Life as an Algorithm

Computation

Duane A. Bailey

In this lecture we investigate the basic models of computation, the notion of an algorithm, and basic metrics for measuring the resources it consumes and produces.

Outline of this class (resources are below)

Schedule.
1. This Thursday, 8:30, a lab. Let's meet in the Mac Lab (TCL 217a). We will not meet in the afternoon (unless you want to - see me).
2. Next lecture is next Tuesday. Please be prepared to bone up on your biology.
Computation.
1. Required concepts: grammars, languages, etc.
2. The notion of a computer
  1. Turing's machine
  2. Logic networks
  3. Universality.
3. Languages and recognition
4. Sequential vs. Parallel.
5. Deterministic vs. nondeterministic
6. Complexity

Resources needed for this class:

The reading for this lecture, on Turing machines and complexity.
Turing's 1937 paper
The Turing Machine Applet

Readings for our next lecture (in a week):

A readable article on the basic dogma of biology.
Ian Stewart's article on the frozen accident.
A page from the The Double Helix. Close, but no cigar.
The dog genome paper.
The SARS genome. Only 29,000+ base pairs!

These items require Acrobat Reader.
These items are Java applets, and require Java to be installed on your machine.