Fayimora: Just as a side note directed towards beginners, there is no point studying the analysis of algorithms if you dont understand the algorithms themselves.

delomos:

^^ Very true, a better link should have been: https://www.coursera.org/category/cs (Algorithm I & II, been much more approachable)

And one particularly intriguing is: https://www.coursera.org/course/saas (where they even used Rails)

dansmog++:

thanks for this link. but the prerequisite needed is a basic programming sense in java and i only have started programming in python just on friday. ( the day before yesterday).

delomos:
No offense but often Professors live in their heads,

csharpjava:

Design and Analysis of Algorithms I
By: Tim Roughgarden, Associate Professor

delomos:

Yes they do. And your point is...?

Actually, before you go off, watch this TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html (luckily, Sir Robinson is referencing Brick and Motors)

Kobojunkie:

Because someone goes on TED to say schools kills creativity means no one should go to school then?

Fayimora: I do understand that you don't need to be good at algorithms to take that course, however, they(at least 50% of what you would see) wouldn't really make sense. You would also need basic-intermediate level maths. I helped a friend that took the course and I felt for her.

I did my math and I realised that it is always better to use to book to get started on algorithms, that's if you ain't in a physical class of course. It might not work for everyone but I believe it works for at least 8 out of 10 people.

delomos:
It means one should question the status quo... (usually hat notion that schooling is a path to success, sure Uni marketers love that) not to mention, in many personal life, there is almost an inverse relationship between school and creativity ( and on a slightly comical note, you should follow "PHD Comics", http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php -- whose main subject is off academia) -- IMO (to which I strongly agree w/ SKR), school is designed for scholars.

lordZOUGA: @Kobojunkie, yea? Seriously? The school system has been working? Where everyone is taught how to think like their instructor and then forced to learn a bunch of useless junk that the person won't probably use throughout his life... When has the last worthwhile invention been recorded? You actually think that schools bring advancement? Doesn't it bother you that most technological advancements or inventions are achieved outside the school premises or by drop-outs? Advancement is part of evolution schools doesn't dish it out.

Kobojunkie:
...
You know what? I am not here to engage in any lazy-man logic on here. If you are anti-education, don't bother spreading that on a thread that was created to help EDUCATE people. Go find your fellow lazy men somewhere else to spill that nonsense to.

.....

And please stop derailing threads on here with all this your nonsense logic. I can pick out at least 4 different threads where you have about done the very same.

Kobojunkie:

Again with the lame-brained assumptions. So you think countries like India, China, Finland, etc, where MILLIONS of people have been educated and given a new lease on life, would agree with your suggestions above that Education only teaches people how to think like their instructors?

You know what? I am not here to engage in any lazy-man logic on here. If you are anti-education, don't bother spreading that on a thread that was created to help EDUCATE people. Go find your fellow lazy men somewhere else to spill that nonsense to.

okeyxyz: the link to TED was very thought provoking & a message to people(maybe not for everybody, but it was useful to me) who are capable of applying it's principles to their lives. thanks @delemos for posting.

For those who are troubled(@kobojunkie) that he advocates for people not to go to school or others who might follow it over-zealously(@lordzouga) by banishing schools from their lives, You both couldn't be more wrong. At no point during this guys talk did he advocate for any school system to be dismantled, his argument was simply that schooling objectives have been too narrow, targeting only a small percentage of human & creative values , while disregarding a vast wealth of potentials that should be developed.

Kobojunkie:

Wait a second . . . you are telling me that you only just realized that you ought to question the status quo, and so posting a TED video with some dude video expressing his OPINION on a matter, changes what many have come to learn and accept as their truth for hundreds of years?

Yes, schooling is not for everyone,in fact, advancement is not for every mind out there, that is why you find those who live content working as janitors, not even knowing to add 1 and 2, but it would be MORONIC to conclude that NO ONE benefits from schooling and schools as they are today. I cannot believe someone would come on programming board to spew this sort of trash.

And please stop derailing threads on here with all this your nonsense logic. I can pick out at least 4 different threads where you have about done the very same.

okeyxyz:
.... thought provoking & a message to people(maybe not for everybody, but it was useful to me) who are capable of applying it's principles to their lives.

..... it's not as if these masters\phd's are breaking new grounds that will revolutionalize industry, but simply that everybody is struggling to be more qualified\certified\learned than the other.

Fayimora: Just as a side note directed towards beginners, there is no point studying the analysis of algorithms if you dont understand the algorithms themselves.

ekt_bear:

I don't agree with this. You need to be comfortable with things like big-oh and some basic math and know how to program a bit.

You can get a lot out of an algorithms course w/o tons of prior algorithms experience. Having not seen or used quicksort/mergesort before doesn't prevent you from absorbing a lecture on it.

delomos: In my experience, the Algo classes thought in Uni, are too theoretical for real world application (same goes to most Uni approach to Design Patterns and/or OO).

Now that SERIOUSLY depends on the university!

ekt_bear:
.....

But to be honest, the top companies, the ones that pay the most, when interviewing expect you to do puzzles and stuff. The university class I think is really helpful for the "puzzle" companies, but probably not that useful for the "memorize" companies.

ekt_bear:
.....But you won't get the best jobs with that alone, I think

delomos: In my experience, the Algo classes thought in Uni, are too theoretical for real world application (same goes to most Uni approach to Design Patterns and/or OO).

Now that SERIOUSLY depends on the university!