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Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent place in this world for ugly mathematics.
Godfrey Harold Hardy
Mapping our world into 'laws of nature', detecting patterns and discovering the 'logic' behind our experience is is the core of science. The computer is for us what the microscope or the telescope had been to the researchers at the dawn of modernity: an enhancement of our mind and senses to understand and simulate these laws. With algorithms and code we can not only build models of the world but play with imaginary alternatives by changing the rules.
We will explore how basic laws of nature can be expressed in code, how complexity unfolds out of very simple algorithms, and how to play with computational models of biology and of our mind.
This is a production-based course that involves programming work both inside and outside of the classroom. During class, code examples will be presented, written, and reviewed. Examples will iteratively build off lessons learned in preceding classes and students will be encouraged to write code, ask questions, and engage in both creative and technical discussion.
Archimedes will be remembered when Aeschylus is forgotten, because languages die and mathematical ideas do not.
Godfrey Harold Hardy
The lectures will be recorded and made available to students asynchronously. Student presentations and student lead lectures can also be submitted as recordings. For discussions and questions, we will use Zoom as well as the forum function in Classes so that everybody can participate independently from their connectivity and time zone.
- Shiffmann, Daniel. The Nature of Code, 2019. https://natureofcode.com/book/.
- Flake, Gary William. The Computational Beauty of Nature: Computer Explorations of Fractals, Chaos, Complex Systems, and Adaptation. Reprint edition. Cambridge, Mass.: A Bradford Book, 2000.
Week 1 - Introduction
- Generative art and a few words on interactive web pages
Week 2 - Forces and Laws of Motion
- Basics of movement (physical and on the screen)
Week 3 - Oscillation
- Waves and cycles
Week 4 and 5 - Particle Systems and Autonomous Agents
- Emergent behavior
- Targeted movements
Week 6 and 7 - Fractals
- Complex numbers
- Generative complexity in patterns
Fall break
Week 8 and 9 - Cellular Automata
- Generative complexity in dynamics
- Simulation
Week 10 and 11 Machine Learning and Neural Networks
- Genetic algorithms
- Pattern recognition
Week 12 to 14 - Final Project
Weekly scheduled assignments and talks
NYU Abu Dhabi Decoding Nature by Joerg Blumtritt @jbenno - Other classes I teach: github.com/jbenno