Guesstimation
Instructor: Markus Luty, Department of Physics, College of Letters and Science
Description: This course is devoted to "guesstimating," using very rough approximations (and even guesses) together with simple logic to solve seemingly difficult or impossible problems with numerical answers. How many hairs are on your head? How many flat tires are there at any given time in the US? How much does the air in a room weigh? What are the relative merits of internal combustion and electric cars, of coal and nuclear energy? Surprisingly to most people, these questions can all be answered approximately without specialized knowledge or advanced math or science. Problems such as these have applications in all areas of life, and cutting-edge companies like Google increasingly use questions like this to challenge prospective employees.
Students will learn to make estimates by breaking down complex problems into simpler ones. Students will gain practice "thinking on their feet" and confidence in applying everyday knowledge to unfamiliar situations.
Format: In addition to the two weekly meetings (one hour each), students will be expected to do weekly reading, mainly from the book "Guesstimation: Solving the World's Problems on the Back of a Cocktail Napkin" by Profs. Lawrence Weinstein and John A. Adams. Grading: Students will be graded on: Class participation (40%); In-class writing assignments (30%); and a Final writing project (30%)
About the Instructor: Professor Luty is a theoretical physicist specializing in particle physics and gravity. He received his Ph.D. degree at the University of Chicago, and has worked at UC Berkeley, MIT, and the University of Maryland before joining the UC Davis faculty in 2007.