CS106E: Exploring Computing
Spring 2023
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:30pm to 1:20pm

RESOURCES

Schedule
Detailed Topic List

Lecturer

Patrick Young
patrick.young at stanford.edu
Durrand 333

Information for Current Students

Current students should visit Canvas for updated handouts and assignments.

This webpage is to provide information about CS106E to prospective students and visitors and will not be updated during the quarter.

Information for Prospective Students

CS106E provides a broad and detailed overview of computer science. We study what’s really going on under the hood of our computer, seeing for example how CPUs actually work and what Operating Systems like MacOS and Windows actually do. We’ll explore the protocols underlying the Internet and the languages used on the Web. We’ll cover Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning. We’ll take a look at methods hackers use to attack computers and then we’ll turn around and see what sort of defenses we can use to stay safe online. We’ll study Big Data and see how technology opens some very scary doors when it comes to Privacy.

CS106E will be of interest to anyone who wants to understand how computers and the Internet really work.

  • If you want to understand how your consumer electronics work, want to know whether you should spring that extra money for the more expensive multicore processor or GPU, want to understand what "4K HDR TV" really means, or want a better understanding of how digital music, digital cameras, and digital images work, this is your class.
  • If you want a strong background that will allow you to understand technology issues that appear in the news — what net neutrality really means, how the latest computer hacking attack really happened, what the implications of Smart Houses are, or how a driverless car worked (or didn’t work) — this is your class.
  • If you want a depth of understanding that will allow you to communicate with tech people in a company or organization, again this class will be invaluable.
  • If you want to be confident at a cocktail party in Silicon Valley, this is your class.
Comments from Former Students

I asked last year’s students if they had anything to pass on to potential students (some of these are also pulled from the CS106E teaching evaluations).

A great introduction to the basics of computing, its practical applications in business and our every day life, and how its applications affect us.
CS106E helped me to understand so many things that were previously shrouded in mystery. I not only got to demystify these things but I got to actually learn some really cool and practical Computer Science skills. — STS Major
I learned so much in CS106E! It's the best broad survey of tech at Stanford. I strongly recommend this class to people with no tech background, as well as people who know how to code and who have worked in the industry. Patrick is great, the workload is reasonable, and the knowledge I learned in the class helped me as a PM at Amazon — MBA Student
Have you ever wondered how the miracle of computers works? Patrick is one of the few people in the world that can explain it top to bottom—from 1’s and 0’s to the Internet Protocol. I would describe this class as a survey of technology. Pull back the covers on all of the popular technical miracles we take for granted every day. — MBA Student
Great and extremely relevant course. Besides having taken CS106A, I had very little previous knowledge and I learned *a lot*. Professor Young not only reduced my fear of not being able to understand computing concepts--he made them enjoyable and extremely interesting to learn about. He is very accommodating and puts in a tremendous amount of effort to ensure that everyone--from Freshmen to MBAs--gets something out of the class. I am not a CS major, but the topics touched on so many aspects of my life. I personally liked the Security and Privacy lectures the most.
MBAs and Future PMs

CS106E will be particularly of interest to anyone who might end up working at a tech company, as it will give you the tools to speak with programmers at the company with confidence. The course will be particularly invaluable to MBAs and Product Managers, and will be helpful to anyone who works with tech personnel including marketing, sales, and HR. Lectures of particular interest to MBAs and PMs include a discussion on Software Engineering (with a comparison of different software processes and an examination of when those development processes work well and when they don’t) and a look at different programming languages along with a discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of each type of language.