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Tech Tuesday: Languages and Automata
Albert Wenger – Nov 5, 2013
In the last two Tech Tuesdays, I introduced Finite State Machines (FSM) and showed examples of both their usefulness and their limitation. Just as a reminder, we study computer science theory to get a handle on two fundamental questions: what [...] Read more
Bitcoin As Protocol
Albert Wenger – Oct 31, 2013
We owe many of the innovations that we use every day -- from our favorite longstanding websites to the latest mobile applications -- to the existence of underlying highly technical protocols. Endusers don't need to understand these any more than [...] Read more
Bitcoin As Protocol
Albert Wenger – Oct 31, 2013
Today’s post is over at USV. It describes why bitcoin is a potentially important protocol that could enable a lot of innovation. Read more
Homeschool Wednesday: NSA Edition
Albert Wenger – Oct 30, 2013
One of the many things I love about homeschooling is the ability to use current affairs to motivate the study of history and civics and more. And it is hard to imagine a richer quarry than NSA surveillance and spying. [...] Read more
Tech Tuesday: Finite State Machines (Continued)
Albert Wenger – Oct 29, 2013
Last Tech Tuesday, I presented the idea of a Finite State Machine (FSM) using a Nespresso machine as an example. We saw that what makes an FSM attractive is that we can easily analyze it using formal methods and answer [...] Read more
Unabashed Utopia
Albert Wenger – Oct 28, 2013
I wrote about Russell Brand’s call for an unspecified revolution this past Friday. I liked his eloquent and indignant dismissal of the current political and economic system but he did not provide a vision of what a revolution should aim [...] Read more
Russell Brand and the Revolution
Albert Wenger – Oct 25, 2013
Russell Brand helped edit the latest issue of New Statesman. He leads off the magazine with an epic rant that is worth reading in its entirety. If you need some motivation, watch this 10 minute clip of him. Essentially, Brand [...] Read more
Forget Zombies: Start Worrying about Bacteria
Albert Wenger – Oct 24, 2013
Halloween is coming up. But if you really want to scare yourself, I suggest you read this interview with an associate director at the CDC about the “end of antibiotics.” Essentially we are not only seeing more bacteria that are [...] Read more
Homeschool Wednesday: University Courses
Albert Wenger – Oct 23, 2013
Growing up in Germany I was always bored in math class, despite going to “Gymnasium” (the branch of Germany’s multi-tiered system that leads up to university) and even taking the most advanced math class in our school (the so-called “Leistungskurs [...] Read more