Thursday July 10

Why Robot's Aren't As Smart As You Might Think They Are

Everyone has seen images of robots in movies and on TV. These robots may be helpful, silly, or destructive, but they are all smart. In this lecture, I'll tell you about the sad state of affairs of real robots (they're dumb) and we'll explore some of the difficulties that have kept roboticists from making smarter robots.

Stupid Stuff I Have Done

(that you will want to avoid)

Jon Monsarrat has had computer science experiences in academia, industry, and starting his own computer games company. Along the way he's made plenty of mistakes, and has some lessons learned to present. Some of them involve philosophy: Why is it important to have goals? Who cares? What does "success" mean? Why are people so hard to work with? What's in an attitude?

Other "stuff that wasn't written down when I tripped over it" involves the practicalities of getting what you want out of life. How to overcome impatience, dealing with sharks, earning respect, making the most of your skills, figuring out long-term goals, keeping focus on a long-term goal, and how not to go crazy in the process.

The lecture will be fast-paced and practical. Jon guarantees you will say "aha" at least once; you may even discover a new way of looking at some of life's hardest problems. Jon is an alumnus of the Brown CS department, and an award-winning teacher.

At Nite: 7:30 PM - Seminar: Relaxation and Stress Management by Kent Yrchik-Shoemaker from Pscyhological Services