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Class 41 (Wednesday, 9 May 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Sit where you’d like
  • Today is my last day in CSC 151 this semester. (My son and the HS band are playing at the Iowa Bandmasters’ Association meeting on Friday.)
    • You are still expected to show up for class on Friday. Our mentors will take attendance.
    • Friday: Fill out evaluation forms (required). Go over problems from the final (optional).
  • We have review sessions for the final on Wednesday of finals’ week.
    Details forthcoming.
  • Some people received necessary extensions on the exam. Please do not discuss the exam with anyone until you get them back.
  • I do intend to get all grades to you by Tuesday of finals’ week.
  • Thanks for the recommendations for next semester’s students. They range from two words (“Start early”) to extended paragraphs.
  • Reminder: Sunday is Mother’s day.
  • Thank you S*y.

Upcoming work

  • Cover sheets due NOW.
  • Epilogues due TONIGHT.
  • Final: Thursday or Friday afternoon of Finals Week (2pm-5pm) in this room.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • CSC 322 project presentations, Friday, 2-4 p.m. in 3821.
  • Quantifying the effects of skill-based immigration - a two-country approach. TODAY at 4:15 in JRC 209.
  • The Data Science Pipeline in Action: From Lung Cancer to Customer Churn. Friday at 4:15 in JRC 209.
  • Networks and Foreign Policy Analysis: Relations, position and structure within the Clinton State Department. Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. in JRC 226.

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Listen to KDIC Thursday at 7pm - Classic Rock. (60’s and 70’s)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

  • Sing happy birthday in class on Friday.

About quiz 13

  • Problem 2 was confusing. I didn’t take off if you got it wrong or left it blank.
  • People who did well on problem 2 got bonus points.

What are the parameters to the sorting routines?

  • It varies. We’ve seen multiple implementations.
  • Option 1: The list and a comparator. (sort numbers <)
  • Option 2: The list, a get-key operation, and a comparator (sort students car string-ci>=?)
  • For “sort in decreasing order”, I wanted either
    • (insertion-sort contacts car string-ci>=?)
    • (sort contacts (lambda (a b) (string-ci>=? (car a) (car b))))
    • (sort contacts (comparator string-ci>=? car))
  • For sort by last name and first, I wanted either
    • (insertion-sort contacts (lambda (contact) (string-append (car contact) " " (cadr contact))) string-ci<=?)

Class 40 (Monday, 7 May 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Sit where you’d like
  • Grades distributed last night. Email me if you have questions/comments.
  • Food!

Upcoming work

  • Exam 4
    • Exams due TOMORROW at 10:30 p.m..
    • Cover sheets due Wednesday.
    • Epilogues due Wednesday.
  • Final: Thursday or Friday afternoon of Finals Week (2pm-5pm)
    • Sam should have tentative grades by Tuesday of finals’ week

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Presentation on quantifying effects of skill-based immigration. Wednesday at 4:15 in JRC 209.
  • Stay tuned for info on a Friday presentation.

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Listen to KDIC Thursday at 7pm - Classic Rock. (60’s and 70’s)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

Potentially less-good things

Class 39 (Friday, 4 May 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Sit with project teams.
  • I will provide food for presentations on Monday. What would you like?
    • OJ
    • Fruit
    • Cheese and crackers
    • Graham crackers
    • Donut holes

Upcoming work

  • Materials for presentations due Sunday at 7pm.
    • We’ll talk about the materials.
    • I do need time to put things together.
  • Exam 4
    • Prologue due TONIGHT. Please don’t forget.
    • Exams due Tuesday at 10:30 p.m..
    • Cover sheets due Wednesday.
    • Epilogues due Wednesday.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • CLS Public Engagement in Science Symposium TODAY
    • Up Goer Five Challenge Poster Display May 4, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Bucksbaum Rotunda
    • Poster Reception May 4, 3 p.m., Bucksbaum Rotunda
    • “Our Journeys: From (Star Wars) Grinnell to Minute Physics & Minute Earth” Alex ’11 and Henry ’09 Reich May 4, 4 p.m., Faulconer Gallery

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Grinnellian this Saturday, May 5 on Commencement Stage. “No” plays around 5pm. Jay Beard plays at 3pmish.

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Listen to KDIC Thursday at 7pm - Classic Rock. (60’s and 70’s)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

  • Waltz (at Country Club so that you can feel sufficiently upper-crust) Shuttles from JRC.
  • Vocal recitals Friday.
  • (Lots of other music stuff, too.)

Potentially less-good things

  • RHPS
  • Alice
  • Pre-Waltz parties (?)

Friday PSA

  • Moderation
  • The bubble is contracting
  • Consent is essential

Quiz 12

  • I saw the most issues with the binary search problem.
  • lower: 0, upper: 28, middle: 14, value: “Leo”, observation “Titus comes after Leo”
  • lower: 15, upper: 28, middle: 21, value: Sam”, observation: “Titus appears after Sam”
    • We know Titus is not at 14, so why include it?
  • lower: 22, upper: 28, middle: 25, value: “Violet”, observation: “Titus should appear before Violet”
  • lower: 22, upper: 24, middle: 23, value: “Tess”, observation: “Titus should appear after Tess
  • lower: 24, upper: 24, middle: 24, value: “Urkle”, observation: “Titus should appear before Urkle”
  • lower: 24, upper: 23, WHOOPS! That describes an empty range.

Notes

  • Issue one: Once you see that the value you are looking at is not in the middle, you should not include that index in the recursive call.
  • Issue two: There are two reasons to stop:
    • You find the value you’re looking for.
    • The range becomes empty (lower exceeds upper)
  • There was some correlation between forgetting to exclude the middle element and beign unsure as to when to stop.

Class 38 (Wednesday, 2 May 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners.
  • We are now done with readings for the semester.
  • Friday will be time to prepare your presentations.
  • I’m not sure what happened with the writeup 37 page. It should be fixed. No penalty for that writeup being late.

Upcoming work

  • Lab writeup for class 38: Exercise tbd. Our last lab writeup!
  • Flash Cards due TONIGHT at 9pm.
    • Optional.
    • Grade is percent of eight flashcard assignments you complete (capped at 100%).
  • Exam 4 distributed.
    • Prologue due Friday night. Please don’t forget.
    • Exams due Tuesday.
  • Quiz Friday
    • Sorting (e.g., what the parameters mean)
    • Insertion sort
    • Perhaps a bit about selection sort

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • PBK Scholars’ Convocation Thursday
  • CLS Public Engagement in Science Symposium
    • “Engaging the Public in Science: Evolution in Action in the Classroom”. Dr. Louise Mead, Education Director of BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action May 3, 4 p.m., JRC 101
    • “Using Human Examples to Teach Evolution: Recent Research in U. S. High School Classrooms” Dr. Briana Pobiner, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History May 3, 7:30 p.m., JRC 101
    • Up Goer Five Challenge Poster Display May 4, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Bucksbaum Rotunda
    • Poster Reception May 4, 3 p.m., Bucksbaum Rotunda
    • “Our Journeys: From (Star Wars) Grinnell to Minute Physics & Minute Earth” Alex ’11 and Henry ’09 Reich May 4, 4 p.m., Faulconer Gallery

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Grinnellian this Saturday, May 5 on Commencement Stage. No plays around 5pm.
  • Latin-American Ensemble, Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
  • Panel discussion TONIGHT at 7:30 p.m. Alt-Break trip to North Dakota. Discuss Native American issues. JRC 101.

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Listen to KDIC Thursday at 7pm - Classic Rock. (60’s and 70’s)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

  • Vocal recitals Friday.
  • (Lots of other music stuff, too.)

About the exam

Class 37 (Monday, 30 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • CS Table Tuesday (topic tbd)
  • PBK Scholars’ Convocation Thursday
    • Warning! PBK Convos generally involve twenty minutes of induction ceremonies.
  • CLS Public Engagement in Science Symposium
    • “Engaging the Public in Science: Evolution in Action in the Classroom”. Dr. Louise Mead, Education Director of BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action May 3, 4 p.m., JRC 101
    • “Using Human Examples to Teach Evolution: Recent Research in U. S. High School Classrooms” Dr. Briana Pobiner, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History May 3, 7:30 p.m., JRC 101
    • Up Goer Five Challenge Poster Display May 4, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Bucksbaum Rotunda
    • Poster Reception May 4, 3 p.m., Bucksbaum Rotunda
    • “Our Journeys: From (Star Wars) Grinnell to Minute Physics & Minute Earth” Alex ’11 and Henry ’09 Reich May 4, 4 p.m., Faulconer Gallery

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Grinnellian this Saturday, May 5 on Commencement Stage. No plays around 5pm.
  • Latin-American Ensemble, Thursday at some time.

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Listen to KDIC Thursday at 7pm - Classic Rock. (60’s and 70’s)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

  • Vocal recitals Friday.
  • (Lots of other music stuff, too.)

Class 36 (Friday, 27 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Sit with project teams.
  • My time seems to be magically evaporating. I did not find time to review proposals carefully. That means I will be sympathetic in grading proposals and projects.

Upcoming work

  • No lab writeup!
  • Flash Cards due Wednesday at 9pm.
    • Optional.
    • Grade is percent of eight flashcard assignments you complete (capped at 100%).
  • Reading for Monday: Sorting

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • CS Table Tuesday
  • PBK Scholars’ Convocation Thursday
    • Warning! PBK Convos generally involve twenty minutes of induction ceremonies.
  • CLS Public Engagement in Science Symposium
    • “Engaging the Public in Science: Evolution in Action in the Classroom”. Dr. Louise Mead, Education Director of BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action May 3, 4 p.m., JRC 101
    • “Using Human Examples to Teach Evolution: Recent Research in U. S. High School Classrooms” Dr. Briana Pobiner, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History May 3, 7:30 p.m., JRC 101
    • Up Goer Five Challenge Poster Display May 4, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Bucksbaum Rotunda
    • Poster Reception May 4, 3 p.m., Bucksbaum Rotunda
    • “Our Journeys: From (Star Wars) Grinnell to Minute Physics & Minute Earth” Alex ’11 and Henry ’09 Reich May 4, 4 p.m., Faulconer Gallery

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Dance Ensemble Friday 7:30pm, Saturday 7:30pm, Sunday 2pm. Roberts. Tickets still left.
  • Friday, 8pm, Main: Contra Dance
  • Titular Head

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Listen to KDIC Thursday at 7pm - Classic Rock. (60’s and 70’s)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Any Sexual Assault Awareness Month event.

Other good things

  • I’m not sure that I can call “Relays” a good thing

Friday PSA

  • If you must relay, do so in moderation.
  • Don’t celebrate the one-week anniversary of 4/20.
  • Don’t spend the whole weekend working on your CSC 151 project.
    (Remember, we’re trying to keep those reasonable.)
  • Do enjoy the sunshine.
  • Do practice self care.
  • Consent is essential.

Class 35 (Wednesday, 25 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • I should get responses to project proposals done by Friday.
  • Upcoming schedule
    • Friday: Project time (plus quiz)
    • Monday and Wednesday: More sorting (labs)
    • Friday May 4: TBD
    • Monday May 7: Project presentations (5 min each)
    • Tuesday May 8: Exam 4 due
    • Wednesday: May 9: Debrief on class
    • Friday, May 11: Wrapup (required) + Review for final (optional)

Upcoming work

  • No lab writeup.
  • Flash Cards due TONIGHT at 9pm.
    • Optional.
    • Grade is percent of eight flashcard assignments you complete (capped at 100%).
  • No reading for Friday.
  • Quiz Friday: Searching (association lists, sequential search, binary search)
    • Sample question: Suppose our data have this form. Write a call to assoc (or binary-search) to extract this part of one datum.
    • Sample question: Interpret the following call to assoc; what results will you get?
    • Sample question: In the following call to binary-search, what values does the binary search procedure examine?
    • Sample question: Fill in the following template for assoc-all.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Vance Byrd Book Talk Thursday at 4:15 pm, Burlilng 1st Floor Lounge

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Thursday, April 26th, Noyce 2022: Mellon Mays Project introductions, 4:15 to 6:30 p.m.
  • Dance Ensemble Thursday 7:30pm, Friday 7:30pm, Saturday 7:30pm, Sunday 2pm. Roberts. Tickets still left.
  • Open Mike Thursday 9-11pm in Bob’s.
  • Friday, 8pm, Main: Contra Dance

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Listen to KDIC Thursday at 7pm - Classic Rock. (60’s and 70’s)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Any Sexual Assault Awareness Month event.

Other good things

Class 34 (Monday, 23 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Note: You do not get EC if you participate in an event. The EC is for people who come to support you.
  • I apologize for missing Friday’s PSA. I hope that you all got sufficient sunshine on Sunday!
  • We have tutor/mentor evaluations today. Please take them seriously; they help us improve the program.
  • SamR will, on occasion, write helper code for your projects.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Diversity in Filmmaking, Monday, 4:15 p.m., Bucksbaum 152
  • Squire Lecture in Physics, Tuesday at 11:45: STEM Eqwuality and Inclusion, a Female Astronomer’s View. Noyce 1023.
  • CS Table Tuesday noon in Day PDR: One Laptop Per Child.
  • The Cypher Paradigm: Closing Cypher, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., ARH 120.
  • Vance Byrd Book Talk Thursday at 4:15 pm, Burlilng 1st Floor Lounge

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Escape Room, 7-9pm TONIGHT, Gates
  • Thursday, April 26th, Noyce 2022: Mellon Mays Project introductions, 4:15 to 6:30 p.m.
  • Friday, 8pm, Main: Contra Dance
  • Dance Ensemble Thursday 7:30pm, Friday 7:30pm, Saturday 7:30pm, Sunday 2pm. Roberts. Tickets go “on sale” today.
  • Open Mike Thursday 9-11pm in Bob’s.

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Listen to KDIC Thursday at 7pm - Classic Rock. (60’s and 70’s)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Any Sexual Assault Awareness Month event.

Other good things

Class 33 (Friday, 20 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Sit with your project group.
  • We will miss the crane.
    • However, last Friday’s S&B suggests that worries about crane permissions made the College less willing to explore certain important but controversial changes, so perhaps not.

Upcoming work

  • No writeup for today’s class.
  • Reading for Monday: Searching
  • Flash Cards due next Wednesday at 9pm.
    • Optional.
    • Grade is percent of eight flashcard assignments you complete (capped at 100%).
  • Project Proposal due Monday at 10:30 p.m.
    • Due early to give me time to react.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Disability panel, Friday, 7pm, JRC 101.
  • HackGC (or any of the HackGC talks). https://hackgc.github.io
  • Rap concert tonight. (Opening act is a Grinnell alum.)
  • The Cypher Paradigm: Closing Cypher, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., ARH 120.
  • Squire Lecture in Physics, Tuesday at 11:45: STEM Eqwuality and Inclusion, a Female Astronomer’s View. Noyce 1023.
  • CS Table Tuesday: Subject TBD.
  • Diversity in Filmmaking, Monday, 4:15 p.m., Bucksbaum 152

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Play presentation Friday at 4pm in the Wall Theatre (154).
  • ISO Cultural Evening Saturday night at 7pm in Harris
  • Escape Room, 7-9pm Monday, Gates
  • Thursday, April 26th, Noyce 2022: Mellon Mays Project introductions, 4:15 to 6:30 p.m.
  • Field Day.
  • Making a Killing, Friday 7pm, Harris.

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Listen to KIDC Thursday at 7pm - Classic Rock. (60’s and 70’s)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Any Sexual Assault Awareness Month event.
  • Host one or more prospective students. (I think this is the last visit weekend.)

Other good things

  • Free HIV testing at SHACS.
  • Dick Young Meet tomorrow.
  • Water Polo Saturday and Sunday.
  • Ideation, a play, 7:30 p.m. in Loft Theatre tonight and tomorrow night. and Sunday at 2.

Class 32 (Wednesday, 18 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • It’s prereg week. Consider 161.
  • Exam 3 returned last night.
    • Notes on the exam / answer key to be distributed later today.
  • Grade reports distributed last night.
    • I am considering changing the penalty for “did not show up to class and did not send me a note the same day”.

Upcoming work

  • Lab writeup for class 32: Exercise 3C. Due Friday.
  • No reading for Friday.
  • Flash Cards due TONIGHT at 9pm.
    • Optional.
    • Grade is percent of eight flashcard assignments you complete (capped at 100%).
  • Quiz Friday
    • Files
      • Probably a fill-in-the-blanks code writing assignment to make sure that you understand recursion over files.
      • Possibly a “write instructions to generate the following file”
    • Algorithm analysis
      • Probably a “Count the number of calls” exercise to make sure that you understand the key points.
      • Possibly a “One of these algorithms is much slower than the other. Which one? Why?”
      • Possibly a “Fix this code to make it faster.” (Typical approaches: Replace append with cons; use let to name a repeatedly computed value; use let to move a procedure call outside of a recursive kernel.)
  • Project Proposal due Monday at 10:30 p.m.
    • Due early to give me time to react.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Any one activity in the student research symposium this week.
  • Convo Thursday. Mary Katherine Nagle.
  • CS Extras: Programming Languages Research Group, 4:15 p.m. Thursday
  • Disability panel, Friday, 7pm, JRC 101. The Disability Resources Office will host a panel to discuss issues of disability and identity. The event will feature questions such as, “Is disability an identity?”, “Does everyone with a disability identify as disabled?”, and “How do intersecting identities affect an individual’s experience of disability?”. We will explore power, privilege, and the politics of diagnoses. Our panelists include: Christina Collins ‘21, Rebecca Hsiung ‘19, Jennifer Brooks ‘15, Astrid Henry (Professor of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies), Carolyn Lewis (Assistant Professor of History), and Maure Smith-Benanti (Associate Dean of Students & Director of Intercultural Affairs).
  • HackGC (or any of the HackGC talks). https://hackgc.github.io

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Play presentation Friday at 4pm. In the Wall Theatre (154).
  • Wednesday, April 25th: Mellon Mays Project introductions, 4:15 to 6:30 p.m.
  • ISO Cultural Evening Saturday night at 7pm in Harris
  • Escape Room, 7-9pm Monday, Gates

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Listen to KIDC Thursday at 7pm - Classic Rock. (60’s and 70’s)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Any Sexual Assault Awareness Weeks event.
  • Host one or more prospective students. (I think there’s one main visit weekend left.)

Other good things

  • Free HIV testing at SHACS.

Class 31 (Monday, 16 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • I brought strange food to try to try to remind us of spring during the return of winter.
  • Quiz 10 returned.
  • I am about 2/3 done with grading exam 3. Barring unforeseen circumstances, I expect to have it returned by Wednesday.
  • I was glad to see a few of you at the Medieval Improv concert.
  • I am glad to hear the many positive experiences people had at Drag.
  • Sorry that the link to the project description was not obvious.
  • Yay! It’s prereg week.
    • If you’re having fun in CSC 151, you should consider 161. It has robots!
    • Some of you were asking about which Math to take for CS
      • If you are good at math, and can spare the courses in yuour schedule, I recommend 131-133-215-218. Linear algebra is increasingly important.
      • If you are a bit more math phobic, 131-208-209 is often a good approach.

Upcoming work

  • No lab writeup.
  • Assignment 7 due Tuesday at 10:30 p.m.
    • Are folks using the evening tutors?
  • Reading for Wednesday
  • Flash Cards due Wednesday at 9pm.
    • Optional.
    • Grade is percent of eight flashcard assignments you complete (capped at 100%).
  • Project Proposal due Monday at 10:30 p.m.
    • Due early to give me time to react.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Any one activity in the student research symposium this week.
  • Convo Thursday. Mary Katherine Nagle.
  • CS Table Tuesday: TBD
  • CS Extras: Programming Languages Research Group, 4:15 p.m. Thursday.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Play presentation Friday at 4pm. In the Wall Theatre (154).
  • The 25th: Mellon Mays Project introductions, 4:15 to 6:30 p.m.
  • ISO Cultural Evening Saturday night in Harris Cinema (time forthcoming)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Host one or more prospective students. (I think there’s one main visit weekend left.)

Other good things

Class 30 (Friday, 13 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Warning! Friday the 13th falls on a Friday this month. Please be extra careful.
  • Some of you have noted with concern that we did not get enough chance to debrief on vectors or higher-order procedures. If you’d like to ask some questions, I’ll take questions about those issues until 9:00 a.m. or so.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Any one activity in the student research symposium next week.
  • Water Dance performance at CERA on Saturday.
  • Art and Science of field work Sunday at CERA. RSVP necessary. You should have received email.
  • Medieval Improv concert Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Sebring-Lewis.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Drag show April 14

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Host one or more prospective students. (I think there’s one visit weekend left.)

Other good things

Friday PSA

  • You are thoughtful, intelligent, caring people. I am fortunate to be able to teach you.
  • Because you are thoughtful, intelligent, and caring, you have the capability to do advance planning. Reflect what is right for you this weekend and try to stick to your plan.
    • Excess is rarely the right thing.
  • If you choose to cohabit, planning can also be good. But remember that no matter what, consent is necessary. Don’t damage another human being.

Class 29 (Wednesday, 11 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • There are two stacks of cards, one for students who want to choose their partners on HW 7 and one for students who want random partners.
    • Please email me your partner setup asap.
  • You should have received a grade report on Monday. Let me know if you did not. (Sorry for the delay in getting those out.)
  • Mentor sessions Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
  • Warning! Friday the 13th falls on a Friday this month. Please be extra careful.

Upcoming work

  • Exam 3
    • Epilogue due TONIGHT via email
    • Cover sheet due in class NOW
  • Lab writeup for class 29: Exercise 4.
  • Reading for Friday
  • Flash Cards due TONIGHT at 9pm.
    • Optional.
    • Grade is percent of eight flashcard assignments you complete (capped at 100%).
  • Assignment 7 due next Tuesday at 10:30 p.m.
    • You may choose to work with a particular partner
    • You may choose to get a randomly assigned partner.
    • You may talk to me individually about work alone.
  • Quiz Friday
    • Vectors
    • Trees
    • Higher-order procedures
    • Excitement!

About Assignment 7

  • Two options
    • Random text generation
    • (Really) Simplified machine learning
  • Random text generation
    • Gather statistics about text
  • SImplified machine learning
    • Predict cancer
  • An excellent resource on why we shouldn’t trust machine learning Weapons of Math Destruction.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Any one activity in the student research symposium next week.
  • Water Dance performance at CERA on Saturday.
  • Art and Science of field work Sunday at CERA. RSVP necessary. You should have received email.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Drag show April 14

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Host one or more prospective students. (I think there’s one visit weekend left.)

Other good things

Class 28 (Monday, 9 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Continue partners!
  • Quiz 9 returned. We’ll talk about it quickly.
  • I finally got my grading software re-written. Expect email grades later today. Feel free to send corrections.
    • The math could be wrong.
    • I could be missing grades (e.g. extra credit)

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Mando Memorial Lecture, Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. in JRC 101

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Drag show April 14

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Host one or more prospective students. (I think there’s one visit weekend left.)

Other good things

  • Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarashina talk tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Harris.
  • Tom Jorling presentation 7:30 p.m. tonight in Noyce 2022
  • Movie: Making a Killing: Guns, Greed and the NRA, Tuesday, 7pm

Class 27 (Friday, 6 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Welcome back to our backup mentor, Smarly!
  • It would have been nice to see students take a creative approach to the burrito challenge. (E.g., “If every person in every class gives $1, we’ll all be at 100% and we’ll all get burritos.”)

Upcoming work

  • Exam 3
    • Prologue due TONIGHT via email
    • Exam due Tuesday via email
    • Epilogue due Wednesday via email
    • Cover sheet due in class
  • No lab writeup! Due before class Monday.
  • Reading for Monday
  • Flash Cards due Wednesday at 5pm.
    • Optional.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Roxane Gay talk TODAY noon in Harris Cinema.
  • Tabla concert TONIGHT
  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery. (Are there still two exhibits in the Faulconer gallery?)
  • Retrospectively watch last night’s talk (Marlon James) if you can find it online.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Drag show April 14

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Host one or more prospective students.

Other good things

  • Grinnell Singers in Concert on Sunday at 2pm in Sebring Lewis.

Friday PSA

  • Please take care of yourselves. I do care about you and I’m fortunate to have you in the class.

Class 26 (Wednesday, 4 April 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Review sessions Thursday at 7pm and 9pm.
  • Lab writeup from Monday: Note that you should have one pair-o-boxes per call to cons.
    • Please check in with Monday’s partner if you got things marked off.

Upcoming work

  • Exam 3 distributed.
    • Prologue due Friday via email
    • Exam due Tuesday via email
    • Epilogue due Wednesday via email
    • Cover sheet due in class
  • Lab writeup for class 26: Exercise 4 Due before class Friday.
  • Reading for Friday
  • Flash Cards due today at 5pm.
  • Quiz Friday: Local recursive bindings with letrec and named let; randomness; pairs and pair structures.
    • Likely one named let question and one “draw this structure” question.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Cello concert tonight.
  • Danforth lecture on Thursday at 11 am in JRC 101. Robert G. Bergman. “Irreproducibility in the Scientific Literature or: How Often do Scientists Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth?”
  • Roxane Gay talk Friday noon in Harris Cinema.
  • Tabla concert Friday night
  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery. (Are there still two exhibits in the Faulconer gallery?)

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Men’s Tennis, April 14, 21, and 22.
  • Drag

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Donate on Scarlet and Give Back day tomorrow.
    • Grinnell is a wonderful place; please consider donating.
    • If your funds are too limited to allow a donation, I’ve provided an alternative.
  • Host one or more prospective students.
  • Discussion on the diversity and inclusion plan tonight at 6pm (I think)

Other good things

  • Grinnell Singers in Concert on Sunday at 2pm in Sebring Lewis.
  • Passover Seder on Friday, send email to Rabbi Rob to sign up.

Class 25 (Monday, 2 April 2018)

Moment of silence.

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Welcome back from spring break.
  • We’re switching topics/themes post break, from recursion to ways of structuring data.
  • I’ve returned exam 2 and provided an answer key.
    • There was an academic honesty issue on the exam that I needed to report.
    • Please don’t let the stress of the next exam lead you to make poor choices!

Upcoming work

Dealing with grief

  • I will do what I can to support you.
  • Let me know if you need adjustments in workload to help.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • CS Table Tuesday: Unknown topic
  • 4pm Tuesday in DLab: “Updating Close Reading for the 21st Century”
  • CS Extras Thursday: Unknown topic
  • Danforth lecture on Thursday at 11 am in JRC 101. Robert G. Bergman. “Irreproducibility in the Scientific Literature or: How Often do Scientists Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth?”
  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery. (Are there still two exhibits in the Faulconer gallery?)
  • Roxanne Gay talk Friday noon (?).

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Men’s Tennis, April 14, 21, and 22.

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Donate on Scarlet and Give Back day. (If donating is a financial burden, I will bring cash on Wednesday to give you to donate.)
  • Blood drive tomorrow.
    • Or write to me about why giving blood is important.
  • Host one or more prospective students.

Other good things

Class 24 (Friday, 16 March 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • You are still awesome.
  • I know that some of you were planning to look at last semester’s exam 3 to study for the coming exam 3. Unfortunately, that exam depends on some material we haven’t studied yet.
    • Problems 1, 2, and 4 are of the style that might appear on the exam.
    • You are not yet ready to do problem 4. I am not yet certain whether or not we will choose to include vectors on the exam.
  • Have a great spring break!

Upcoming work

  • There is no writeup for today’s class.
  • Reading for Monday after break
  • No homework over break.
  • Exam 3 will be distributed after break.
    • Yes, you will get exam 2 (and an answer key) back first.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Host one or more prospective students.

Other good things

Friday / Spring Break PSA

  • Please take care of yourselves.
  • If you imbibe substances, do so in moderation (and, preferably, legally)
  • If you cohabit, consent is absolutely positively necessary
    • It’s the right thing

Class 23 (Wednesday, 14 March 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Happy pi day!
  • We will have one mentor session this week at 7pm on Thursday. The intent is more of an opportunity to talk broadly about CS than about the quiz. (A panel of mentors.)
  • RIP Stephen Hawking.
  • I hope to distribute an answer key to HW6 tonight.
  • You are awesome.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Host one or more prospective students.

Other good things

Class 22 (Monday, 12 March 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • I hope that you are starting to recover from the time switch.
  • We will have one mentor session this week at 7pm on Thursday. The intent is more of an opportunity to talk broadly about CS than about the quiz. (A panel of mentors.)

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.
  • CS Extra TODAY at 4:15 p.m. in 1023: “An Introduction to the Automatic Extraction of Keyphrases”. (Snacks at 4pm.)
  • CS Table Tuesday at noon: Unknown topic.

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Host one or more prospective students.

Other good things

Class 21 (Friday, 9 March 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Don’t forget that we “Spring Forward” on Sunday morning. (And sorry, I know that means that you’ll be extra tired on Monday a.m.)
  • I appreciate that those of you who are ill are missing class so as to avoid infecting others. Please remember that you owe me an email message in cases like that.

Upcoming work

  • Lab writeup for class 21: Exercise 5. Due before class Monday.
  • Reading for Monday
  • Assignment 6 due Tuesday.
    • Preliminary reports suggest that TK and I succeeded in making a shorter assignment.
    • I’ve rearranged the problems. Check the problem numbers before submitting. (The one group that submitted can ignore this comment; I’ll let the graders know.)
    • Evidence suggests that problem 7 (permutations) is the most difficult.
    • If you weren’t here on Wednesday, you and your partner have until the end of class today to tell me when you are working on the assignment.
  • Flash Cards due Wednesday.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.
  • CS Extra Monday at 4:15 p.m. in 1023: “An Introduction to the Automatic Extraction of Keyphrases”. (Snacks at 4pm.)
  • CS Table Tuesday at noon: Unknown topic.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Play this weekend. Today through Sunday. See the campus memo or elsewhere for details.
  • Men’s Tennis, Sunday at 9am (Central) and 2pm (Augustana) in the Field House.

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.
    • Preliminary reports suggest that these appointments are really helpful.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Host one or more prospective students.

Other good things

  • GHS presents “The Little Mermaid” Friday, Saturday.
  • Singers concert, Sunday, 4 p.m., Plymouth United Church of Christ, 4126 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines.

Friday PSA

  • Take care of yourself.
  • Even though I make jokes about these issues, I’m very serious.
  • Consent is even more serious (and necessary).

Class 20 (Wednesday, 7 March 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • If you’ve done a homework assignment with your current partner, please re-draw a card.
  • I reported mid-semester grades last night.
    • If you needed to invoke “There’s more to life” on the first exam, I marked you as “Marginal”.
    • If you did not turn in exam one, I marked you as “Risk of Failure”.
    • In both those cases, I needed to turn in Academic Progress Reports, too.
    • I expect that with support, all of the “Marginal” students will be fine. (Not least because of the never-yet-invoked “good faith grade guarantee”.)
  • I’m not sure what the mentors decided on for the mentor sessions on Thursday. They will send out email.
  • There was an issue with the generation of the news page. I think I’ve fixed it.
  • Some great answers so far on the “What will help you do better next time”
    • Go to Sam’s office hours
    • Convince Sam to write and distribute answer keys for homework assignments.
    • Make notes to myself after each lab/reading.
  • Please make sure that the current eboard is up on your computer. We’ll refer to it during class.

Upcoming work

  • Cover sheets due now.
  • Exam 2 epilogue due tonight.
  • Flash Cards due tonight.
  • Lab writeup for class 20: Exercise 2. Due before class Friday.
  • Quiz Friday
    • Topics
      • Precondition checking
      • Basics of recursion
    • Typical types of questions
      • Write precondition checks (aka “husk”) for this procedure.
      • Show the steps in evaluating this expression with this recursive procedure.
      • Fill in the details to complete the definition of this recursive procedure.
  • Reading for Friday
  • Assignment 6
    • These problems should be smaller (more like lab problems), but there are more of them.
    • Please start lab by identifying three hours that you can meet with your partner. Also discuss anything you should or should not do in advance. E.g., “Spend five minutes on each problem thinking about a general strategy, but don’t write any code.”
    • If you are not at least 80% done after those three hours, please let me know.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.
  • CS Extra Thursday at 4:15 p.m. in 3821: “Mobility in a Networked World”

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Play this weekend. Thursday through Sunday. See the campus memo or elsewhere for details.
  • Men’s Tennis, Sunday at 9am and 2pm in the Field House.
  • Escape room postponed.

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays (Tonight) at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music.
    (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Host one or more prospective students. And don’t just write “I hosted a prospie. They are too pretentious for Grinnell. I hope they go to Carleton”.

Other good things

  • GHS presents “The Little Mermaid” Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
  • Singers concert, Sunday, 4 p.m., Plymouth United Church of Christ, 4126 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines.

Class 19 (Monday, 5 March 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • You should have received exam 1 back last night. Sorry for the delay in grading. I’ll cover a few key points in class today.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.
  • CS Extra Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. in 3821: “Computer Scientists Born of the Liberal Arts: What are Your Superpowers?”

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Play this weekend. Tickets go on “sale” today. Thursday through Sunday. See the campus memo or elsewhere for details.
  • Men’s Tennis, Sunday at 9am and 2pm in the Field House.
  • Thursday, 7-9pm Gates, Escape Room.

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Host one or more prospective students. And don’t just write “I hosted a prospie. I hope they go to Carleton”.

Other good things

  • GHS presents “The Little Mermaid” Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Class 18 (Friday, 2 March 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Sorry about Wednesday. It appears that I’m late in catching whatever has been going around campus. (And now I am even more behind.)
  • No lab today; we start our exploration of recursion with lecture/discussion.

Upcoming work

  • No lab writeup!
  • Reading for Monday:
  • Exam 2 due Tuesday
    • Prologue due TONIGHT!
    • Exam due Tuesday night
    • Epilogue due Wednesday night

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Fill out NCHA Survey (aka the latest food truck survey).
    • Students received e-mails from “Jen Jacobsen ncha-web@acha.org” with the subject line “NCHA survey: Help GC help you + food trucks!” (Depending on outlook settings, this may end up in other or clutter folders)
    • NCHA data help me give my PSAs
    • Your reflection should not just be “I filled out the survey”. Reflect on what was interesting (or not) about the survey.

Other good things

  • President White in regional diving.
  • GHS Girl’s Basketball in State Finals tonight.

Working together

I continue to hear things about students having difficulty with their partners. That makes me sad. I’ll give some of my perspective and then ask you to discuss the issue a bit.

  • I am getting a lot of “My partner won’t meet with me / My partner does not respond to my email.”
  • There can be good reasons.

Suggested solutions

  • Give students the option to do the work on their own.
  • “This is when I’m free. Pick a time.”
  • Partner evaluation
    • If someone has two or more “negative” evaluations, Sam should talk with them.
  • There are other issues, such as condescension.
  • Whoops. Anything that includes Sam as a bottleneck is likely to fail.
  • There are good reasons that you had difficulty meeting, but you should always respond to email.
  • Give 24 hours?

Friday PSA

  • Get rest
  • Make good choices
  • Moderation
  • Consent is essential

Class 17 (Wednesday, 28 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • No Sam today / Sam is ill

Upcoming work

  • Lab writeup for class 17: Exercise ?. Due before class Friday.
  • Reading for Friday:
  • Exam 2 due Tuesday
    • Prologue due Friday night
    • Exam due Tuesday night
    • Epilogue due Wednesday night

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.
  • Scholars’ Convocation

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Fill out NCHA Survey (aka the latest food truck survey).
    • Students received e-mails from “Jen Jacobsen ncha-web@acha.org” with the subject line “NCHA survey: Help GC help you + food trucks!” (Depending on outlook settings, this may end up in other or clutter folders)
    • NCHA data help me give my PSAs

Other good things

Class 16 (Monday, 26 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • I feel like a broken record, but your exams are not graded.
    • My conference days generally started at 7:00 a.m. and ended after 10:00 p.m. (I was told that my responsibilities permitted some significant breaks; that was a lie.)
    • I left about one week behind on work. I returned about three weeks behind.
    • Grading your exams is one of my top priorities.
  • There have been some common questions on the homework, so I’ll spend a bit of the start of class working through those questions.
    • I apologize to those of you who finished already.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Fill out NCHA Survey (aka the latest food truck survey).
    • Students received e-mails from “Jen Jacobsen ncha-web@acha.org” with the subject line “NCHA survey: Help GC help you + food trucks!” (Depending on outlook settings, this may end up in other or clutter folders)
    • NCHA data help me give my PSAs

Other good things

Notes on Quiz 5

(define bar (list -6 -5 1 2 3 4))
(or (exact? 7.0) (car bar) (cadr bar))

Sort lists of the following form by city

'(("UIowa" "Iowa City" "IA" "52242")
  ("UChicago" "Chicago" "IL" "60637")
  ("GrinCo" "Grinnell" "IA" "50112"))

Detour: Why is the following a bad way to represent the data?

'(("UIowa" "Iowa City" "IA" 52242)
  ("UChicago" "Chicago" "IL" 60637)
  ("GrinCo" "Grinnell" "IA" 50112))

An answer: Numbers are not the best way to represent zip codes, since some zip codes have leading zeroes (or zeros).

Let’s write a procedure, (sort-by-city colleges), that sorts a list of that form.

``` (define sort-by-city-1 (lambda (colleges) (sort colleges compare-by-city)))

(define compare-by-city (lambda (c1 c2) (string-ci<=? (cadr c1) (cadr c2))))

(define sort-by-city-2 (lambda (colleges) (sort colleges (comparator string-ci<=? cadr))))

; comparator takes something that compares (like < or string-ci<=?) and ; what to compare.

(define sort-by-city-3 (lambda (colleges) (sort colleges (lambda (c1 c2) (string-ci<=? (cadr c1) (cadr c2))))))

(define sort-by-city-4 (section sort <> (comparator string-ci<=? cadr)))

Class 15 (Friday, 23 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Friday PSA will arrive via email.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.
  • Cool Singers concert on Sunday.

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

Class 14 (Wednesday, 21 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Exams to be returned later this week.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.
  • Urban Education Forum Thursday.
    • noon: “School segregation in the 21st century”, talk by Rachel Moskowitz ’06, JRC 101
    • 4 PM: Teacher alumni Panel, Emily Kugisaki ’09, Anna McNulty Taylor ’06, and Erin Whalen ’12, JRC 101
    • 7:30 PM: “Focusing on the role of inequality and segregation in public education”, talk by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Harris Center cinema
  • Cool Singers concert on Sunday.

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

Class 13 (Monday, 19 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Exams to be returned later this week.
    • I worked for about sixteen hours this weekend, but that was not enough time to make significant progress on grading.
  • Happy presidents’ day!
  • Congrats to our excellent swimmer
  • We should do a study of how people follow the card directions in this classroom.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.
  • Urban Education Forum Thursday.
    • noon: “School segregation in the 21st century”, talk by Rachel Moskowitz ’06, JRC 101
    • 4 PM: Teacher alumni Panel, Emily Kugisaki ’09, Anna McNulty Taylor ’06, and Erin Whalen ’12, JRC 101
    • 7:30 PM: “Focusing on the role of inequality and segregation in public education”, talk by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Harris Center cinema

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

Class 12 (Friday, 16 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • I hope to return exam 1 (and other materials) on Monday.
  • I’ve told a number of people this, so I should say it to the class: It’s worth the few minutes of your time to look back at each exercise on the lab and ask yourself “Why did the designers of the lab ask us that question?” (There isn’t always a good answer, but there sometimes is.)
  • Do you find the eboards useful?
    • Email me if you’d like to volunteer to take them next week.

Upcoming work

  • No lab writeup!
    • When you do lab writeups, please try to get the class number correct.
      I saw a lot of “Lab 6” for Wednesday’s.
    • Please carbon-copy your partner on lab writeups.
  • No reading for Monday!
  • Reading for Wednesday
  • Homework 4 due next Tuesday
    • I apologize for the incorrect description of the contents. That has been fixed.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Midwest Swim and Dive Conference. 10am Friday to 5pm Sunday.
    • 30 minutes counts, as long as there is active swimming or diving during the portion you are there.
    • Diving is at 1:30 Friday and Saturday. The SGA president is a lot of fun to watch.

Extra credit (Recurring peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Participate in Islamic awareness week.
    • Friday at 4pm in CRSSJ: Turkish Delights, Henna
    • Friday at 2:15pm in CRSSJ open prayer
    • Councilwoman event today at 4:15 pm in Drake Community Library.
  • Lunar New Year Festival, 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Harris Gym.

Other good things

Friday PSA

  • Think in advance what is right for you.
  • Everything in moderation.
  • Rest.

Class 11 (Wednesday, 14 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Happy Valentine’s day.
  • Yesterday, someone said “I didn’t realize that I could ask you questions about the exam.” So, please know that it is okay to wander by my office and ask questions or to email questions (and to re-email them if I don’t respond).

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.
  • TODAY, Feb. 14 at 4:15 p.m. in Noyce 2021: Cool CS Alumni talk about inclusion, life, and career after Grinnell.
  • TONIGHT, Feb. 14 at 8:00 p.m. Women and Non-Gender-Conforming People in CS (with special guests) in the CS Commons.
  • TOMORROW, Feb. 15 at 7:00 p.m. in Harris. Deej the Film.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with other personalities and/or co-host. Also Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Math SEPC study break 7pm today. Crafts and candy.
  • Wednesday (February 14th), the Langan CAs will be co-hosting an event with SHIC about sex positivity and SHIC resources. The event will most likely take place 8:30-9:30pm in Langan first lounge. There will definitely be food.
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.
  • Midwest Swim and Dive Conference. 10am Friday to 5pm Sunday.
    • 30 minutes counts.

Extra credit (Misc)

  • Participate in Islamic awareness week.
    • MAP Presentation today at 4:15 in JRC 209
    • Tomorrow at 4pm: Councilwoman at Drake
    • Friday at 4pm in CRSSJ: Turkish Delights, Henna
    • Friday at 2:15pm in CRSSJ open prayer
  • Lunar New Year Festival, 6:30 p.m. Harris Gym.

Other good things

  • Art House movie at 7:30 pm TONIGHT. Call me by your name.

Class 10 (Monday, 12 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • My life continues to be a Robert Burns poem. I spent 9am to 10pm on Saturday at family events. I dealt with a stupid software bug for eight hours on Sunday. I do intend to catch up on stuff, but ….
    • Please do not emulate me. (Well, family events are good.)
  • If I haven’t had you start lab by 9:00 a.m., throw something at me.
    • Preferably something soft.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.
  • CS Table Tuesday: Accessibility
  • Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 7pm in JRC 209: Creating Solutions with Design Thinking Tools. Join CEO and Founder of Human Centered Innovation, Megan Goering ’08, to learn specific strategies of human centered design that will help take your problem solving ideas to the next level.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 4:15 p.m. in Noyce 2021: Cool CS Alumni talk about inclusion, life, and career after Grinnell.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with co-host and Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Wednesday (February 14th), the Langan CAs will be co-hosting an event with SHIC about sex positivity and SHIC resources. The event will most likely take place 8:30-9:30pm in Langan first lounge.
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details. Make your English Lit more literate.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

  • Participate in Islamic awareness week.

Class 9 (Friday, 9 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Please ask questions early! (Particularly on the exam.)

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Saturday at 11am: MET broadcast of L’Elisir D’Amore.
  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 7pm in JRC 209: Creating Solutions with Design Thinking Tools. Join CEO and Founder of Human Centered Innovation, Megan Goering ’08, to learn specific strategies of human centered design that will help take your problem solving ideas to the next level.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 4:15 p.m. in 3821: Cool CS Alumni talk about life and career after Grinnell.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with co-host and Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • TONIGHT at 8pm, Contra Club Dance in Younker Lounge 1st
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details.
  • Wednesday (February 14th), the Langan CAs will be co-hosting an event with SHIC about sex positivity and SHIC resources. The event will most likely take place 8:30-9:30pm in Langan first lounge.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

  • Saturday night concert, 7:30 pm, Rathje 3rd

Friday PSA

  • Not everyone drinks on campus. Feel free not to drink.
  • If you do drink, drink in an appropriate way (for pleasure, not for passing out)
  • Consent is absolutely necessary.
  • Think in advance about what is reasonable for you this weekend.

Class 8 (Wednesday, 7 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Please ask questions early! (Particularly on the exam.)
  • Except on the exam, please help your classmates.

Upcoming work

  • Quiz Friday!
    • Writing procedures with lambda, section, and composition
    • Documenting procedures
  • Exam 1 due Tuesday at 10:30 pm.
    • Prologue due Friday night.
    • Exam due Tuesday night in electronic form.
    • Cover sheet due in class on Wednesday
  • Reading due before class Friday
  • No lab writeup!
  • Flash cards for week 3 due TONIGHT at 5pm.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • CS Extra, 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Science 3821: The design of CSC 151
    • Drinks and snacks at 4:00 p.m. in the CS Commons
  • Rosenfield Symposium on Environmental Degradation and Conflict
    • Particularly Scholars’ Convocation Thursday at 11am.
    • Or anything else.
  • Saturday at 11am: MET broadcast of L’Elisir D’Amore.
  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with co-host and Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Friday at 8pm, Contra Club Dance in Younker Lounge 1st
  • Peer editing with SS. Talk to SS about the details.
  • Wednesday (February 14th), the Langan CAs will be co-hosting an event with SHIC about sex positivity and SHIC resources. The event will most likely take place 8:30-9:30pm in Langan first lounge.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

Class 7 (Monday, 5 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • New partners!
  • Quiz 2 returned.
    • While you may compare answers, I recommend that you not compare grades.
  • I did not catch up as much as I had hoped or expected this weekend. But I’m getting closer.
  • Today is a “talk” day; there is no lab.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Role of Music in the Civil Rights Movement. 8pm TODAY in JRC 101.
  • CS Table, Tuesday, Noon, Day PDR: Ownership in a digital world.
  • CS Extra, 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Science 3821: The design of CSC 151
    • Drinks and snacks at 4:00 p.m. in the CS Commons
  • Rosenfield Symposium on Environmental Degradation and Conflict
    • Particularly Scholars’ Convocation Thursday at 11am.
  • Saturday at 11am: MET broadcast of L’Elisir D’Amore.
  • Visit the two exhibits at the Faulconer Gallery.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Hope, Hate, and Race: PossePlus Retreat Recap, February 6 at 11am, JRC 101.
  • Listen to KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm - Witty banter with co-host and Indian, Arabic, and Farsi music. (Up to two units of extra credit.)
  • Friday at 8pm, Contra Club Dance in Younker Lounge 1st
  • Peer editing with SS.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

  • Democratic caucus
  • Vote tomorrow!

A few notes on quiz 2

  • Since you know the computer is very picky about syntax, you should pay attention to the particular way that things are represented.
  • Example: There are no greater-than-sign prompts in the output.
  • Example: Lists do not have commas.
  • Example: Lists begin with a tick and are surrounded by parentheses.
  • Nonetheless, I did not take off for minor syntactic errors.

Why Sam gives quizzes

  • Give you feedback on whether or not you understand what we’re doing.
  • Give me feedback on how the class as a whole is doing.
  • Give me feedback on things I should be talking about.
  • Evidence that low-stakes testing improves learning.

Class 6 (Friday, 2 February 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Thanks for keeping the room neat.
  • I apologize that I am still far behind. I hope to catch up this weekend.

Upcoming work

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Rebecca Wingo: How to Harvest History. Friday Feb. 2, 4pm, Burling Library Lounge.
  • CS Table, Tuesday, Noon, PDR A: Unknown topic
  • CS Extra, 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Science 3821: The design of CSC 151
    • Drinks and snacks at 4:00 p.m. in the CS Commons
  • Movie Sunday at 4 at Strand “I Am Not a Negro”.

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Indoor Track and Field: Grinnell Invitational, Saturday, 9:30 a.m. In the field house (Indoor track). (30 minutes is enough)
  • Swimming vs. Nebraska and Iowa State, Saturday, 1pm.
  • Tennis, 10am, Sunday (Field House)
  • Posse Plus Retreat Recap, February 6 at 11am, JRC 101.
  • KDIC Wednesdays at 6pm.
  • Friday the 9th, Contra Club Dance in Younker Lounge 1st, 8pm

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

Friday PSA

  • You are awesome people.
  • I care about you.
  • So please take care about yourself.
  • Think about what is appropriate for you, in advance.
  • Moderation in consumption.
  • Clear, unambigous consent is absolutely necessary.

Class 5 (Wednesday, 31 January 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Thanks for keeping the room neat.
  • In contrast, the experiment in entropy that is my office appears to have consumed your first quiz. I have brought you fruit snax as a replacement.
    • I do realize that there’s no relationship between the two.
    • Amazingly, I found the quizzes eight minutes before the start of class. You’ll get them back Friday.

Upcoming work

Typical quiz questions

This quiz normally involves questions in which you interpret or write simple expressions.

  • What result will you get from this expression? (map (o increment increment) (iota 5))
  • Consider the following definitions, what results will you get?
    • (define quad (o square square))
    • (quad 2)
    • (quad 4)
    • (quad "five")
    • (quad (quad 2))
  • Write an expression to generate the list (-2 -1 0 1 2) using iota, map, and a procedure of your choice.

About assignment 3

  • We’ll walk through it together and give you a chance to ask questions.
  • Time for questions on Friday (and Monday)

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Rebecca Wingo: How to Harvest History. Friday Feb. 2, 4pm, Burling Library Lounge.
  • CS Extra, 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Science 3821: Expanding the pipelines through innovative code camps
    • Drinks and snacks at 4:00 p.m. in the CS Commons

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Posse Plus Retreat Recap, February 6 at 11am, JRC 101.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

Class 4 (Monday, 29 January 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Welcome back to our permanent version of Shelby.
  • Thanks for keeping the room neat.
  • When you speak in class, please say your name first.
  • I’m already behind on grading. I apologize.
  • I talk fast. I try to slow myself down by writing a lot. But it could can be difficult. Question for you (I’ll close my eyes for the answer): How is my speed?
    • Please try to slow down a bit.
    • It’s fine, or at least acceptable.
    • Please try to speed up.

Upcoming work

About flash cards

  • A chance to summarize some key points or confusing points.
  • A potential study mechanism.
  • Both aspects have documented effect on learning basic concepts.
    • And you can’t do the complex stuff in CSC 151 unless you know the “language”: vocabulary, syntax, etc.
  • Examples:
    • What is (round 3.4)?
    • How does 1/2 differ from 0.5?
    • How does 1/2 differ from (/ 1 2)?
    • What are the parameters to substring?
    • What is (substring "Hello" 1 3)?
  • Answers:
    • 3.0
    • 1/2 is exact; 0.5 is inexact.
    • 1/2 represents a number. (/ 1 2) represents a computation.
    • (substring string start-pos after-end-pos)
    • "el"
  • I will provide you with a summary of the questions and answers.
  • You may use them in whatever way you consider best.
  • Usually about a week’s worth of work (WFMW)

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

Extra credit (Peer)

  • Posse Plus Retreat Recap, February 6 at 11am, JRC 101.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

Class 3 (Friday, 26 January 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Welcome to our temporary new version of Shelby! Smarly
  • Thanks for keeping the room neat.
  • When you speak in class, please say your name first.
  • Contact Sam if you would like to be on the department mailing list.
    • Tantalizing talks
    • Outstanding opportunities
    • Scintillating spam
    • Much more!
  • It was nice to see many of you at yesterday’s convocation. In addition to presenting a valuable topic, I found that the speaker revealed some interesting things about public lectures (or at least my experience of public lectures).
  • Wednesday’s lab reinforced for me the sense that computers are sentient and malicious.
    • A space at the end of the GitHub repo URL made things break. (And spaces are invisible.)
    • But that’s just an instance of “Computer programs are badly designed.” (Or, to us active voice: “Programmers design badly.”)
    • The general evidence, which you will likely see starting in today’s lab, is that you often encounter the following situation:
      • You try something.
      • It doesn’t work.
      • Someone in authority (e.g., SamR) comes and looks over your shoulder.
      • They tell you to do the same thing. (Or they do the same thing themselves.)
      • It works.
    • That is, the computers pay attention to what is happening and do their best to embarrass you.

Upcoming work

  • Signed academic honesty policy due in class TODAY!
  • Assignment 2 due Tuesday night.
    • Your partner for Wednesday and today is your partner for the homework.
    • You should make plans as to when you will work on the assignment together, presumably in this room or the neighboring one (3815).
  • Readings (online), due before class Monday.
  • Flash cards due at the end of the day Wednesday.
    • I’ll talk more about those on Monday.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Tosca (MET Opera in HD). 11:30am Saturday at Harris Cinema.

Extra credit (Peer)

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

Class 2 (Wednesday, 24 January 2018)

The “start of class algorithm”

  • Take any handouts.
  • Grab a card.
  • Read the name of the workstation and its location.
  • Attempt to determine where that workstation is.
  • If you have difficulty, ask the instructor or mentor.
  • Put the card in the jar.
  • Make your way to the indicated workstation
  • Have a seat
  • If you are the second person there, introduce yourself.

News / Etc.

  • Today should be mostly a laboratory day.
    • We think you often learn better from doing than by listening.
    • Reflecting is good, too.
  • But I have a larger-than-normal number of preliminaries to get through.
  • Welcome to Mike Conner, our awesome SysAdmin
    • He has accounts and passwords for you.
    • Change your password soon!
    • MathLAN uses a different account system than the rest of campus. Same username, different password. Deal with it.
    • Try logging in.
    • Then log out and let your partner log in.
    • Then have them log out.
  • Reminders:
    • You are in CSC 151
    • I’m Sam (or SamR)
    • Your class mentors are Sally and Shelby
  • You should have received four handouts at the start of class.
  • When you speak in class, please say your name first.
  • Contact Sam if you would like to be on the department mailing list.

Upcoming work

  • Assignment 2 due Tuesday night.
    • Your partner for today is your partner for the homework.
    • You should make plans as to when you will work on the assignment together, presumably in this room or the neighboring one.
  • Readings (online), due before class Friday.
  • Signed academic honesty policy due in class on Friday.
    • If you are uncomfortable signing it, make an appointment to chat with me.
  • Quiz Friday!
    • Components of algorithms
      • Sample Q: Identify the parts in the following algorithm
      • Sample Q: List the N parts of an algorithm
    • Very basic Scheme
      • What will the output of the following expression be?
    • Review sessions starting next week.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • Convocation tomorrow! Democracy at the Roots: Culture and Sovereignty in Haiti
    • Sam riffs on the value of convocation.
    • 11:00 a.m. on Thursdays in JRC 101.

Extra credit (Peer)

None yet.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

Class 1 (Monday, 22 January 2018)

News / Etc.

  • Welcome to CSC 151!
  • I’m Sam (or SamR)
  • Your class mentors are Sally and Shelby
  • You should have received four handouts at the start of class.
  • Since it’s the first day of class, I’ll be taking attendance. (It will take a few weeks for me to learn all of your names.
    • “Hi, my name is FORENAME SURNAME.”
    • “You can call me PRIMARY NAME.”
    • “If you must address me by surname, you can call me Mr./Ms./Mx./[nothing] SURNAME.”
    • I’m from …
    • Optional: “My pronouns are ….”
  • Disclaimers
    • Sam is slightly hard of hearing.
    • Sam is incredibly snarky. (Sam = Snarky and mean)
  • Contact Sam if you would like to be on the department mailing list.

Upcoming work

  • Assignment 1 due Tuesday night.
  • Readings (handed out today), due before class Wednesday.
  • Signed academic honesty policy due in class on Friday.
    • If you are uncomfortable signing it, make an appointment to chat with me.

Extra credit (Academic/Artistic)

  • MLK day (+ 1 week + 1 day) event, Tuesday, 7:00 pm, JRC 101

Extra credit (Peer)

None yet.

Extra credit (Misc)

Other good things

Accessibility statement. Check accessibility with WAVE.

Copyright © Charlie Curtsinger, Sarah Dahlby Albright, Janet Davis, Titus Klinge, Samuel A. Rebelsky, and Jerod Weinman. Selected materials are copyright by John David Stone or Henry Walker and are used with permission.

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