Schedule and Assignments


This will be updated frequently.

For the videos, you will need to go to chaos.complexityexplorer.org and make a free account. The videos are in the course Introduction to Dynamical Systems.

  • Week One
    • Tuesday 7 January: No reading. We will cover Feldman chapters 1 and 2 in class and go over the structure of the course.
    • Friday 10 January:
      Read:
      • Gleick, The Butterfly Effect, pp. 9-32. Do not read Gleick's Prologue. Possible discussion topics: what is science? The nature of scientific explanation(s).
      • Optional: Feldman, Chapter 0. A few pages that attempt to give an overview of chaos and fractals. This is mainly to orient you to the course. I have no plans to discuss this, but am happy to answer questions in or outside of class.
      Watch:
      • Chaotic Waterwheel. A short video of a chaotic waterwheel.
      • Videos 1, 2, 3, and 4 from Section 1.4, Iteration. (Approximately 17 minutes, total.)
      • Quiz 1 and 2 from Section 1.4.
      In class we will cover Feldman chapters 2 and 3.
    • Homework 1, due Friday, January 10.
  • Week Two
    • Tuesday 14 January: Read
      • Gleick, Revolutions, pp. 35-56
      • An additional reading on scientific change that is posted on google classroom.
      • Possible discussion topics: How does change occur in science? How does change occur in other areas (art, music, social norms, politics)? Incommensurability, pp 85-90. Paradigms. Does COA have a paradigm? No reading. In class we will cover Chapters 5 and possibly 6 from the textbook
    • Friday 17 January:Discussion of the notion of (scientific) paradigms applied to COA. Chapter 7 of the textbook.
    • Homework 2, due Friday, January 17.
  • Week Three
    • Tuesday 21 January:
      • Do exercise 7.8 from the textbook. You won't hand this in but we'll discuss it in class. The program you need is here.
      • After doing this exercise, read Gleick, Life's Ups and Downs.
    • Friday 24 January:
      • Read "The Best Possible Time to be Alive", available on google classroom.
    • Homework 3, due Friday, January 24.
  • Week Four
    • Monday 27 January:
      • First Paper due Monday, Jan 29. Please submit via google classroom.
    • Tuesday, 28 January
      • First do exercise 11.3 part a.
      • Then read "Universality" from Gleick. The program you need is here.
    • Friday 31 January
      • Read "The Experimenter" from Gleick.
      • In class we will cover chapter 15 and part of 16.
    • Homework 4, due Friday, January 31.
  • Week Five
    • Tuesday 4 February
      • Read "A Geometry of Nature" from Gleick.
      • Read a book review of Mandelbrot's memoir by Brian Hayes.
      • In class we will cover Chapter 16.
    • Friday 7 February
      • Snow Day!
    • Homework 5, due Friday, February 3.
  • Week Six
    • Tuesday 11 February:
      • Read Cloudy with a Chance of War, by David Berreby.
      • In class we'll do the mid-term check-in for the course.
      • In class we'll cover Chapter 22.
    • Friday 14 February
      • Fractal show and tell.
      • In class we'll cover parts of Chapter 17 and 21.
    • Homework 6 does not exist.
  • Week Seven
    • Tuesday 18 February:
      • In class we'll finish Chapter 21 and cover Chapter 19.
      • Watch Hunting the Hidden Dimension. [link]
    • Friday 21 February:
      • Read Images of Chaos, from Gleick.
    • Homework 7, due Friday, February 23.