The mathematical information class is designed to introduce students to the ways in which mathematical theory can intersect with real-world applications. It is aimed at students who like math, and requires little background knowledge besides an interest in learning and exploring.
At its core, the class is about how to store and send information, which could come in the form of writing, images, or even music. Fr xmpl, t s pssbl t rd ths sntnc vn thgh the vwls hv bn rmvd, which suggests that we can send written English more efficiently than just by writing out every single letter. But how much more efficiently? If the message has errors, can the original version be recovered? And can we send a message so that only our friends can read it and nobody else?
Often, there is no one best method to solve these problems. Instead, there may be a wide variety of algorithms, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, mathematics can give us an idea of what sorts of solutions are and are not possible.
Students who take this class will develop skills in algorithmic thinking: to learn and apply new algorithms, but also to look for patterns in their behavior, probe them for weaknesses, and decide when they might be useful for a given task. Some problems in this course will have simple solutions; others will be open-ended so that students are expected to propose and test their own ideas, with no guarantee of success. Many activities will be collaborative in nature: students are encouraged to test the methods they learn with (or against!) one another in the classroom.
This class is intended to be taken as a yearlong sequence (Fall, Winter, and Spring), and students are recommended to take all three quarters, but it is also possible to take just one or two of the quarters. The fall session focuses on codes such as Morse code and methods for storing data efficiently, along with the necessary background material in exponents, logarithms, binary and other number systems, and probability. The winter session focuses on codes that allow you to find and correct errors in the message, and includes a few other topics such as how to come up with random numbers without coins or dice. The spring session focuses on ciphers both classical and modern, and their modern applications.
This class is purely problem-based, without any lectures. Students who take this class and do well will be in a good position to take the mathematical thinking class in the following year.
There will be an online version of this class, meeting Tuesdays from 5:30–7:30 PM Pacific time, and an in-person version of the class, meeting Wednesdays from 6:30–8:30 PM Pacific time in Palo Alto; students choose one of these two options. In the winter, this class will run from the week of January 13th through the week of March 17th.
Applications for the winter class are due November 23rd. After that, we will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis while space remains. Click here to apply!
Euler Circle 