Robotics: An alternative to Prime Number Syndrome?

[JesseK]

I started at GT as a Computer Engineer before I realised that it was like the hardware version of Computer Science. 2nd and 3rd year classes are particularly dull, and the interactive (and freakin HARD) labs don't start until 4th year. In my 3rd year I swapped to EE since I wanted a control systems-oriented engineering degree and have never looked back. I even took some of the embedded systems classes required for CE's so I still got both worlds. BSEE '05.

That said, you probably know that control systems require tons of algorithmic math, and I am a Math Freak. While this news is great in some respects, I think that programming math algorithms for a bit really helps programmers understand how to take theory to code. Robotics helps them take some design that has specific requirements to code. If you've ever done research that requires programming, often times you'll find that there is a HUGE difference between the two. So long as they keep (even the intro) classes to the former, this is a great idea.

How else would anyone be inspired to take a mathematical algorithm (such as Collatz Theorem), program it and graph it for fun, then try to reverse, sideways, and upside down engineer it to figure out how to use a pattern found in a "pretty picture" created from the graphs? That is true Computer Science. Otherwise you're simply repeating something that someone else came up with.