Sebastian Alvarado came in to talk about his work at Thwacke, a consulting company he co-founded that provides the science behind movies. They have recently been hired by Marvel to give logical explanations to the superheroes such as Captain America and the Hulk. Learn more at: http://thwacke.com.
Another project that he has been working on is a cell game that covers the stages of cancer and teaches you about cell activity. It is meant to look at cancer biologically, instead of demonizing it.
Thank you Sebastian for coming in and showing us how science and videogames/movies work together.
Yesterday we had another Guest Speaker – Mike Marmarou from Apple. He gave us solid advice on what to do to stand out at interviews and what to expect from big companies like Apple and Google. I found this really helpful as I want to someday work in computer programming.
Thank you for sharing some of your knowledge about the tech industry with us!
Thank you so much for coming in! Your ideas are revolutionary; sparking a new approach to computer programming. This type of interactive and innovative technology presents countless new opportunities to everyone, not only serious programmers. With your programs, programming becomes something that is accessible to anyone.
Programmers are now able to view their work in real time, rather than having to hit “run” in order to see their changes. It allows people to “Invent on Principle”, similar to the way artists and musicians do.
Based on an exhibit found at the Tech Museum, my final project will be a binary translator. Working together with my partner, Emily, I will construct a model that will allow users to write out sequences in binary and have the computer translate them into English.
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After two days of hard work, Emily and I were ready to present the result. This is the magnificent Binary Calculator, ladies and gentlemen!
S/O to colorcombos.com for their help with the color picking.
A few days ago I had the chance to play around with Arduino – an open-source microprocessor that is used to make interactive projects. Read more about it here: http://www.arduino.cc/. My partner and I wrote a program that changed the color of a light bulb depending on the room temperature.
In 1976 Bill Gates wrote an open letter addressing computer hobbyists on the topic of copyright infringement of software. He had recently released a new software called Altair BASIC, and was upset that his software was being used by people that has not paid for it. He argued that such behaviour discouraged developers from spending their time and money on designing new software. I agree with this: the developers should be recognized and paid for their hard work. Read Bill Gates’Open Letter to Hobbyistsbelow.
Chaim Gingold recently designed an innovative educational program that allows users to learn about the Earth using interactive simulations. This new technology is charting the landscape for the future of technology-based education. The clever and engaging animations let the user experience earth science and its different aspects.
The app is coming out in the next month or so, and will be able to purchase in the iTunes store for the iPad.
Thank you Chaim for coming in and giving us a preview of the Earth Primer.
This will give the users a chance to learn about the diverse sorting algorithms and the pros and cons of each one. Something new that could be eventually incorporated is sound to go with the sorting. It would look similar to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8g-iYGHpEA. The user would be able to increase the speed as well as choose the starting point for the array..
Idea #2: Make an interactive map that allows the user to drop points and figure out the fastest way to visit all the marks.
This idea is similar to the famous traveling salesman problem, however, mine would be simpler. It would help users to understand how different pathfinding algorithms work.
Idea #3: An exhibit that allows users to participate in the Turing Test as a judge or a human contestant. They will be able to interact with one another, and the judges will decide if they are human or computer.
This will give the users a deeper understanding of how the Turing test works, and will let them to experience it firsthand.
Alix and I created a program using processing that simulates four moving balls. They simultaneously travel across the screen in different directions, bouncing off the sides.
Paperclips 