CSCI1377

Tools for Thought

Spring 2026

Humanity’s technological progress is defined in part by the development of tools which augment our cognitive capabilities: language, writing, notation, calculators, diagrams, and more. Computers have significant potential for developing even more powerful tools for thought (TFT). People regularly use computational TFTs such as data visualization, search engines, computational notebooks, and generative AI. Despite this progress, many cognitive processes look roughly the same today as they did 30 years ago: communicating with PDFs, learning with textbooks, programming with IDEs, data analysis with spreadsheets. The goal of this course is to equip you with the foundations to build the next generation of computational TFT.

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