Engineering Day
Today (okay, technically yesterday), was good.
My first class was Software Design, where we were given a long term assignment for the semester and were introduced to two things, the programming language of choice for the semester, Python, and the idea of design by abstraction. While much programming is designed by assembly (the solution is translated into the language using the languages preexisting tools), Professor Allen thinks that it is a better idea to program by abstraction as much as possible, building up the language to meet your programs needs.
"Programming is the process of solving a problem by designing a language for expressing the solution."- Prof. Allen (based on this essay by Paul Graham)
After lunch, ECS met in the auditorium to discuss the cohort in general and the software we will use (they encourage us to use LaTeX (pronounced LA-tech) instead of Word for creating documents for homework, and we use Matlab and Simulink (Matlab graphical simulator interface) to do simulations and calculations). A little later, Design Nature met (also in the auditorium) to discuss supplies we need for the class and have us fill out a survey to determine the skill level and specific abilities of the class.
This evening, there was a convocation on our summer reading, Phantoms in the Brain by V. S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee, with presentations given by Robert Sekuler, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Brandeis University, and Christopher Moore, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. The book was fascinating, and the presentations were both very interesting.
In the evening, I finished my Matlab homework, talked to people on AIM, read livejournal, and watched TV (sometimes all at the same time).
Well, I'm off to bed.
My first class was Software Design, where we were given a long term assignment for the semester and were introduced to two things, the programming language of choice for the semester, Python, and the idea of design by abstraction. While much programming is designed by assembly (the solution is translated into the language using the languages preexisting tools), Professor Allen thinks that it is a better idea to program by abstraction as much as possible, building up the language to meet your programs needs.
"Programming is the process of solving a problem by designing a language for expressing the solution."- Prof. Allen (based on this essay by Paul Graham)
After lunch, ECS met in the auditorium to discuss the cohort in general and the software we will use (they encourage us to use LaTeX (pronounced LA-tech) instead of Word for creating documents for homework, and we use Matlab and Simulink (Matlab graphical simulator interface) to do simulations and calculations). A little later, Design Nature met (also in the auditorium) to discuss supplies we need for the class and have us fill out a survey to determine the skill level and specific abilities of the class.
This evening, there was a convocation on our summer reading, Phantoms in the Brain by V. S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee, with presentations given by Robert Sekuler, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Brandeis University, and Christopher Moore, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. The book was fascinating, and the presentations were both very interesting.
In the evening, I finished my Matlab homework, talked to people on AIM, read livejournal, and watched TV (sometimes all at the same time).
Well, I'm off to bed.
