Making Theory of Computation (Languages and Automata) PALATABLE

-

During my undergrad days as a student, and post-grad days, the one constant complaint students had, was that studying the theory of computation was just too hard. 

For those who don't know what the subject entails, here's a quick summary. The theory of computation studies the fundamentals of "computation"; that is to say, it is not about computers or how they work, their electronics, architecture etc., but instead on the fundamental mathematics that dictate what "computation" is, and what a "computer" can do. For instance, can a computer add two numbers? Ofcourse it can, but how do we prove that is can? 

The theory of computation can be used to demonstrate that given a question (with a "yes/no" answer), can a computer answer the question decisively? It is important for computer scientists and engineers to study the theory of computation, because studying it provides a foundation for understanding programming languages, how they function, and whether a program to solve a problem can at all be written. 

Imagine your manager coming to you and telling you to solve a problem, and you spend many man-hours trying to solve it, failing every time. The theory of computation could have been used to prove to your manager that the problem is either "unsolvable" or "only partially solvable under constraints". 

I intend to prepare short, easy to understand videos for anyone who wishes to learn. I am open to feedback and proposals for me to create new content. 

Each technical video will describe a concept, and will be approached from three perspectives: 

1) Theory: These types of videos will explain the concept using theory, algorithms, proofs etc.
2) Intuition: These types of videos will use an example to motivate and provide the intuition behind the concept/algorithm.
3) Examples: These videos will apply the concept to solve problems.

Any and all feedback will be helpful. Cheers and be kind to each other!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fix Missing Serial/Product Numbers for HP Laptops

-
Image
I have taken this information from http://diypcrepair.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/how-to-fix-system-board-ooa-missing-system-information-hp/ I tried this on an HP DV6 1152tx notebook and it worked. How to Fix “System Board OOA” or “Missing System Information” or “Product Information Not Valid” HP This happens when a motherboard loses the information that’s “tattooed” onto it, or burned onto it. HP says the only way to fix this issue is to pay a technician to repair the issue. I have found a way to do it yourself, although it does require a little finesse and following directions. It’s not too difficult, though. Before you try the method below, see if this method works first, because it is less of a headache to deal with. Things you’ll need: Empty USB thumb drive About 30 minutes or less Here’s How: First, download this utility . It’s called Rufus, and it quickly and easily makes bootable flash drives, which is how we are going to run the HP tattooing utility. Next, downl
Read more

Using Windows Store (Windows 8) Behind a proxy

-
Hey, If you are like me, and are working behind a proxy server in Windows 8, then you need this to get around the inability of metro style apps such as "Windows Store" to connect to the net via your proxy server. Run this as the Administrator in the command prompt, netsh winhttp import proxy source=ie And restart any metro style apps that need the net. Hope this worked for you like it did for me :)
Read more