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CAAD Practice: Operative Abstractions - From Aristotle's Syllogism to Machine Learning
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:01:01
Abstract
This course aims to present the notion of abstraction as a central (operative) concept enabling our science, technology and lifestyle to transition to its 20th-century modalities.
Objective
This course aims to present the notion of abstraction as a central (operative) concept enabling our science, technology and lifestyle to transition to its 20th-century modalities. This notion will be illustrated with the example of a computer as a technical object. We will thoroughly show how computers work and what computer code is about within a broad multidisciplinary historical context.
Content
As the practical part of the course, we will be building a simulation of a computer from scratch using the most elementary logic circuits and the Logisim software. Then, we will design a computer language which will allow us to write programs for our computer. Finally, we will explore how, starting from such an elementary language, it is possible to develop all the complexity in contemporary computation, including machine learning.
Resources
Lecture Notes
http://www.caad.arch.ethz.ch
Literature
http://www.caad.arch.ethz.ch
Learning Materials (Links)
- Main link
- Information
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- BSC
- Frequency
- Semesterly recurring
Examination
- Type
- ungraded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise |
CAAD Practice: Operative Abstractions - From Aristotle's Syllogism to Machine Learning
No course 24.10. (seminar week) and in the last two semester weeks (final critiques).
|
|
2 h weekly |