Course rhythm

2026-10-08

Weekly cadence

Readings + quiz: each reading set has a short quiz to verify engagement and build vocabulary.
Check-in: a completion-graded weekly activity that practices a skill needed for the capstone.
Studio / participatory lecture: in-class work that starts from a failure and develops a protocol or analysis.

Lecture structure

Lectures are primarily instructor-led, with a consistent short in-class component that reinforces the course method:

start from a failure,
derive the guarantee/invariant,
connect it to a protocol mechanism, and
name the evidence that would falsify the claim.

Instructional weeks

There are ~11 instructional weeks. Reading week is used for recovery/catch-up. The final week is used for low-risk activities (project reviews/demos) rather than introducing new core material.