Notes: Wednesday 16 January 2002

Assignments Due

• 17 January: Registration Survey - email by Thursday at 5pm
• 18 January: Pledge - return this signed on Friday
• 18 January: Read GEB, p. 3-41.
• 25 January: Problem Set 1

Notes and Questions
What is Computer Science?

Why is Computer Science not a real science?

Why is Computer Science not really engineering?

Moore's Law: Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, observed in 1965 that transistor density approximately doubles every 18 months. In rough terms, this means that the amount of computing power you can get for a fixed price doubles every 18 months. (Its not a "law", its a prediction, but it seems to hold remarkably well.)

If it takes 60 seconds to compute a photomosaic for Problem Set 1 today on a typical PC, estimate how long it will take CS200 students in 2005 to compute the same photomosaic? How long will it take in 2008?

Which of the original seven liberal arts are part of Computer Science?

Are there any non-recursive natural languages? What would happen to a society that spoke one?

Links

• Some Funny Things Happened on the Way to the Moon, Richard H. Battin, 1989.
• One Giant Leap: The Apollo Guidance Computer, Dag Spicer, from Dr. Dobb's Journal. (Includes computer specs.)
• Moore's Law

  
  

  The MIT Instrumentation Lab had been designing software for the Apollo onboard guidance system even before the word software was invented. I still remember the first time I told my wife that I was in charge of "Apollo Software". She exhorted me: "Please don't tell any of our friends!"

  Some Funny Things Happend on the Way to the Moon, Richard H. Battin, 1989.

University of Virginia Department of Computer Science CS 200: Computer Science

David Evans evans@virginia.edu Using these Materials