cyber Securty (STX)

WWS 453, Patent Law and Innovation Policy

WWS 528F/COS 598E, Information Technology and Public Policy