We Gave It Our All

Despite giving it out all, the last class still found us in last place for points :( As much as I would have loved to win the friendly competition, I wouldn't have changed our group for anything! I had so much fun struggling through brain problems and working together. Even though we came in last, I was so proud of figuring out the other groups puzzle and still having time to finish some of the extra ones. Our group's creative way of taking a picture with the orator to solve the final piece of the puzzle made my day. I think it really showed how we find a way to accomplish our goals, even if not in the intended way! I'm not really sure what I expected from this seminar, but I'm so glad I signed up for it! It definitely made Monday's better and I learned a few things along the way. Put us all together and I think we may have just found our brain!

"If I Only Had A Brain" members, George Washington Carver and our special guest!

Personal Reflection #7

You guys get to listen to me talk about programming one last time...

I completed my scheduling program for my work, but there was one major problem. I based the entire thing off of jobs from last year because I did not know this years jobs at the time. Now that I do, my challenge has been to incorporate changes. However, one of my goals is to have New Student Programs (who I work for) be able to use my program after I'm gone. So, I've had to come up with a creative way to be able to have the program compile without having things that need to change from year.

I had already made use of inputting information into the program via reading in text from various .txt files, so I figured it was the best route. However, the question I had to ask myself was how can I have the program read in the information without knowing how much is written. The answer came to me when I was remembering what my computer science professor said about something called ArrayLists. They basically allow you to create a list of something without knowing the final size. Using this idea, I was able to implement a new design to my program, and now it can read in different jobs and people, and assign those people to fill the jobs, no matter how many people/jobs are changed. While I still have a few bugs to work out, I can look back and see that when I thought of my program in a more creative way, I was able to implement features that make it more valuable altogether.

Personal Reflection for 02/05/2014

Well guys we made it. Next week is finals week and then freedom starts! Reflecting back on these past several weeks in Honors 324A I've thought about ways that I might be able to use my creativity and problem solving skills this summer! Because I plan on staying home for at least part of the summer, I thought that maybe I could do something that I usually wouldn't do to mix things up a little bit. Instead of staying inside and playing video games or watching Netflix, maybe I'll go on a nature exploration at the local park. Anyways, try to do something creative with yourself this summer. I wish you guys the best of luck with the rest of the semester. Have safe trips home and enjoy the freedom!

Class Reflection for 02/05/2014

Well guys, it seems it's time to start my final class reflection *sheds a tear*. It was a great last class though! We had fun solving the Platypus's scavenger hunt even though we didn't solve it in the way that they had intended, but hey, that was a creative way to solve the problem without doing it the normal way! I've had a great time in this seminar and I'm gonna miss you guys! If I'm lucky, maybe I'll see you guys later. Until then, cheers and good luck on your finals!

Class Reflection #7

Instead of reflecting on this week's class, I'd like to focus more on the class as a whole and what I can take away from this seminar. Coming into this class, I had a very narrow mindset when it came to solving problems. I approached problems thinking that there would only be one way to get a solution, and typically this way involved some sort of mathematical equation or idea.

As I went through this class, I began to see that there are many ways of looking at and solving problems. I think a lot of what creativity is is a measure of how well you can look at things from different perspective. Looking back on this seminar, I can say that my creativity has increased greatly. I know I still have a lot of work to do, but I think I now have the tools and strategies I need to improve how I approach problems. I used to set myself up for failure when I approached a problem the wrong way, but now I will be more conscientious of changing my outlook so I can come up with a solution.

I now have all the Honors seminars done that I needed to complete. Although I enjoyed my other two as well, I have to say this has been the best of the 3!

A Review of Janine's Shepard's TED Talk " A Broken Body Isn''t a Broken Person"

“A Broken Body Isn’t a Broken Person” is a Ted talk title that immediately caught my attention. I am fascinated by the human body and intrigued by the idea of finding ways to fix what may be broken with it. Janine Shepard found out the hard way what it is like to live with a broken body but also what it was like to live with broken hopes and dreams. Her lifelong journey has taught her that it takes a creative mind and a new perspective to see past the bodies we live in and to the person who lies within.

                As an Olympic contender for the Australian cross-country skiing team, Janine was at her prime. However, a bicycle training trip with her teammates changed her life forever when she was hit by a utility truck.  A broken back, broken neck, cracked ribs, fractured arm, head torn open and right side of her body torn up and covered with gravel are just some of the injuries that left Janine in the hospital, fighting for her life. When she drifted back to consciousness after 10 days, the life she remembered was gone. 

                Among many other jobs, Janine now travels around the world as a motivational/influential speaker.  Her storytelling skills capture the audience, while her wit and humor help lighten what is truly a horrific experience. Although the first few minutes of her speech focus on her injuries, how her life changed and how she dealt with losing everything, this speech is far from being just a sad tale. Janine is out to inspire others to embrace the sort of creative mind that has helped her become the person she is today.  The turning point of the story comes when Janine explains “I was an athlete. That’s all I knew. That’s all I’d done. If I couldn’t do that, then what could I do? And the question I asked myself is, if I couldn’t do that, then who was I?” Not many people ever have to face the harsh reality of questions such as these ones, but Janine goes on to suggest that “maybe being at rock bottom is actually the perfect place to start.”

Overall, Janine Shepard does an excellent job appealing to others who may be facing disabilities as well as to those who only seek to understand them. One of her most insightful quotes from the entire lecture was “But now I was about to embark on the most creative project that any of us could ever do: that of rebuilding a life.” This is a new way of looking at the term creativity. For Janine, it wasn’t about just solving a problem, it was about creating a new life and finding a way to be happy again. Janine isn’t looking to convince anyone that they need to work on being creative, but rather showing others that they are creative in ways that they never thought. Janine went on to rebuild her life in an unexpected way that not only shocks, but inspires others who are in a similar situation. Just 18 months after waking up in the hospital, Janine earned her pilots license and advanced to being able to teach others how to fly. To sum up her ideas about creativity and what it has meant to her, Janine quotes the philosopher Lao Tzu, who said "When you let go of what you are, you become what you might be." In Janine’s own words, she explains that “I now know that my real strength never came from my body, and although my physical capabilities have changed dramatically, who I am is unchanged.”
 While Janine’s TED talk focuses on motivation and inspiration, her insight applies to what I hope to be doing in the future. As a physical therapist, I will be working with a person who is in a broken body. To be honest, before watching this talk, I would have said that I’d be working with a broken person, however after listening to Janine, I’ve found a new way to look people’s situations. In my work, it will take more than fixing the body to truly help a person. The creativity of rebuilding a life will have to become a part of my everyday work. I can’t expect to rebuild a body without also addressing the life of the person who lives in that body. When Janine said “I know that I'm not my body, and I also know that you're not yours,” I really had to think about that. Much of our lives focus around our bodies that it’s easy to forget that we can be defined by so much more. While Janine’s talk did not outline new innovations in the mobilization of the human body, she presents a point of view that I believe is essential for all people in the health care world to consider. 

This TED talk by Janine Shepard, once an Olympic team member, but now a pilot, inspirational speaker, mother of three and so much more, showed me a new perspective to the word creativity. Depending on the situation, creativity can be defined in numerous ways, but for the work I hope to do, I think Janine’s definition of creativity will be one of the most useful for me.  According to Janine’s advice, when you have a goal and set little goals to accomplish along the way, the mind’s creativity can’t be stopped. Whether it’s my creativity in helping others, or the creativity of someone I work with, we can work together to live our lives as Janine does,  “the ultimate creative expression of who we are.”

A Creative Way to Study

As the end of the year comes into view, most of my time is spent finishing up final projects and study. Although there isn't too much to be creative with, my study group and I did come up with some fun and unique ways to help us study for our Spanish exam. We were able to use movie quotes, dance moves and even hand signals to remember multiple choice answers. It may have looked ridiculous, but it helped me a lot because during the exam I remember the funny things I did while we talked about that specific topic.

Review of the book "Think like a Programmer" by V. Anton Spraul

Creativity and problem solving is a very general skill set and can be applied in a multitude of applications. In Think Like a Programmer, an Introduction to Creative Problem Solving, V. Anton Spraul, a programming instructor, looks at how to approach computer programming through a lens of creativity. Written for new programmers or those just wanting to take their coding to the next level, this book takes a comprehensive look at the thought process that goes into writing a successful program.

Spraul is quick to point out that the hardest part of learning a new programming language is not the syntax (the text that you actually type), but rather the algorithms that go into making a program that gives you the results you actually want. While the book is chalk full of examples of more specific problems that a computer programmer might be asked to solve, Spraul continuously comes back to five main principles that a programmer must constantly keep in mind: having a plan, restating the problem, dividing the problem into smaller pieces, looking for analogies, and not getting frustrated.

There are a large number of different steps that can be taken to solve a problem, some of which can be wrong ones. When solving a problem, if no plan is formulated “you are simply hoping for a lucky break.” The best way to develop a plan is to restate the problem. In this way, the parameters become clear, and precise, calculated steps can be taken to solve the problem. As Spraul points out, “planning allows you to set intermediate goals” which are smaller and easier to solve.

Sometimes the formulation of a plan is not so clear. In this scenario, it is best to look for analogies. Many problems have similarities. For example, Spraul works through the solution to the classic “Fox, Goose, and Corn” problem, where a farmer must transport these three items across a river. Later on in the book, Spraul introduces a new problem that he created, the “Quarrasi Lock.” In the introduction statement, Spraul uses obscure names and an odd situation to try and throw the reader off. However, the problem is an exact analogy of the “Fox, Goose, and Corn” problem and can be solved in the same way. Recognizing analogies can save a lot of time and frustration.  

One thing Spraul does well in getting his point across is the layout of the book. Even though the book is intended for those whole are familiar with a programming language, anyone can benefit from the first chapter. It is in the first chapter that Spraul first introduces his five reoccurring themes mentioned above. No actual code is used in the first chapter; rather, Spraul focuses on the basics of algorithms and looking at problems in a more creative way.

As the book progresses, more and more programming knowledge is needed to comprehend the material. While the chronological order of the book is done well, one criticism I have of Spraul’s book is that it does progress rather fast. I could see a beginning programmer struggling to keep up with the level of algorithms used in the later chapters, syntax aside. For a beginner, supplemental materials are most likely necessary to complement this book. That being said, one nice thing about the book as a whole is that it can easily be fact checked. All one needs to do to test Spraul’s code is to compile and run it on a computer. This can also make it easier to follow Spraul’s logic as he works through the different example problems. 

As a student minoring in Computer Science, this book is very relevant to me now in my academics. While I know the basics of programming quite well, I am always looking for ways to improve the code that I write. There are many different ways to write a single program, and some are superior to others. Spraul has given me a lot to think about while trying to develop these greater algorithms, not only for my classwork, but also for programs I write for fun.

There is a lot I can take away from this book for my future career as well. My hope is to someday own my own consulting, research, and development company specializing in alternative energy. I think we face two main challenges in energy today: source and distribution. Finding a better, cleaner source of energy is where my Chemical Engineering degree will come into play. However, it is just as important that we can put systems in place to efficiently distribute energy. Computers and software will be an integral part of these distribution systems, and so my knowledge of programming will be of great use to me in my career. Starting to think more creative about the code I write now will hopefully make me that much more advanced in the future.

While my review has focused mainly on the programming applications of Think Like a Programmer, an Introduction to Creative Problem Solving, I do not think it does the book justice to limit it to one topic. Just as creativity can be applied in many ways, a programming mindset can in turn be used to look creatively at a wide array of problems. Approaching a problem while “thinking like a programmer” means approaching the problem in a logical fashion. It means looking at the problem in smaller, more manageable pieces, or looking for known patterns. One could argue that every thought process we go through while solving any type of problem is like an algorithm. As such, problem solving and programming thought process are necessarily linked. The better put together and more creative these thought processes or “algorithms” are, the better the results.

Video Related to My Recent Blog Post About AI

Personal Reflection for 25/04/2014: Artificial Intelligence

For my personal reflection this week, I'd like to talk about some recent things that we've discussed in my philosophy class about intelligence. So first of all, it's pretty hard to define intelligence. Some people think that intelligence is defined by self-awareness, some by the ability to mimic other intelligent life in such a way that it is impossible to differentiate between the real and the artificial, and yet some more think that it is defined by the ability to compute or access vast stores of information. Many scientists are trying to develop artificial intelligences. Some people think that these AI's will never be able to act "human" and others think that giving these machines intelligence will eventually lead to a robot uprising. Many of the earlier attempts to create these artificial intelligences simply meant packing a computer with as much processing power as it could hold. A more creative and probably more feasible approach is to wire processors in computers like those in the human brain. In theory, if you could copy every neuron in a brain, turn it into a bit (1's or 0's), and wire it like the neurons in the brain were wired, it should function the same way that they human brain does. This leaves us with the question: Is artificial intelligence a possibility for the future?

Personal Reflection #6

I know I always blog about coding... but I am going to do it again.

For our last project in my computer science class, we are making a program that evaluates a given hand of playing cards and outputs the different combinations that would be worth something (i.e. pair, full house). Sounds simple, right? The challenge of this projects stems from something called inheritance, which means different aspects of the program reuse code of other parts. While computer scientists are interested in writing programs that work, simplicity and efficiency are also of interest. All of the different ways of evaluating the hand have some things in common. Our job is to be creative and write code that reuses itself as much as possible. I am still looking over and rewriting my code until I get it to be as efficient as possible.

Class Reflection #6

Not a whole lot to say for this week, besides that I am really excited to do another team's challenge next week. I think ours should be pretty good as well. We tried to use a variety of clues/riddles to set up our challenge. I am glad that we got class time to work on it, as I have a lot of homework and studying to do in preparation for finals.

Final Project Preparation

It was really nice to have a class period dedicated to planning our final project for the class. It's so much easier to all coordinate and work on things when we don't have to work around our other busy schedules. I'm very excited about the scavenger hunt we've designed. I think it will be a lot of fun because each clue is different so if one group member doesn't like one clue, they may like another. I don't think it will be too challenging, but some of the clues will definitely take some thinking. Next week's class should be fun and I can't wait to see what other groups came up with!

Class Reflection for 25/04/2014: Final Project Planning!

Well, we're getting down there. We've got two weeks of class and then finals week which means next week is our final project/scavenger hunt for this class! Our group got straight to work today and I think that our scavenger hunt is going to be pretty awesome! I came in with some ideas for places to go to during the hunt and my groupmates did some mixing up and fleshing out of these ideas. Together we created a scavenger that was better than anything we could have created separately. I can't wait to do someone else's scavenger hunt next week so until then, good luck and have a good week!

A New Way to Handle Stress

I'm having trouble thinking of something that sparked my creativity or helped me solve a problem this week. My week was a blur of back to back exams, which definitely didn't get my creative juices flowing. Now that I think about it, I did try something new this week though that I think could be a potential way to handle stress for me in the future. Friday afternoon I joined my mother-in-law in a kickboxing class. I was hesitant at first because the only other kickboxing class I've ever been to turned out to be more of a dance class, which isn't really my thing. However, the class we attended Friday evening was a blast. After a stressful week, punching the crap out of some poor boxing bag felt amazing. Every jab and hook made me feel better and I got a pretty good work out at the same time. I think I might look into another class like that during the school week as a way to take a break and unwind.

A Review of the TED Talk "Stephen Wolfram: Computing a theory of everything"

In this TED talk given by creator of Mathematica, Stephen Wolfram, he discusses how he has dedicated himself to improving our computational abilities and how important the implications that these computational advances have now and will have in the future. I fully believe that Wolfram is on to something and that his computational approach will have far greater implications than most people can imagine. In this review, I will discuss some of the main points that Wolfram makes about this computational approach, some possibilities that Wolfram mentions on uses of this computational technology, some other possibilities that he doesn’t consider, and how this relates to my future. Let us first look at a summary of Wolfram’s TED talk.

So Stephen Wolfram starts out his TED talk by saying that the idea of computation may eventually “be seen as the single biggest idea that has emerged in the past century.” His belief is that someday we will be able to pull different pieces of information from the computational universe that we can use in our physical universe. Through this talk, Wolfram shows the vast potential that the computational universe has to offer us. The ideas that he presents are amazing and seem to be paving the way for things like AI.

Wolfram notes that he originally got this idea from trying to find a way to sort of automate things that he would want to know as a physicist. This eventually brought him to the creation of Mathematica, a computing software that is used by both industry and academia alike. By running programs with simple rules on this software, he found that there could be very complex results. He shows this by demonstrating one such rule with complex results that he states makes a good randomness generator. By doing this he found that even simple systems can do complex computations. 

On a slight, but important tangent, Wolfram discussed his childhood idea of systematic knowledge which he made a reality with WolframAlpha. This website runs off of the computational abilities of the Mathematica software that he created and because of this doesn’t simply look up and show already written knowledge, but instead computes it in real time which makes it easy to find the answers to novel questions. A unique feature of WolframAlpha that Wolfram mentions is that it responds to queries made in everyday language. It is able to use precise programming to respond to “imprecise” everyday language, making it easy for the layperson to use. It does this by interpreting what someone is asking and then finding the appropriate line of code to use to compute an appropriate response. This is truly a marvelous technology.

On a more serious note, back from the tangent, Wolfram talks about how musicians can pull forms of music such as jazz or pop from this computational universe, which in the future could lead to “mass customized creativity” through the use of this programming. He, as a physicist, also sees that there could be an application in discovering the notoriously elusive, theory of everything. Once again building on the idea that simple systems can do complex computations he’s found that we don’t have to go far in the computational universe to find models of physical  universes that “are not obviously not our own meaning that the theory of everything could be a simple system. Leaving us with these wonderful ideas, Wolfram closes by letting us know that he believes that “computation is destined to be the defining idea of our future.” 

I believe that the applicability of the ideas described are a fair way to evaluate this talk. I believe by evaluating this talk on the applicability of the ideas to the future we can see that this talk was indeed very effective in achieving it’s purpose. Wolfram discussed many ideas that prove the use of this computational universe and the accompanying software useful in the future.

The possibilities that Wolfram discussed were interesting to me because of the future implications of the power of computation. Along the lines of the music forms and mass produced creativity, we can imagine a world where instead of Pandora playing prerecorded songs based on a playlist that someone puts together, advances in computation could create entirely novel music based on the someone’s playlist. Along the lines of another thing that Wolfram mentions is the possibility of finding our universe in the computational universe. Through creating computational models of possible universes, Wolfram showed that we don’t have to get extremely complex to find universe that have properties like our own with features as complex as  quantum mechanics. If we were to find our own universe, it would probably bring about huge changes in the way we see the universe and the way we interact with it. If we had this very precise understanding of how our universe worked, it would be much easier to develop advanced technologies based on this knowledge. 

Some things that Wolfram doesn’t mention though is how such computations might affect how we look for information in everyday life. I know that since this TED talk was given, WolframAlpha, the computational knowledge engine that Wolfram created, has been integrated into Apple’s Siri. This makes finding answers to questions as simple as asking your phone!

A future extension of this computation technology could have great implications in the medical field as well. WolframAlpha is already able to show medical information such as BMI, cholesterol levels, etc. as it compares to people of similar race, age, sex, height, weight, etc. Imagine a future where this medical information can be compiled to create systems that are able to diagnose illness and recommend treatments. 

These are just some of the far reaching applications that this computational universe that Wolfram has imagined can have. I’m very interested to see how Wolfram’s work progresses and I believe that Wolfram’s research and development of these computational technologies represent possible opportunities for mankind to leap forward technologically as well as satisfy our insatiable curiosities. 

This applies to my future because mathematics isn’t just a bunch of abstract concepts anymore and there’s a lot of work being done in applied mathematics. What really applies to my future is the use of this mathematical and computational software is very commonly used in mathematics. Right now I’m not sure if I want to go into applied mathematics, but it is a possibility that I’m considering. Also great deal of the knowledge about the physical world that we’ve discovered in recent years has been done using a lot of math, especially in fields like chemistry, physics, biology, etc. I’ve always been interested in math and science, so this is very interesting to me, and Wolfram’s computation idea is using this mathematics and modeling to better explain the universe that we live in and create novel information that is interesting, useful, and accurate. This is what I’m truly interested in, discovering and sharing new information that allows us to do things that we’ve never dreamed of.

Wolfram explains his computational technology well and poses creative and novel ideas for it’s use. I mean, he created a whole new software to get what what he wanted. I’d say that this is pretty darn creative. To me, this idea that Wolfram suggests of being able to ask questions in laymen’s terms and then receive an accurate and informative response is a fantastic idea that has a lot of potential and is very useful. The other idea that he has about the computational universe is vastly more cool and important because it allows us to model things and our world to discover as well as create new information and new knowledge. Overall from writing this review and watching the TED talk, I feel that I’ve gained a better appreciation for math and it’s usefulness as well as learning more about its applications.