I do my best to update this document after receiving your notes. I don't
always succeed.
I was born in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. At age one, we
went to the Netherlands and lived there two years. I remember almost
nothing from that time. I lived in Newton until I went to college in
Chicago (at the University of Chicago). I spent about eleven years in
Chicago.
For much of my life, I collected music (vinyl, CDs, etc.). These days,
I seem to have less time for music.
I suppose that's because of my primary interests: my kids, William, Jonathan,
and Daniel.
I also like playing cards and strategy games.
Hmmm ... possibly Winnie the Pooh. Rotound. Generally happy. Often
perplexed.
For about as long as I can remember (i.e., since high school or so), I've
been planning to teach at the college level. I like computer science,
primariiy because I like the formalized problem solving and that my
work has clear applications. I like Grinnell because I like the small
classes, the emphasis on learning for the sake of learning, and because
of its resources.
Not that I can think of. I'd like a little more time with my kids,
but that's about it.
Um ... the main emphasis of my career is helping students learn. I find
it rewarding when I see my students learn. I also find still find it
rewarding when I convince the computer to do something new.
Not really. I consult from time-to-time and write software that other
people use, but I really love teaching.
Yes, you will certainly be able to write useful programs after this
course. By the time you finish the class, you'll be able to write
programs that analyze data (numeric and textual), generate Web pages
dynamically, and even generate images. You will even write some useful
programs in the course. If there are particular programs you'd like to
think about writing, please let me know.
You are likely to gain a modicum of extra credit if you make me laugh.
Well, we certainly talk a lot about educational techniques in the course.
I expect that as you teach students, you will need to help them think
carefully about the algorithms they develop and use. Since we focus on
care in algorithm design, I expect the care we emphasize in this class
will carry over into your own teaching.
Whoops. Didn't realize that I had a self-deprecating comment about it.
My experience is that students ask a lot of questions that are on there,
which suggests that few read it.
Don't worry. We're quite well compensated. Stop sucking up.
That depends. Because there are so few women in computer science, I try
to reserve a few slots (usually three) on my research team for first-year
women.
If there were few applications from upper-level students, there
would also be room for first-year men. However, right now, the
ratio of applicants to likely positions is at least three to one.
Um ... If con
is the opposite of pro
, what is congress
?
Since it's phrased like that, I'd say No, I can't tell you.
If you
phrase it as What, in your opinion, has been the greatest achievement
in CS in the last ten year?
I'd probably say the growth of computing
as a mechanism for communication. Is that really CS? Probably not, but
who cares? Other cool things: Software to analyze the genetic code; large
scale information retrieval algorithms (like the one Google uses);
Biological computing.
You may also want to look at my responses to the current
survey and my responses to questions from past semesters:
CSC152 99F,
CSC152 2000S,
CSC151 2000F,
and
CSC152 2000F.
Wednesday, 10 January 2000 [Samuel A. Rebelsky]
- Created generic document for all courses.
Tuesday, 7 January 2003 [Samuel A. Rebelsky]
- Updated generic version slightly.
Monday, 3 February 2003 [Samuel A. Rebelsky]
- Finally got around to releasing my answers (which were sitting here
waiting for me to fill them in). Sorry.
;
Check with Bobby