Course Missive CS2750 Spring In Deo Speramus Brown.

Course Missive

CS2750

Spring

In Deo Speramus

Brown

Apr 18, 2023 © 2014 Maurice Herlihy 2

Our Mission

• Learn how to– Come up-to-speed on a research area– Read a research paper– Map out an area from a paper– Present results to an audience


The Two Generals

Red army winsIf both sides

attack together


Communications

Red armies send messengers across valley


Communications

Messengers don’t always make it


Your Mission

Design a protocol to ensure that Red armies attack

simultaneously


Theorem

There is no non-trivial protocol that ensures that the Red

armies attack simultaneously


Proof Strategy

• Assume a protocol exists

• Reason about its properties

• Derive a contradiction


Proof

1. Consider the protocol that sends fewest messages


Proof


2. It still works if last message lost


Proof



3. So just don’t send it– Messengers’ union pleased


Proof



3. So just don’t send it– Messengers’ union happy

4. But now we have a shorter protocol!


Proof



3. So just don’t send it– Messengers’ union happy

4. But now we have a shorter protocol!

5. Contradicting #1


Advisor

You May Find Yourself …

I want a real-time ROTFL- compliant Two Generals

protocol using UDP datagrams running on our enterprise-level

fiber tachyion network ...




You


Advisor

You May Find Yourself …







You

I’m so Pwned…








You might say

Yes, Ma’am, right away!Yes, Ma’am, right away!

YouAdvisor








You might say


Advantage:•Buys time to find another advisor.•No one really expects software to work anyway

Advantage:•Buys time to find another advisor.•No one really expects software to work anyway

YouAdvisor








You might say


Advantage:•Buys time to find another job•No one really expects software to work anyway

Advantage:•Buys time to find another job•No one really expects software to work anyway

Disadvantage:•You’re doomed

Disadvantage:•You’re doomed

YouAdvisor








You might say

I can’t find a fault-tolerant algorithm, I guess I’m just a

pathetic loser.


pathetic loser.

YouAdvisor








You might say


pathetic loser.


pathetic loser.

Advantage:•No need to take CS275


YouAdvisor








You might say


pathetic loser.


pathetic loser.



Disadvantage:•Advisor fires you, uses grant money to hire undergraduates

Disadvantage:•Advisor fires you, uses grant money to hire undergraduates

YouAdvisor








You might say

Using skills honed in CS275, I discovered prior work that suggests we had better rethink the problem spec.


YouAdvisor








You might say



YouAdvisor

Tenure-track!


Our Mission

• Learn how to– Come up-to-speed on a research area– Read a research paper– Map out an area from a paper– Present results to an audience


Reading a Research Paper

• Many research papers are badly written– Conference deadlines– Conference page limits– Brilliant but inarticulate authors


Leslie Lamport Review


Leslie Lamport ReviewBadly-written, misunderstood paper

that few had read.


Continued …


Continued …

Eh?


Continued …

Why indeed?


Continued …

Why not?


Continued …

Marketing FAIL


Hard Cases Make Bad Law

• This example does not mean– Every badly written paper has hidden value




• But some do




• But some do• And some well-written papers

– Have little to say




• But some do• And some well-written papers

– Have little to say

• “The race is not always to the swift”– But the smart money bets that way …


Our Mission

• Learn how to come up-to-speed on a research area

• Exact area doesn’t matter (much)– Skill is fungible

• You are always going to need this skill– So start now!


Our Methodology

• Recent conference proceedings– Indicate which topics are hot– Even if the papers themselves are

• Incremental• Cryptic• Or worse!


Our Methodology

• Recent conference proceedings– Indicate which topics are hot– Even if the papers themselves are

• Incremental• Cryptic• Or worse!

• Even the worst papers– Have to cite the best


Detective Work

• Start with a recently published paper– So we know someone cares


Detective Work


• Skim through it & primary citations– Which citations seem important?


Detective Work


• Skim through it & primary citations– Which citations seem important?

• Identify area’s primary paper– The one to read if you read only one– First? Best improvement? Best written?


Presentation (35% of Grade)

• Form team of 1, 2, or 3 people• Pick recent paper• Perform “due diligence” on area• Identify one paper that everyone else

– Must read first– Must submit evaluation

• Give presentation• Repeat as needed …


Your Presentation

• Defines problem

• Establishes background

• Identifies primary paper

• Leads discussion

• Identifies open research questions


Participation (10% of Grade)

• Research papers sometimes– Are poorly written,– Make exaggerated or misleading claims– Contain errors or ambiguities (imagine that!).

• I expect students to speak up– Ask questions– Make observations– Apply critical scrutiny.

• It’s no fun without the studio audience!


Paper Evaluations(10% of grade)

• Your name & paper name• Summarize the paper

– no more than five sentences

• Strengths– no more than three, one sentence each

• Weaknesses– no more than three, one sentence each

• Open problems or issues– no more than three sentences



• Evaluations– will be graded on a scale of 1 to 3.– Default grade is 2.– Insightful reviews get 3– Disappointing reviews get 1.

.



• Mail evaluations to instructor before start of class in which the paper is presented.

• Late or incomplete evaluations get no credit.

• Must evaluate at least 2/3 of papers presented.


Presentation Evaluations(10% of grade)

• Presenter name(s)• Vision:

– did presenter explain why it matters?

• Style:– did presenter make eye contact, mumble, etc?

• Exposition– confusing slides?

• Q&A– How were questions handled?


Presentation Evaluations(10% of grade)

• Send evaluations to instructor– before Friday 5:00 PM in the week in which the

presentation occurred. No exceptions.– must do 2/3 of presentations

• Be frank, but polite.• Instructor will anonymize and send to

presenters• Exception:

– no need to evaluate instructor’s presentations– too hard to anonymize


Project (30% of grade)

• Requirements same as presentation, except that you:– Work alone, not in a team– Write a term paper, not a presentation.

• Consult the instructor!

Course Missive CS2750 Spring In Deo Speramus Brown.

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