Splash Spring 16
Course Catalog

This class will be a brief introduction into the world of magic! You will learn some history, some theory, and even learn a few tricks for yourself!


Prerequisites
None

Paper airplanes not enough for you? Origami is the art of paperfolding, and it’s great because you can fold awesome shapes and gadgets from one of the most common materials around! Join us for some finger folding fun; you too can can create something cool, with your own hands. No prior experience necessary.


Prerequisites
Bring your hands!

Have you ever wondered how LEDs work? What about Transistors? Have you seen solar panels on some houses and wondered how a glass panel can produce electricity? Well you are in the right class! In this course, we will explore the wonders of semiconductor materials, and how to utilize their power to build devices that have changed our lives.
I will give a brief introduction to Arduino to encourage the students to explore it and learn more about electronic devices.


Prerequisites
Basic Math, basic chemistry (knowing electron, proton, ions, etc), basic physics (like current, voltage, resistance, etc.)

An introduction to infinities, mostly related to the work of Georg Cantor. We'll cover the notion of cardinality of a set and the counter-intuitive ways that cardinality behaves when you have infinite sets. We'll also look at related topics, such as:
- Hilbert's paradox of the Grand Hotel
- the Continuum Hypothesis
- history and philosophy surrounding Cantor's work, if time permits

Students should have basic knowledge of sets and maps between sets (injections, surjections, and bijections), and also of proof by contradiction. We'll use common examples of sets, including finite sets, the integers, the real numbers, and power sets. I'll briefly review any of these topics if there are any questions, though!


Prerequisites
Knowing what sets and injections, surjections, and bijections are.

Ever wonder what imaginary numbers could ever be good for? Well look no further! In this course I'll go in detail through one example of how real people use them for real things, every day - in electronic circuits.


Prerequisites
Some knowledge of trigonometry (manipulating sines, cosines, etc.) will be essential, as well as a background in basic algebra. Knowledge of power series (usually covered in Calculus II) would be helpful but is not required.

I want to login to an account that's password-protected. Can I convince someone else I have the password without revealing what my password is? Or more generally, can I convince someone I know something without revealing how I know it?

It turns out the answer to all of these question is "yes", thanks to zero-knowledge proofs. We'll start with explaining why we should care, then define what it means to be zero-knowledge. We'll do a short detour into computational complexity, then build to the final result - every problem in NP has a zero knowledge proof.


Prerequisites
There are no formal prerequisites, but this class will move quickly and almost everyone is confused the first time they see zero-knowledge proofs. You will have an easier time if you've written proofs before and if you know a bit about P, NP, and NP-Complete problems.

You have probably heard about magic squares, but here you will learn some tricks to create magic squares of different sizes. You will also learn about the use of magic squares in everyday life. After all, they have fascinated mathematicians for several years.


Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites, but precalculus including some exposure to matrices will be helpful.

Ever wonder how encryption, load balancing, and error correction works? Discrete math, the study of finite sets of numbers, makes all these technologies possible. We will be covering what discrete math is and how it is so integral to life as we know it today. Learn how this intersection of math and computing powers everything around you.

Group theory lies in the center of modern algebra. It is essentially the study of symmetries of an object. We will motivate the definition of what a group is, and explore different examples of groups, which will then lead us to important concepts in group theory.


Prerequisites
Algebra II

In this class we'll look at different types of real numbers: rational vs. irrational and algebraic vs. transcendental. There will be some fun problems and proofs to think about - it won't be all definitions!


Prerequisites
Basic understanding of fractions and polynomials.

Learn how AlphaGo works in 1 hour!

Okay, you actually will not learn how AlphaGo works in 1 hour. It's a complicated AI that people have been working on for around 2 years. But, if you come here, you can get part of the way there.

I'll broadly explain how AlphaGo learns which moves are good, making sure to keep it appropriate to high school students. If there's time, I'll explain specific parts in more detail. The way this class goes depends a lot on what parts the class thinks are interesting.


Prerequisites
A healthy interest in game AIs. Math up to Algebra 2.

In this live-coding course students will solve problems by learning, and then applying, various problem solving tactics and algorithms.

Programming is not required. However, students are encouraged to bring a personal computer, as there will be dedicated time to code the problems' solutions.


Prerequisites
Algebra II. An affinity for math or problem solving; Familiarity with programming is recommended, but not required.

Ever wondered how you can prove beyond a doubt that you are correct? What does it mean to be logical?

A mathematical proof is an argument which convinces other people that something is true using logic. In this class, you will use your basic math skills to learn how to argue logically, and see the beauty in mathematics. You will actually experience what mathematics is actually about!
(hint: it's not about boring calculations! :) )


Prerequisites
-Algebra 1 or Pre-Algebra -Comfortable with usage of variables, basic adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, exponents

What does it mean to be a social democrat? This course will engage this question from the origins of socialism to the present day. Students will read excerpts from Marx, Bernstein, Kautsky and Lenin and be asked to put these founding texts in conversation with current debates. Students should walk away from the course with a firmer historical understanding of socialism in Western thought. Students should not expect to receive a dogmatic presentation of socialism.

Through simulations and activities, students will learn about current issues in education research, policy, and reform. We will discuss how to address the achievement gap, equity, and access. Students will also learn about research conducted in the Education department by faculty and students.

By exposing students to multiple perspectives surrounding these issues, we hope students learn more about the root causes, institutions, and policies that perpetuate the current problems. We will further introduce and ask students to analyze various policies and proposed solutions through different viewpoints and theories. Students will then work with the class to build upon the strengths and limitations of these approaches to reimagine public policy and improve the prospects for social change.

Philosophy and History behind the Free Software Movement.

What is "Free Software"? Why is it very crucial for human societies, science, academia, freedom, anonymity, democracy and security? Why is it an inalienable part of the Free Culture Movement? Do we really need copyright laws? Why is the Open-Source Movement not enough or even dangerous? What are free alternatives to popular proprietary software?

At the end of the class we will have a forum about why is proprietary software is still very common and whether it is harmful or beneficial.

Historical background will be given at the beginning of the lecture, whereas the lecture will be mostly about philosophical justifications and sociological consequences of the Free Software Movement. Students shall expect a Philosophy/Sociology class.

Durkheim's 'sociology of knowledge' claims that all facts, from the definition of mental illness to the conception of race, are not absolute. Join us for a one-hour discussion about the origins of inequality in medicine.

This course will be an exploration of Epilepsy mainly taught through my experience with a type of epilepsy that was 'outgrown'. I will share my story as well as the medical terms and neurological tests along the way to further explain epilepsy. I will be using myself as a case study to teach about neurology, epilepsy and medical diagnosis.


Prerequisites
None. A interest in neurology and psychology would help as would prior knowledge but not necessary.

Learn about chemistry as it is applied to your everyday life, like how dynamite is made from... soap?

We'll go over a lot of fascinating chemical reactions that take place in your everyday life that are often overlooked.

Samples topics include how nitroglycerin (dynamite) is made and why it is so explosive, and how Alfred Nobel made a fortune out of tweaking the process. We will talk about rocket fuels and the beautiful chemistry involved in them, and many other things as well.

Time allowing, we will go over a variety of other topics as well- some straight out of the movies and Breaking Bad!

There will be demonstrations of reactions that are visually interesting at the end of the class.


Prerequisites
General Chemistry highly recommended.

If you take an every day object like a basketball and zoom in and zoom in eventually you will be looking at some of the smallest objects in our universe, atoms and electrons! These little particles exhibit behavior which is radically different than anything we are used to. One of the strangest behaviors is that in the quantum world a single object can be in two places at once! In this course I will give examples of quantum mechanical phenomena and try to give intuition about how to think about quantum mechanics so that students are no longer strangers to the quantum world!

Students with all math/science backgrounds are welcome!

Have you heard that black holes are weird but don't know exactly how they're weird? Interested in learning what would happen if you fell into one? Come find out!

Not too long ago, people thought that atoms were indivisible—that they were fundamental particles. At the end of the 19th century, the discovery that there were smaller things than atoms sparked the creation of a new field, which today we call particle physics. From the discovery of the electron in 1897 by J.J. Thomson all the way to the 2012 detection of the Higgs boson by 6000 physicists at CERN, this course will cover a selection of the amazing insights, experiments, and scientists that helped make particle physics what it is today.


Prerequisites
Read and interpret graphs; familiarity with SI units (meters, kilograms, etc.) and prefixes (kilo, nano, etc.) and scientific notation (5x10^7); exponentials and logarithms, sines and cosines. Exposure to the concepts of energy and momentum preferred but not required.

Want to learn more about Darwin's theory of evolution and the foundation of population genetics but in a hands-on way? Then join our class! We will learn about natural selection using candies and/or kidney beans and we will learn other fascinating concepts in population genetics through interactive activities!


Prerequisites
A love for learning in a hands-on way

Quantum computers!

This course teaches the fundamentals of quantum mechanics as an application for computation. We'll go over how information is represented in quantum states -- the fundamental postulates.

From this, we'll describe the interferometer as a device for creating superposition... giving us the quantum gates, and with it, universal computation.

We'll talk about hypersensitive bombs, unbreakable (entirely!) cryptographic channels, quantum teleportation, and a model of computation that's fully reversible.

And we'll end with my favorite algorithm ever, that lets you search a 100-element list in about 10 tries.


Prerequisites
Linear algebra is useful but not necessary.

Ever ponder about what lies beyond the great blue skies above us? We, as humans, are only a microscopic speck in the entire universe. If you are interested in the many breath-taking, awe-inspiring things that lie beyond, take this class!


Prerequisites
None

Have you heard about the recent announcement by the LIGO collaboration of the direct detection of gravitational waves? If not, come learn more about one of the biggest scientific discoveries of our generation and the physics underlying it, Einstein's theory of General Relativity. Discovering gravitational waves gives us a whole new set of "eyes" to explore the Universe - it is sort of like Galileo building the first telescope. It is not often that you live through such a historical moment!


Prerequisites
Basic physics and mathematics, algebra and trigonometry

Ever wonder how medicine gets made? Ever wonder how you go from cells to the stuff that actually goes in your body? In this course we will go over techniques of how pharmaceuticals are made in industry. We will specifically focus on the purification of medicines and how this is commonly done. This will primarily include concepts of chromatography and filtration.


Prerequisites
A basic understanding of DNA, proteins, and the pH and conductivity of solutions is recommended.

Yoga for eyes, body, and soul.


Prerequisites
none

The environment and climate change are HUGE topics today, and they are extremely controversial and difficult to talk about. This Splash course is geared towards helping us assess and understand the situation a little better to consequently know how to approach the issue and communicate the problem to others, in hopes of inspiring them to make better decisions. Come prepared to contribute to class discussions!

We will learn a beginner's method for solving the original 3x3 Rubik's Cube. Impress your friends when you can solve it in under a minute (after practicing, of course)!

Cubes and guides will be provided, so bring nothing but enthusiasm!

Why is California running out of water? Are we really burning a hole in the Ozone? What affects the global economy? Learn to answer these kinds of BIG questions and more by harnessing the power of orders of magnitude and start thinking in powers of 10. In this class we will learn how to take just a little bit of information about a topic (that you can find on google!) mixed with thinking about powers of ten to answer questions we used to think only “experts” could answer!


Prerequisites
Students should have had exposure to exponentiation.

Come and play some fun card games with us! We will teach you a bunch of card games that we spent our childhoods playing back home in India, and we hope you will learn and spend endless hours doing the same.