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Although we make decisions every day, many people base their decisions on initial reactions or ""gut"" feelings. There are, however, powerful frameworks for making decisions more effectively based on computationally analyzing the choices available and their possible outcomes. In this course we give an introduction to some of these frameworks, including utility theory, decision analysis, and game theory. We also discuss why people sometimes make seemingly reasonable, yet irrational, decisions. We begin the class by presenting some of the basics of probability theory, which serves as the main mathematical foundation for the decision making frameworks we will subsequently present. Although we provide a mathematical/computational basis for the decision making frameworks we examine, we also seek to give intuitive (and sometimes counterintuitive) explanations for actual decision making behavior through in-class demonstrations. No prior experience with probability theory is needed (we'll cover what you need to know in class), but students should be comfortable with mathematical manipulation at the level of Math 20 or Math 41.

Computing in the real-world is too often viewed as working away concocting some computer incantations hidden inside some high technology company. However, computing and computer communication has infiltrated and in many cases revolutionized several ¿systems¿ in the real world, including financial systems, inventory management, advertising systems, supply chain management, transportation systems, defense systems and so on. Moreover, the discipline of thinking that has developed to build these systems, computational thinking, has powerful applicability to real-world problems and situations outside of computer programming. This course provides an introduction and exposure to some of these dramatic trends, opportunities and risks. Also included is an introduction to some basic ideas in ¿computational thinking¿. The course will include guest speakers. No programming competence is assumed but exposure to programming would be useful. Interest in the real world and interest is not being run-over by this trend is essential.

Preference to freshmen with experience in photography and use of computers. Elements of photography, such as lighting, focus, depth of field, aperture, and composition. How a photographer makes photos available for computer viewing, reliably stores them, organizes them, tags them, searches them, and distributes them online. No programming experience required. Digital SLRs and editing software will be provided to those students who do not wish to use their own.

A sea change has occurred in science, technology, medicine, politics, and society as a whole: many of the world's biggest discoveries and decisions are now being made on the basis of analyzing massive data sets, referred to as "big data". Everyday examples include social-network friend recommendations, and weather predictions far more accurate than a decade ago; both use vast collections of data to model the past and predict the future. But it is surprisingly easy to come to false conclusions from data analysis alone. For example, we might conclude that acne medicine prevents heart attacks and strokes, if we forget to factor in the age of the patients. Privacy is a major concern: Target stores analyzed buying patterns to predict with remarkable accuracy which of their shoppers had just become pregnant, but trouble arose when they sent baby ads to the homes of pregnant teens whose parents weren't yet in the know. We will start by surveying the history of data-driven activities, leading up to the recent Big Data explosion. A variety of data analysis techniques will be covered, leading students to appreciate that even simple techniques can go a long way when the data set is large enough. Common stumbling blocks leading to false conclusions will be discussed, and students will be asked to debate the many issues surrounding privacy. In one project, students will see whose analysis techniques can best predict user movie ratings based on past rating behavior. A second project will be individually designed in an area of the student's choosing. The seminar will include a mix of assigned readings, small-scale investigations and assignments, classroom discussions, and two projects. No computer programming or special math skills are required; students will learn the basic techniques and tools they need to complete the data analysis assignments and projects.

Stanford Introductory Seminar. Preference to freshmen. Covers the intellectual tradition of computer science emphasizing ideas that reflect the most important milestones in the history of the discipline. No prior experience with programming is assumed. Topics include programming and problem solving; implementing computation in hardware; algorithmic efficiency; the theoretical limits of computation; cryptography and security; and the philosophy behind artificial intelligence.

This course is a Freshman Introductory Seminar that has as its purpose introducing students to the sociolinguistic study of bilingualism by focusing on bilingual communities in this country and on bilingual individuals who use two languages in their everyday lives. Much attention is given to the history, significance, and consequences of language contact in the United States. The course focuses on the experiences of long-term US minority populations as well as that of recent immigrants.

This course explores history via cultural responses in modern India. We will examine a range of fiction, film and drama to consider the ways in which India emerges through its cultural productions. The course will consider key historical events such as the partition of the subcontinent, independence from British rule, Green Revolution, Emergency, liberalization of the Indian economy, among others. We will reflect on epochal historical moments by means of artisticnresponses to these events. For example, Ritwik Ghatak's experimental cinema intervenes into debates around the Bengal partition; Rohinton Mistry's novel, A Fine Balance grapples with the suspension of civil liberties during the emergency between 1975-77; Rahul Varma's play Bhopal reflects on the Bhopal gas tragedy, considered the world's worst industrial disaster. Students willnread, view and reflect on the aesthetic and historical texts through their thoughtful engagement in class discussions and written e ssays. They will also have opportunities to imaginatively respond to these texts via short creative projects, which could range from poems, monologues, solo pieces, web installations, etc. Readings will also include Mahashweta Devi, Amitav Ghosh, Girish Karnad, Jhumpa Lahiri, Manjula Padmanabhan, Salman Rushdie, Aparna Sen, among others.

Preference to sophomores. Historical overview of race in America, race and violence, race and socioeconomic well-being, and the future of race relations in America. Enrollment limited to 16.

We may "know" "who" we "are," but we are, after all, social creatures. How does our sense of self interact with those around us? How does literature provide a particular medium for not only self expression, but also for meditations on what goes into the construction of "the Self"? After all, don't we tell stories in response to the question, "who are you"? Besides a list of nouns and names and attributes, we give our lives flesh and blood in telling how we process the world. Our course focuses in particular on this question--Does this universal issue ("who am I") become skewed differently when we add a qualifier before it, like "ethnic"?