4 ms·

I'm a bit of a lurker on HN, but had to add a comment here. The Stanford online offerings are fantastic. I'm taking Stephen Boyd's "Introduction to Linear Dyn

I'm a bit of a lurker on HN, but had to add a comment here. The Stanford online offerings are fantastic. I'm taking Stephen Boyd's "Introduction to Linear Dynamic Systems", and it is simply superb. The course is given at a rate of two lectures per week, but I've found that it fits into the rest of my life more conveniently to watch and absorb one lecture per week. Monday evenings are now my official "learn some new and important stuff" nights. "Linear dynamic systems" is the essential intellectual foundation of a scary number of different areas: control systems, modern financial modeling, statistical modeling and analysis, search, etc. The material is a bit difficult, but it's one of those areas that are widely applicable. I firmly believe that this whole area should be part of the core curriculum of any computer science program. It is right where more and more of the discipline is heading. I've wanted to learn this stuff for a while, and have banged my head against a few books in the area, tried to take a UCLA extension course, etc. But never have I encountered more clear, intuitive, and lucid explanations of this material than in Prof. Boyd's online lectures. This is one of those resources that make you wonder, "Why would an organization like Stanford but this on the web and give it away for free??" But if they are going to do it, then smart people sure as hell should take advantage of it.

hrp 18y ago
Absolutely fantastic class. Challenging, but, you're right, applicable to so many areas, disciplines, and industries.
darragjm 18y ago
"Why would an organization like Stanford [put] this on the web and give it away for free??" Because Stanford students like me pay the ginormous tuition that covers those costs and virtual losses of revenue. ;-)
dmv 18y ago
"Why would an organization like Stanford [put] this on the web and give it away for free??" The question is better put as to why should they not. Stanford is a non-profit institute devoted to education, the advancement of science, etc. At this time in history, one of the most cost-effective / high-impact means to fulfill their objectives is to produce this material on the web. The objective of a school like Stanford should not be to keep this material exclusive. There is no risk of going out of business -- the college experience plays too important a role for too many people. And there are tangible benefits to 'being there'; the networking plus the diploma can be helpful. A school like Stanford, or MIT already has to turn away way too many completely qualified and gifted applicants. Stanford can not effectively scale to address increased demand for the full experience. If it can help those it turned away to still learn, great. It is also important marketing on both a short and long term scale. On an immediate basis, a potential candidate now has an opportunity to look inside to see whether college, and Stanford, is right for them. If they don't consider the lectures worthwhile, it is better to know that now. On a longer time scale, this bolsters the reputation of Stanford by showing their excellence of education. The meme occasionally circulates that some of the Ivies (and their technical equivalents) are soft, coasting on wealth and their laurels. As a Carnegie Mellon graduate, I can now see how Berkeley, MIT, or Stanford's coursework measures up. [I am ashamed that my own alma mater continues to retreat in the other direction, and worry that this will be a long-term competitive disadvantage.] Likewise, as you describe, many may be convinced that a lower tier school is as comprehensive as the top tier. When we see these schools provide their lectures, a more fair comparison could be made prior to making a commitment.
- gleb 18y ago
  Actually, in terms of remote classes, Stanford is in a very special situation. Stanford has been providing distance learning in engineering for 30+ years, primarily to local high-tech companies. Delivery was done through dedicated TV circuits (most client companies are local), VCR tapes and started switching to Internet in 1999. That means that the classes, the facilities, and all the associated processes are fully optimized for remote delivery. Curious side benefit for full time students in CS is that you really don't need to go to class, and can just watch it on TV/Internet. This used to be called SITN (Stanford Instructional Television Network), and is apparently called SCPD ( http://scpd.stanford.edu http://scpd.stanford.edu ) now. Check out the offered courses. They cover full BS & MS+ in Computer Science and many other engineering fields. Many large companies in SV are members, and offer mostly free access to Stanford courses to the employees. It's a nice perk and an advantage when recruiting. It's also a significant source of revenue for Stanford, something they will think twice about giving away. It's a standard problem of a market leader having to cannibalize it's own market. So, it's great if somewhat surprising to see Stanford starting out in this direction.

hrp 18y ago

Absolutely fantastic class. Challenging, but, you're right, applicable to so many areas, disciplines, and industries.

darragjm 18y ago

"Why would an organization like Stanford [put] this on the web and give it away for free??" Because Stanford students like me pay the ginormous tuition that covers those costs and virtual losses of revenue. ;-)

dmv 18y ago

"Why would an organization like Stanford [put] this on the web and give it away for free??" The question is better put as to why should they not. Stanford is a non-profit institute devoted to education, the advancement of science, etc. At this time in history, one of the most cost-effective / high-impact means to fulfill their objectives is to produce this material on the web. The objective of a school like Stanford should not be to keep this material exclusive. There is no risk of going out of business -- the college experience plays too important a role for too many people. And there are tangible benefits to 'being there'; the networking plus the diploma can be helpful. A school like Stanford, or MIT already has to turn away way too many completely qualified and gifted applicants. Stanford can not effectively scale to address increased demand for the full experience. If it can help those it turned away to still learn, great. It is also important marketing on both a short and long term scale. On an immediate basis, a potential candidate now has an opportunity to look inside to see whether college, and Stanford, is right for them. If they don't consider the lectures worthwhile, it is better to know that now. On a longer time scale, this bolsters the reputation of Stanford by showing their excellence of education. The meme occasionally circulates that some of the Ivies (and their technical equivalents) are soft, coasting on wealth and their laurels. As a Carnegie Mellon graduate, I can now see how Berkeley, MIT, or Stanford's coursework measures up. [I am ashamed that my own alma mater continues to retreat in the other direction, and worry that this will be a long-term competitive disadvantage.] Likewise, as you describe, many may be convinced that a lower tier school is as comprehensive as the top tier. When we see these schools provide their lectures, a more fair comparison could be made prior to making a commitment.

gleb 18y ago
Actually, in terms of remote classes, Stanford is in a very special situation. Stanford has been providing distance learning in engineering for 30+ years, primarily to local high-tech companies. Delivery was done through dedicated TV circuits (most client companies are local), VCR tapes and started switching to Internet in 1999. That means that the classes, the facilities, and all the associated processes are fully optimized for remote delivery. Curious side benefit for full time students in CS is that you really don't need to go to class, and can just watch it on TV/Internet. This used to be called SITN (Stanford Instructional Television Network), and is apparently called SCPD ( http://scpd.stanford.edu http://scpd.stanford.edu ) now. Check out the offered courses. They cover full BS & MS+ in Computer Science and many other engineering fields. Many large companies in SV are members, and offer mostly free access to Stanford courses to the employees. It's a nice perk and an advantage when recruiting. It's also a significant source of revenue for Stanford, something they will think twice about giving away. It's a standard problem of a market leader having to cannibalize it's own market. So, it's great if somewhat surprising to see Stanford starting out in this direction.