About the Course/Instructor

CSC 262 -Computer Vision - Weinman

1  About the Course

Q:

Can I ask questions specific to labs on Piazza?

A:

Yes. Just don't give away solutions in your questions. (Put another way, make sure what you're asking doesn't violate the collaboration expectations.) If you're ever unsure, feel free to send me your query as an individual email, but know that I may reply, "Please ask on Piazza." I'm not saying that because I thought you didn't read this, but because I'm giving you permission to post your query there.

Q:

I was wondering how different components of the class will factor into our final grades (like what percent do labs make up versus attendance?).

A:

There is only labs. I will use a weighted average.

Q:

I also am a bit confused what you mean by the Average At Least column of grades. Is it to give wiggle room on bumping up the average letter grade of the class? Or rounding up an individual s grade?

A:

Rather than write things like [3.66-4.0] is an A, and 3.42-3.65999999999 is an A-, I'm merely giving the lower end of the grade bracket. (BTW, those ranges are made up. Consult the syllabus for the real numbers I intend to plan to use.

Q:

Is there a final project like previous sections of the class or has that been cut due to the shorter format?

A:

The shorter format just makes it impossible to do a meaningful final project, sadly.

Q:

Why was matlab chosen for this class instead of another language?

A:

It has an excellent standard library for the things we need to do, mathematical expression is economical in code, and (most importantly), it's not just a language, but an environment, and this integrated environment makes it very easy (once you learn how) to investigate and visualize.

Q:

Why did you chose to use MATLAB for this course? What does it offer that Python doesn t?

A:

See above (but also our discussion in lab). I could joke that it offers an extensive licensing fee, but more realistically, I do like how easy it is to create quick visualizations that are meaningful, but also quality professional graphics (which I use for all my published work) as well; that's a nice bonus because it's integrated with my computational workflow. Python is getting better all the time in this regard, but in my own experience, it's still not fully there yet.

Q:

In the submissions instructions, you say not to include names in the write-up. However, at the end of the instructions, you say that a group should include their in their submission. How do we add our names to the submission if they are not on the write-up?

A:

You have to list them as being part of your group; this is submission metadata, it doesn't show up inside your submitted files.

Q:

How can I get an A (straight) in the class? The labs and requirements sound impossible to get an A...

A:

Well, without exams, presentations, and a final project (code + paper), it's arguably much easier to get an A than in a typical offering of this course. (On the flip side, you may have to do a lot more to impress me, which could be important if you're thinking about fodder for letters of recommendation-arguably way more important than your GPA.)

Q:

In the first email you sent, you had said that the course will be entirely inverted. I don't think I get what you were trying to convey. It would be great if you can clarify.

A:

I mean that I won't be delivering lectures during class meetings. Instead, it will be focused lab time. (The gray area is that I'll answer your questions on the reading and/or lecture before you start the lab.)

Q:

- I just want to clarify that there is no exam in our course and all our graded work would be the labs? - Also do we have any final projects?

A:

Labs only. No project.

2  About Me

Q:

I m curious what your favorite creative pursuit(s) are.

A:

I play music; while it's been nearly two decades since composing my own songs, I do work out arrangements regularly. I also like cooking, and while when I'm in the kitchen I'm (unsurprisingly) a recipe follower, I participate in the fine art of barbecue, which does leave me some room for creativity.

There is of course the obvious element that I absolutely enjoy designing good software. But I think I spend far too much time trying to make what I consider beautiful and informative graphs for my research papers, so there's something of a creative element there as well.