tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post8232137973385805329..comments2024-03-28T21:59:14.517-07:00Comments on Probably Overthinking It: Think Complexity: Part FourAllen Downeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01633071333405221858noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-9303543436515510272014-01-23T15:31:01.558-08:002014-01-23T15:31:01.558-08:00We are actually STILL working on this, and I have ...We are actually STILL working on this, and I have a student doing work this semester to finally wrap all of this up and send it to you. The original group of students are now Seniors and this is their farewell gift giving back to our CS program.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11945225927949838470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-75909438332916914582013-05-27T10:01:23.626-07:002013-05-27T10:01:23.626-07:00woot! \0/ Awesome. This is great. Thanks for sh...woot! \0/ Awesome. This is great. Thanks for sharing!Benjamin Sugarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12072693401927555227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-51599187734865062992013-05-09T09:04:49.791-07:002013-05-09T09:04:49.791-07:00Hi Benjamin,
I'm glad you are enjoying the bo...Hi Benjamin,<br /><br />I'm glad you are enjoying the book, and thanks for this note.<br /><br />Some of the exercises have links to solutions. There are some other solutions in this repository:<br /><br />https://code.google.com/p/complexity/source/browse/#svn%2Ftrunk%2Fcode<br /><br />but they are not well organized. Next time I teach my class, I will enlist the students to generate more solutions and make them available in a friendlier form.Allen Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01633071333405221858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-53952828218866347772013-05-04T11:36:52.486-07:002013-05-04T11:36:52.486-07:00Hi Allen,
First, let me say an enormous thank you...Hi Allen,<br /><br />First, let me say an enormous thank you for this book. It really allows you to engage with this very interesting subject in a way that could otherwise require years of study in CS, math, and physics. As someone who came to this subject with little background in any of those, this book has allowed me to explore this topic which I've become very interested in despite my lack of prior knowledge. For your contributions to that and other similar endeavors, I thank you.<br /><br />One question though: are there any plans to release solutions to the exercises? It has been my experience that when you are starting out in a new subject area, in particular computer programming, you can have at a problem for days, but in the end, sometimes you just don't know what you don't know. When that happens, it is very useful to be able to look at a solution; not to as a cheat to deprive yourself of building and breaking your own models, but as a glimpse of enlightenment so you continue forward on that journey. <br /><br />Again, many thanks for creating this book and making it so widely available!<br /><br />BenjaminBenjamin Sugarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12072693401927555227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-90230898981892526932012-10-13T22:18:07.207-07:002012-10-13T22:18:07.207-07:00Okay, thanks. We're looking in to how Python ...Okay, thanks. We're looking in to how Python with Numpy will handle the entire study, not just the parts we wrote, but we will have a Python version of the "try it yourself" extension that we wrote, allowing users to compete with the GA solutions found in the C code trials.<br /><br />Thanks for all your contributions to CS Education, Common Sense, Logic, and life in general. :-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11945225927949838470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-31477799224711342772012-10-13T18:44:58.767-07:002012-10-13T18:44:58.767-07:00I use Tkinter, and a wrapper I wrote, called Gui, ...I use Tkinter, and a wrapper I wrote, called Gui, that comes with Swampy. But any of the common Python GUI toolkits would be fine.Allen Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01633071333405221858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-84745175472853896382012-10-11T22:00:21.262-07:002012-10-11T22:00:21.262-07:00Allen,
We're working on this and currently wo...Allen,<br /><br />We're working on this and currently working on the original C code along with our code that allows one to test their ability to program in a strategy to compete against the GA strategies. Any preference on GUI code? We can use John Zelle's graphics module, or just plain Tkinter. Or Pyglet. <br /><br />We'll also be including links to our site which will include an HTML5 Canvas version, and maybe a Java and Processing version.<br /><br />Haven't done much with WX Python or PyQT, but we could consider those. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11945225927949838470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-12778571528909108442012-10-06T08:10:49.500-07:002012-10-06T08:10:49.500-07:00Congrats to you and your students! They must have...Congrats to you and your students! They must have done some interesting work. Looking forward to hearing more.Allen Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01633071333405221858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-60584716192289312722012-10-05T20:58:12.176-07:002012-10-05T20:58:12.176-07:00Hi Allen,
I'll see if we can get this done. ...Hi Allen,<br /><br />I'll see if we can get this done. The students will be presenting the research at this year's SIGCSI conference. :-) They are your typical high-achievers, and therefore have a lot on their plates. I have them all in my APCS class, though, so I will keep on them about this! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11945225927949838470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-1505461079594188412012-03-25T09:50:22.982-07:002012-03-25T09:50:22.982-07:00That sounds great. I am looking forward to seeing...That sounds great. I am looking forward to seeing these case studies!Allen Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01633071333405221858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-68889609619756327662012-03-23T18:13:47.292-07:002012-03-23T18:13:47.292-07:00Hi Allen,
We have some Python code that presents ...Hi Allen,<br /><br />We have some Python code that presents an easy way for people to program "Robby", and also code that let's you enter the "dna" for a particular bot and test it. Haven't found a good home for this code, so we'll look into wrapping it up for a case study in your book. Luckily, all students involved on the case study were Freshmen, so adding this to their future letters of recommendation is a major plus. :-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11945225927949838470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-77208157064821987732012-02-17T04:33:36.608-08:002012-02-17T04:33:36.608-08:00Hi Richard. Your genetic algorithm project might m...Hi Richard. Your genetic algorithm project might make a good case study for the next edition. See the call for submissions here: http://greenteapress.com/complexity/case_studies/<br /><br />"I invite readers to submit additional case studies. Reports that meet the criteria will be published in an online supplement to this book, and the best of them will be included in future print editions."<br /><br />Regards,<br />AllenAllen Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01633071333405221858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6894866515532737257.post-66822113323277648192012-02-16T20:40:23.244-08:002012-02-16T20:40:23.244-08:00Hi Allen. We're still using your Think Python...Hi Allen. We're still using your Think Python book here at Skyline HS in Colorado. I was thrilled when I noticed you doing a book on complexity using Python. Last year I had a group of students do a case study on Melanie Mitchell's "Robby the Robot" genetic algorithms work. We mess around with a lot of the facets of complexity science that you are covering here, and I'll be buying a few copies of this and Think Stats to have around home and the lab.<br /><br />Take care!<br />RichardAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11945225927949838470noreply@blogger.com