Course Policies

Course description

How does the human mind arise from the unthinking matter of the brain? According to the Computational Theory of Mind, the brain is a biological computer, and cognition is its function. We'll examine this idea by gradually building up from the simplest mechanical parts to creatures with cognition, agency, and maybe even consciousness. Along the way we'll touch upon the nature of representation, language, memory, algorithms, levels of abstraction, and the interaction between mind and world.

• Requirements: daily readings; 6 problem sets; a midterm and a final exam; attendance.
• Warning: this course is time-intensive, and it is not an easy A.

Instructor and TA

• Office hours for both of us are on the syllabus page.

Waitlist and PTEs

• Waitlisted students and PTE requests will be accepted if class size allows.
• If you are on the waitlist, find a back-up class.
• If you are on the waitlist and want to enroll, you must attend each lecture and section.

Course materials

• The textbook is the online course book Making Minds (MM).
• All readings and course materials are on this website.
• Problem sets are posted and submitted in the course app.
• Check the website regularly for updates.

Prerequisites

• An introductory course in Symbolic Logic, or an equivalent course in formal methods from mathematics or computer science.

Attendance

• Attendance in lecture is required.

Grading

• Each problem set counts for about 9.2% of your course grade; together the six make up 55%.
• Problem sets and both exams are scored on the same scale: if P is the fraction of the points you earned, your grade for that piece of work is 40 + P×60.
• Grades are not curved at the end of the quarter.
• Work out your own number with the calculator below.

Exams

• Midterm — Thursday, October 29, in class. Covers Unit 1 and sequential circuits, through Circuits and States (10/27).
• Final exam — Wednesday, December 9, 3:00–6:00pm, in Public Affairs 1222 (the registrar's exam slot). Cumulative, with the emphasis on Units 2 and 3.

Problem sets

• Technically and conceptually challenging, and designed to make you extend the concepts from class, not just apply them.
• Length varies. Most have 10–20 short problems; the later sets have fewer but much larger design problems. Some include short prompts for philosophical reflection.
• Normally 3–10 hours, depending on your familiarity with formal or mathematical reasoning.
• Due roughly every two weeks, with one shorter turnaround before the midterm; see the syllabus for dates.
• Posted 1–2 weeks before they are due, and returned about a week after they are submitted.
• Submitted in the course app.
• May be completed with a group or partner — see below.

Group work

• Group work is permitted.
• Size. The maximum group size is 3 people.
• Purpose. A study group is for finding solutions together. It is not for sharing solutions without working on them.
• No free-riding. You can't join a group just to get solutions. If you join, you must participate in trying to solve the problems.
• No free-lunching. You can't share solutions with someone unless you've already been working with them on the solution.
• Record keeping. List all of your group members on your submission. If someone is in your group, you must also be in theirs.
• My request. Help maintain these ground rules, even when it is a bit socially awkward. If someone isn't participating, invite them into the discussion; if they still won't, remind them of the rules.

Problem set grading

• Paragraph reflection answers are human-graded.
• All other problems are machine-graded.
• Complex problems are graded on a 0, 0.5, 1-point basis.
• Your grade for an assignment = 40 + P×60, where P is the fraction of the available points you earned.
• Anything not handed in at all receives a 0. It is much, much better to hand in something weak than nothing at all.

AI tools

AI tools are fine for background and skill building. They are not for the problems themselves.

• Fine — use them as you would a textbook, a tutor, or Wikipedia: have a concept from lecture explained again, work through an example that isn't on the problem set, check your understanding of a definition, practice a technique until it is yours.
• Not fine — solving a problem from a problem set, in whole or in part.
• Not fine — strategizing about a particular problem: what approach to take, where to start, or whether an idea of yours will work.
• Not fine — checking your answers.
• Violations fall under academic integrity, below.

Participation

• Everyone starts at 95. You keep it by taking part once or twice a week in any one of: speaking up in discussion section; asking questions in lecture, or productive group work in lecture; coming to office hours.
• That is meant to be an easy bar. Participate more than this and you can earn up to 100.
• A score below 95 is given only for effective disengagement from the course.

Grading (nitty gritty)

Let A1–A6 be your grades on the six problem sets, M your midterm grade, F your final exam grade, and P your participation grade.

1. First, add together: the average of A1 through A6, multiplied by .55; M multiplied by .15; F multiplied by .25; P multiplied by .05; and +1 for the bonus online evaluation.
2. Second, round to the nearest tenth.
3. Third, translate into a letter grade:

• A total above 100, which the evaluation bonus can produce, is an A.

Late assignments & extensions

• A late problem set loses 5 points as soon as it is late, and a further 5 points for each class meeting that passes after that.
• The deduction is taken from your grade for the assignment after it has been scored. It can carry that grade below 40, but not below 0.
• Homework 6 is due on the last day of instruction, so no class meetings follow it: it loses 5 points as soon as it is late, and 5 points for each day after that.
• No work is accepted after Monday, December 7, whatever the penalty would otherwise be.
• If you have assignments more than two weeks late, be in touch with me. Normally these are not accepted.
• I'll consider extensions under extenuating circumstances, but they must be requested at least one week before the deadline in question, except in a genuine emergency.

How do I do well in this class?

• Attend lecture regularly.
• Attend section regularly, and participate.
• Come to office hours when you have questions.
• Complete all the readings.
• Work hard on assignments and hand them in on time.
• Take a personal interest in the subject matter: what is your opinion of the ideas we are exploring?

Computers and phones in the classroom

• No computers, phones, or tablets in the classroom. Exceptions only with official accommodation.

Academic integrity

• My basic assumption is that all of my students are honest and well-intentioned, and I trust you to avoid any form of dishonest academic behavior: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism.
• If you are tempted, consider what it costs: you put your classmates at a disadvantage, you take a grade you haven't earned, and you break the trust between us and between you and your peers.
• We follow the University Policy on Student Conduct strictly, and you are responsible for knowing it. The academic-integrity rules are summarized here.
• Any violation is reported directly to the Office of the Dean of Students.