Intelligent Universe

The basis of intelligence is information: the way it is acquired, stored, processed, and acted upon. This course will explore information at increasing levels of complexity, from physics to chemistry to cells, and simple to complex organisms. We will look at the major breakthroughs in evolution of information processing that led to human intelligence and explore the similarities between biological and artificial intelligence. Finally, we will ask the question, “Is information and the intelligence that arises from it fundamental to the universe?”

Required Reading: Max Bennet, A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains, Mariner Books, ISBN 978-0063286344.

Barbara Snapp received her PhD in Biology from Cornell University where her research focused on the ecological adaptiveness of behavior. Her passion is teaching science and especially teaching broad survey courses where she can interweave science themes with culture and history to build multidimensional understanding.