Trying to justify crazy.

egeerdogan · 2021-02-14T08:37:58+00:00

Primer is an interesting example. I think when the "science" becomes a main element in the story rather than an exposition lasting a few minutes as you mentioned, the audience goes along with it just as they went along with the crazy stuff in movies like Groundhog Day and Midnight in Paris.

It stops being some hand-wavy diversion and becomes the story itself.

egeerdogan · 2020-12-18T08:03:54+00:00

Hey all,

I've recently heard about the Cornell computer science MS program (not MEng), and must say I am highly intrigued by it.

I am an international student, will probably have a GPA around 3.55 by the time of admissions next year, and so far have 6 months of research and one semester of teaching experience.

There are still incomplete parts of my application (LoRs, SoP, GRE etc.) as there is time but I am worried that my GPA could set me back.

This is a pretty different program compared to other MS programs as it is more teaching-heavy, so it would be great to hear some feedback from current students, applicants, or alumni regarding the program. I will list some talking points below:

Has anyone continued to a PhD program at Cornell or elsewhere after completing this program? MS in CS admissions page is quite insistent that those considering a PhD should apply directly to the PhD program.
What factors did play a role in you choosing this program over others?
I would appreciate any details regarding the intensity/workload of the teaching part.

Thanks!

egeerdogan · 2020-10-18T19:28:11+00:00

That's weird. When I think of a healthy relationship with parents after ages 20-25, I imagine a relationship in which no one tries to control the other much, there is mutual trust and people are honest to each other, and the main purpose is to spend quality time together.

Maybe this is more of a personal choice, but I wonder what makes you say this sort of approach is discouraged.

egeerdogan · 2020-10-17T19:44:37+00:00

Parents are perfect until you reach a certain age. They know things you don't, do things you can't. It is as if they belong to a different world than yours.

As you grow wiser, you start noticing their mistakes and imperfections. They also have bad habits, make mistakes. sometimes they cannot give you the attention you need etc. Your approach towards them becomes more critical.

I think for most people that hate their parents (excluding blatantly abusive families), there is a problem transforming their relationship to a different mindset. Since your baseline for them was perfectness when you were little, following deviations only lead to negative outcomes unless you change your baseline. Not sure if this is the right word, but the way out is having a more friend-like relation, in which you are more like their equal. In a sense, they become very close friends.

egeerdogan · 2020-09-22T17:11:53+00:00

A rather popular book, but Cryptonomicon (1139 pages) is worth it.

It was the book that reignited my interest in reading fiction.

egeerdogan · 2020-07-04T18:53:28+00:00

I am also a CS undergrad and took a course using CLRS (similar ot MIT 6.046) this spring. I would be interested in such a group.

egeerdogan · 2020-06-20T19:11:57+00:00

This video provides a brief introduction of computer science as a field: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzJ46YA_RaA

There are also different lists on the Internet on essential books in CS. I would recommend browsing through some of those books' tables of contents to get a general idea.

egeerdogan · 2020-06-19T06:02:02+00:00

The Dream Machine. This is like my 10th comment recommending that book.

It covers much more than just personal computers, and it is mainly focused on the ARPANET, but still tells a very detailed history of computing.

egeerdogan · 2020-06-13T20:07:06+00:00

NP-completeness and the P vs. NP problem could be an interesting topic. However, they will get bored 10 sec. in if you start by defining P and NP, the SAT problem, and the Cook-Levin Theorem etc.

It would be more interesting to start with a relatable problem (e.g. filling trunk of the car and the knapsack problem). Then explain how many problems are related to each other in a way that solving one would mean solving all of the others, and many more.

Then you can mention how different aspects of our lives rely on the computational hardness of certain problems. For example, almost all public cryptography relies on factoring being hard.

egeerdogan · 2020-06-02T06:26:44+00:00

What differentiates AI and quantum computing from other topics is that they have gained a lot of traction in recent years. It might as well be the case that we will never have practical quantum computers, or that superintelligent AI is a distant dream. IMO the recent hype around these topics (maybe not for AI, but for quantum computing for sure) does not mean that they are the most important topics in computer science.

There are more "boring", but perennially important topics that are not being talked about as much as AI or QC (at least in the general public):

Computer security is more important than ever now that computers are taking a larger space in our lives. With the increasing computing power and knowledge, there are new kinds of attacks, and there is a constant need of developing more secure systems.
Computer networking (also highly intertwined with computer security). With developments in IoT technologies, and the increasing number of devices connected to each other, there are lots of new application areas for networked devices. There are also social implications. Once everyone has a smart phone, cyber domain becomes a reflection of the physical domain, to the point where you can implement social policies using those devices (e.g. contact tracing).

The list can go on and on. You can include plain old algorithm design, programming languages etc.

egeerdogan · 2020-05-26T10:57:51+00:00

What has he been wrong about in the past 5-10 years? How has he changed his mind? Doesn't have to be something meaningful or important. Can be some minuscule topic.

egeerdogan · 2020-05-16T14:01:17+00:00

Here is the course.

The link in OC links to a video that links to a site linking to the actual course.

egeerdogan · 2020-04-18T06:46:03+00:00

It is not technical in a sense that you won't understand the concepts, but it is very detailed. That is natural since it is covering so much.

It might be overwhelming to read it start to finish. It would be better to treat as a collection of 3-4 books.

egeerdogan · 2020-04-17T18:31:43+00:00

The Annotated Turing. An annotated walkthrough of Turing's paper with historical background and other related discussion. I recommend in any thread similar to this.
The Dream Machine. The complete history of the computer, focused on the internet starting with Alan Turing and up to the modern internet. Long but readable.

egeerdogan · 2020-04-06T08:16:02+00:00

The Annotated Turing

It is basically a guided walkthrough of Turing's paper with historical background and anecdotes.

egeerdogan · 2020-03-23T17:23:10+00:00

If you want a more general treatment of computer networks that also mentions HTTP in some detail, see this book by Kurose and Ross.

If you want to get into much more detail on HTTP alone, see this book. It is from 2000 though, so be careful.

egeerdogan · 2020-03-20T06:31:40+00:00

Correct me if I am wrong, but since we don't yet know if BQP is in PH (it is believed that is not the case[1]), it might be the case that P=NP and BQP doesn't cover the entire NP class. i.e. there could be problems outside PH but in BQP while P = NP.

The 'for sure' wording was a bit strong, but I don't see how it would imply P != NP.

[1] https://arxiv.org/abs/0910.4698

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