ESP Biography

What is a game? How can we come up with a meaningful definition which encompasses board games, computer games, war games, mind games, and love games? Why are games fun? What makes games hard? If a computer can play a game well, is it intelligent? Can a computer enjoy playing a game? In this interdisciplinary course (placed here because I have to put it somewhere) we'll explore these questions and more, drawing from research in Game Theory (economics), Game Design, Artificial Intelligence, Modal Logic, and Linguistics, among other topics. We'll also spend some time making and playing games.

Why? Why what? Why learn logic? Because it's awesome! And that argument is valid, though it might be unsound. Why? You'll find out when you take this course, over the course of which (no pun intended) you will: - Embark on a whirlwind tour of Formal Logic and its myriad applications - Dance (metaphorically) at the intersection of the humanities and sciences, exploring issues that form of the basis of philosophy, computer science, linguistics, mathematics, and (perhaps) all human thought. (This last point depends on findings from psychology, which we'll also cover). - Read and discuss op-eds and political speeches, identify their underlying (il)logical structures, and then rip them to shreds Stretch your brain by solving cool puzzles and tackling deep questions Have engaging, possibly heated debates - Learn all about: > The reasons for reason: the issues that arise with natural language and untutored human problem solving, and how formal logic can help remedy them. > Bullshit: how to spot it and refute it, how to use it and get away with it, and--best of all--how to argue without needing it > Propositional, Modal, and First-Order Logics, their notations, histories, strengths, weaknesses, and uses. > The Limits of Logic: why if you are obligated to be gentle rather than cruel, then you are obligated to kill your mother (and why that may or may not be a problem) > What this means: $$ \forall x \Box ShouldTakeThisClass x $$ ...and why it's true. By the end of the course you will: - Become a more discerning reader, consumer, and thinker, immune to the ploys of demagogues and advertisers, - Be able to win any argument... (with a computer at least, humans tend to rely on emotions--something else we'll discuss), - Be 3.7 times smarter than you were before, - Know whether this course description is mere rhetorical flourish or a sound and valid argument for taking this course, and most importantly - Be able to answer that most profound of all human queries and most detested of all follow-up questions: Why?