Classes

    What is Life? From Quarks to Consciousness (Gen Ed 1029)

    Semester: 

    N/A

    Are we — wonderful, human us — really nothing more than complex constellations of interacting atoms?


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    Logan S. McCarty and Andrew Berry

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    This course views life through multiple lenses. Quantum physics involves uncertainty and randomness, and yet paradoxically it explains the stability of molecules, such as DNA, that encode information and are critical to life. Thermodynamics is about the universe's ever increasing disorder, and yet living systems remain ordered and intact.... Read more about What is Life? From Quarks to Consciousness (Gen Ed 1029)

    Artificial and Natural Intelligence (Gen Ed 1125)

    Semester: 

    Spring

    Offered: 

    2024

    What does it mean for a machine to be intelligent, how does current artificial intelligence compare with animal intelligence, and should we be worried?

     

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    Venkatesh Murthy

    What is intelligence? An inquiry into the nature of intelligence can take different forms – philosophical, biological, mathematical or technological. In this course, we will use machine intelligence (everything from voice recognizing smartphones to game-playing computers) as a handle to think about natural intelligence (brains and behavior of animals). Although we will start with big, general questions, we will quickly move to concrete queries about brains and computers.... Read more about Artificial and Natural Intelligence (Gen Ed 1125)

    Sound and Music Perception (Gen Ed 1106)

    Semester: 

    Spring

    Offered: 

    2024

     

    Our whole life experience must pass through our sensory systems; are we getting the truth or are we being deliberately misled, and if so, to what purpose?

     

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    Eric Heller

    Humans perceive sound in amazing and sometimes mysterious ways. This is exploited in many audio experiences and technologies. Using readily available laptops, audio devices, sound sources, and software, students will explore their own and classmates' sound and music perception, including accessible and original collaborative research projects.... Read more about Sound and Music Perception (Gen Ed 1106)

    Confronting COVID-19: Science, History, Policy (Gen Ed 1170)

    Semester: 

    Fall

    Offered: 

    2020


    How do pandemics end?

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    Allan M. Brandt and Ingrid Katz

    We are living in a world radically reshaped by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This course will investigate the wide range of questions raised by the pandemic, its impact and significance. We will also examine how diseases raise fundamental issues for science, policy, and society.... Read more about Confronting COVID-19: Science, History, Policy (Gen Ed 1170)

    Numbers in Policy and Society (Gen Ed 1173)

    Semester: 

    Spring

    Offered: 

    2022

    How can we critically assess the data, models, and numbers used in making policy and hold to account those with the power to produce them?

     

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    Sheila Jasanoff and Sam Weiss Evans

    The ability to critically assess numbers, data and models and hold to account those with the power to generate them is a vital capability for every 21st century citizen. This course will give you an increased understanding of why some important ethical and political perspectives fail to enter into the design of the scientific and technical systems that permeate our societies.... Read more about Numbers in Policy and Society (Gen Ed 1173)

    Vaccines: History, Science, Policy (Gen Ed 1175)

    Semester: 

    Fall

    Offered: 

    2022

    Can vaccines solve the problem of infectious global pandemics?

     

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    Galit Alter, Allan M. Brandt, and Ingrid Katz

    Vaccination is among the oldest and most effective of medical interventions, yet paradoxically, it is also one of the most controversial. In its modern form, it has been used for centuries to prevent some of the most virulent infectious scourges of our time. Today, immunization is one of the most successful and effective interventions available to medicine and public health, reducing morbidity and mortality across the world.... Read more about Vaccines: History, Science, Policy (Gen Ed 1175)

    AI, Computing and Thinking (Gen Ed 1187)

    Semester: 

    N/A

    How can AI and Computing be integrated in our thinking for solving societal and scientific challenges?

     

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    Petros Koumoutsakos

    We define ourselves as Homo Sapiens –wise humans- distinguished by our problem solving capabilities, and our constant development of new technologies. One of our technologies, computers, possesses a dizzying capability of acquiring, transmitting and processing massive amounts of data. Harnessing this resource requires a new form of inquiry: Computing.... Read more about AI, Computing and Thinking (Gen Ed 1187)

    Understanding Darwinism (Gen Ed 1004)

    Semester: 

    Fall

    Offered: 

    2021

    How has our understanding of evolution evolved since Darwin?

     

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    Andrew Berry

    How does scientific knowledge develop, how is it shaped by history, and what effect does it have on society? An interdisciplinary exploration of Darwin's ideas and their impact on science and society, this course links the history of Darwin's ideas with the key features of modern evolutionary biology. We review the development of the main elements of the theory of evolution, highlighting the areas in which Darwin's ideas have proved remarkably robust and areas in which subsequent developments have significantly modified the theory.... Read more about Understanding Darwinism (Gen Ed 1004)

    How to Build a Habitable Planet (Gen Ed 1018)

    Semester: 

    Fall

    Offered: 

    2024

    The relationship between human beings and Earth is the central problem of our time; can an understanding of Earth’s history reveal a place for us in a process of planetary evolution that might influence our behavior?

     

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    Charles H. Langmuir

    Poster for Gen Ed 1018 - How to Build a Habitable Planet. Includes images of earth as well as a construction worker. Text describes course.

    Is Earth one of many planets in an inhabited Universe, or is it the result of a low-probability accident? And what does the answer to that question tell us about humans’ relationship to our planet? The aim of this course is to place human beings in a universal and planetary context as we investigate the steps of planetary evolution and their significance to our current relationship to Earth.... Read more about How to Build a Habitable Planet (Gen Ed 1018)

    Finding Our Way (Gen Ed 1031)

    Semester: 

    Fall

    Offered: 

    2024


    How did/do humans find their way across the planet, and how can we replicate their wayfinding?
     

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    John Huth

    Imagine a situation where modern technology vanishes. How would you find your way around? We can look back in time at Pacific Islanders or the Norse and see how they engaged in wayfinding, using the Sun and stars as guides. In this course, we’ll explore time-honored techniques of navigation, and examine how they functioned.... Read more about Finding Our Way (Gen Ed 1031)

    Human Nature (Gen Ed 1056)

    Semester: 

    Fall

    Offered: 

    2024

    What makes us human and why does it matter?

     

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    Joseph Henrich

    What makes us psychologically and behaviorally human? Why is this important? In what ways are humans similar to other species, and how are we different? What are the evolutionary origins of the behavioral and psychological features found across human societies, including parental love, sibling rivalry, pair-bonding, incest aversion, social status, war, norms, altruism, religion, language and cooking?... Read more about Human Nature (Gen Ed 1056)

    How Music Works: Engineering the Acoustical World (Gen Ed 1080)

    Semester: 

    Fall

    Offered: 

    2024

    Music and technology are two dimensions of humanity that have been interdependent for tens of thousands of years; what can this intersection teach us about our past and our future?

     

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    Robert Wood

    How does Shazam know what song is playing? Why do some rooms have better acoustics than others? How and why do singers harmonize? Do high-end musical instruments sound better than cheap ones? How do electronic synthesizers work? What processes are common in designing a device and composing a piece of music? How is music stored and manipulated in a digital form? This class explores these and related themes in an accessible way for all concentrators, regardless of technical background.... Read more about How Music Works: Engineering the Acoustical World (Gen Ed 1080)

    Confronting Climate Change: A Foundation in Science, Technology and Policy (Gen Ed 1094)

    Semester: 

    Fall

    Offered: 

    2024

    How can we address the issue of climate change, reducing the damages by preparing for impacts already underway and fixing the problem by transforming our energy system?

     

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    Daniel Schrag

    This course will consider the challenge of climate change and what to do about it.   Students will be introduced to the basic science of climate change, including the radiation budget of the Earth, the carbon cycle, and the physics and chemistry of the oceans and atmosphere.... Read more about Confronting Climate Change: A Foundation in Science, Technology and Policy (Gen Ed 1094)

    Natural Disasters (Gen Ed 1098)

    Semester: 

    Fall

    Offered: 

    2024

    What makes our planet so dangerous?

     

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    Brendan Meade

    Poster for Gen Ed 1098 - Natural Disasters. Image is a satellite photograph of a hurricane. Text includes course time (Tuesday & Thursday, 10:30-1145am) and location (Haller Hall, Geology Museum).

    From Mexico to India, San Francisco to Tokyo, natural disasters have shaped both the surface of our planet and the development of civilizations. These catastrophes claim thousands of lives and cause tens of billions of dollars in damage each year, and the impact of natural disasters is only increasing as a result of human population growth and urbanization. This course uses the methods and skills associated with earth science to help you to develop an understanding of both the causes and impacts of these events.... Read more about Natural Disasters (Gen Ed 1098)

    Climate Crossroads (Gen Ed 1167)

    Semester: 

    Fall

    Offered: 

    2024

    Irreversible climate change poses an unprecedented challenge to the stability of all societies:  what are the scientifically viable pathways to a future that is sustainable and just?

     

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    James G. Anderson and James Engell

    What one thing is changing everything in your lifetime—and for generations to come? It’s changing what you eat; it’s changing buildings you live in; and it’s changing politics, the arts, and finance. The change is accelerating. This course reveals fundamental alterations that climate disruption is bringing to multiple human activities and natural phenomena.... Read more about Climate Crossroads (Gen Ed 1167)

    Psychotherapy and the Modern Self (Gen Ed 1179)

    Semester: 

    Fall

    Offered: 

    2024

    How can we understand the appeal of psychotherapy, widely recognized as the preferred antidote to human unhappiness and misery, and what does it offer that friends, family, self-help, and psychopharmacological remedies do not?

     

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    Elizabeth Lunbeck

    What does psychotherapy offer our distressed selves that friends, family, self-help, and psychopharmacological remedies do not? The demand for therapy is currently at an all-time high, bolstering its century-long hegemony as the preferred antidote to human unhappiness and misery, even as it is under sustained attack from critics characterizing it as self-indulgent as well as from platforms that would replace human therapists with chatbots, analysts with algorithms.... Read more about Psychotherapy and the Modern Self (Gen Ed 1179)

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