Course description

Can computers solve any problem? The answer, provided by Alan Turing, is, emphatically, "no". However, Turing also thought that computers would one day be as "intelligent" as humans. In this course, we aim to show what Turing did --- that there are very definite limits to computation, but that those limits do not preclude Turing's dream of thinking machines. Using Douglas Hofstadter's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Gödel, Escher, Bach, as our guide, we will investigate the foundations of computer science, the limits of computation, , and artificial intelligence. Along the way, we will consider how the concepts of recursion and infinity arise in surprising areas such as music, art, and literature. In particular, we will consider some stories and essays of Lewis Carroll and Jorge Luis Borges.

Breaking news

(12/10) Judith Rodenbeck will be visiting our class tomorrow (12/11) to talk about Escher, Magritte, and self-reference in art. Bring questions!

(12/01) The latest problem set is on-line and due Monday, 12/8.