| Title: | Hypothetical Questions & Answ |
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| Course Section Number: | FRT-101-02 |
| Department: | Freshman Tutorial |
| Description: | FRT-101-02: Hypothetical Questions and Answers. Katie Ansaldi is a mathematician. She enjoys hiking and traveling to beautiful places. What shape would houses have in a two-dimensional world? What would American life be like if the Axis powers had won World War II? What would happen if the world suddenly stopped spinning? How would your life be different today if you had never met your best friend or significant other? According to Randall Munroe, "thoroughly answer[ing] a stupid question can take you to some pretty interesting places." In this class we will explore how people have answered hypothetical questions across the liberal arts. We will read Edwin Abbott's Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensions to explore life in a two-dimensional world and the geometry of the fourth dimension. Through excerpts from Randall Munroe's What if: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, we'll think about the science of the impossible. The course will also include alternative history like Philip K. Dick's Man in the High Castle. We'll watch films like The Invention of Lying to imagine a world where people can only tell the truth. Through these and other works, we'll experience the great joy of asking "what if.?". |
| Credits: | 1.00 |
| Start Date: | August 22, 2019 |
| End Date: | December 15, 2019 |
| Meeting Information: |
08/22/2019-12/05/2019 Lecture Tuesday, Thursday 09:45AM - 11:00AM, Goodrich Hall, Room 006
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| Faculty: | Ansaldi, Katie |
Course Status
| Section Name/Title | Status | Dept. | Capacity |
Enrolled/ Available/ Waitlist |
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