Assignment 1: February 5 through February 14

Each week you can expect to find an assignment like this one on the 6.033 home page, telling you what you should read over the course of the following week. Occasionally we will be organized enough to predict the readings a few days beyond the next Tuesday. Reading assignments, such as "Reading #2" or "Chapter 4" refer to materials listed on the reading list page, most of which will be found in the two packets you pick up from the EECS Instrument Room.

Each week you are expected to complete two assignments. The first is a short reading report, called a "one-pager." It is a short (one page) written report due at the beginning of every Tuesday recitation. The specific topic to be addressed in the report will be given on the previous week's assignment sheet. In recitation you should be prepared to talk about the whole paper, not just the particular point of the writing assignment. Note that we strictly adhere to the single-side, one-page limit. This forces you to prioritize issues and write concisely.

The second is a hands-on experimental assignment, which you can usually complete at an Athena workstation, sometimes using the Web. The idea is to try to reinforce some of the abstract concepts from the lectures or papers that week by getting your hands dirty using software tools.

For Recitation: Tuesday, February 5

Read Gabriel's paper (reading #1). This is a lightweight paper, but makes a thought-provoking point. In general, we will have at most one heavy-duty technical paper per recitation, sometimes accompanied by an easy-to-read paper with up-to-date information, a thought-provoking point, an issue important to society, or high entertainment value. There will not be a one-pager assignment for this Tuesday.

For Lecture: Wednesday, February 6

Read Chapter 1, sections A,B, and C of the 6.033 class notes, and begin reading the paper by Simon, "The Architecture of Complexity" (reading #2).

For Recitation: Thursday, February 7

Finish reading Simon, "The Architecture of Complexity" (reading #2). Simon discusses the power of hierarchy using an astonishing variety of examples from many fields. Here is a thought exercise (not to be handed in): Identify two examples of the use of hierarchy in Project Athena, and understand how hierarchy provides significant leverage or advantage.

There will not be a hands-on assignment this Thursday.

For Special Lecture: Friday, February 8

This lecture is provided by the staff of the Writing Program and is intended to help you do a better job on weekly one-page reports. In preparation for this lecture, read Gopen and Swan, "The Science of Scientific Writing". (This lecture will be held in the normal location: 34-101.)

For Lecture: Monday, February 11

Read Chapter 1, sections D and E.

For Recitation: Tuesday, February 12

Read the Leveson paper (reading #4) and write a one-page reading report that addresses the following question:

In many organizations, placing too much responsibility in one party can lead to corruption or disaster. To allay these risks, important responsibilities are split over two or more separate parties. Consider, for example, the three branches of the U.S. Federal Government. Congress (the legislative branch) creates laws, but these laws must be approved by the President (the executive branch) and are subject to interpretation by federal courts (the judicial branch).

In many ways, the AECL and the Therac-25 failed because they placed too much responsibility in a single entity. Pick two of these failures, and for each, describe how you would separate the responsibility to solve the problem. What do your divisions protect against, and how could they fail?

Remember, use no more than one sheet of paper for your report. We care about conciseness more than the amount of content. Since you will not be able to address every issue in one page, you will have to select only your best arguments for the one-pager. This assignment is due at the beginning of recitation today.

Browse excellent reports from last year for examples of good writing on one-page reading reports. Also, please check the 6.033 FAQ for formatting instructions.

For Lecture: Wednesday, February 13

Read Chapter 2, section A.

For Recitation: Thursday, February 14

System aphorism of the week