NEPTUN Biography

Ever wanted to calculate the value of $$\pi$$ by throwing things on the ground? In this class, we can do that in two different ways! The Monte Carlo method uses probability to easily do otherwise complex calculations. It was invented during the Manhattan project and today has applications in everything from physics to finance.

Ever wanted to calculate the value of $$\pi$$ by throwing things on the ground? In this class, we can do that in two different ways! The Monte Carlo method uses probability to easily do otherwise complex calculations. It was invented during the Manhattan project and today has applications in everything from physics to finance.

Think you can name a bigger number than your friends? We'll discuss some strategies that are a bit more sophisticated than "what you said plus one."

When talking to Siri, it's nearly impossible to wrap your head around the fact that she's just made out of silicon and electricity. Somehow, people have figured out how to turn dumb, lifeless matter into an intelligent personal assistant. This class will start to unravel the mysteries of how computers work at the most fundamental level using dominoes. We will start with binary gates and addition and keep pushing into how this becomes the computer you can interact with.

This class may seem to go on forever, but you won´t be bored. Instead, you´ll be exploring the most extreme parts of the number line. This class will cover why infinity is so hard for humans to reason about and how we have tried to overcome this barrier with different approaches to describing it. There are no prerequisites but you will leave with a basic knowledge of infinity and set theory, as well as some paradoxes we will use to try and understand the nature of the infinite.

Are you a genius? Would you like to be? In this class, we will examine what "genius" means and how to be one through the lens of arguably the most undisputed genius in history, Albert Einstein. This will include an examination of cultural and social factors as well as moving through Einstein's work during his "Miracle Year" of 1905.

This course will provide a quick, conceptual (non-mathematical) introduction to quantum mechanics. Topics to be covered include wave-particle duality, the uncertainty principle, and Schrodinger's cat.