GEN1000 for students admitted to Year 1 before AY2025/26, Year 2 before AY2026/27, or Year 3 before AY2027/28, except with the permission of the Module Coordinator
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This module explores the history and development of numbers that are embedded in our daily lives, encouraging students to cultivate a creative and digital mindset to apply scientific methods and algorithms for innovative problem-solving to explain and analyze numbers-related scenarios encountered in daily life. By exploring the historical evolution of numbers in science and analyzing their relationship with modern technological innovation, this module provides students a deeper understanding of how numbers in these innovations influence creativity in arts and sciences.
Furthermore, this module focuses on how we can critically and ethically evaluate the impact of numbers and its applications to enhance our understanding in number-related natural phenomena and human behaviour in everyday life, fostering creativity and critical thinking skills essential for success in an ever-changing world. Through interactive in-class demonstrations, assignments and collaborative project, students will develop the ability to articulate the significance of numbers in shaping human civilization. Key topics covered include numbers hidden in our daily life, probabilities, strategic game theory, allocation problem and matching problem.
Upon completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Numbers that are hidden in our daily life
1.1. Development of numbers in human civilization
1.2. Connections between technology and numbers
1.3. Numbers in the digital era
1.4. Ethical use of numbers in our daily life
2. Ratios in our daily life
2.1. Golden ratios and golden numbers
2.2. Unveiling the golden spiral: nature’s perfect proportions in art and science
2.3. Ratios of A4 paper: science and standards behind paper sizes
2.4. Other examples of ratios in daily life
3. Application of probabilities in our daily life
3.1. Learning probability from counting the number of possible outcomes
3.2. A probability puzzle: Monty Hall problem
3.3. Probability is more than just a number
3.4. Is it possible to earn money from Casino?
3.5. Social impacts of problem gambling: an ethical reflection
4. Games in our daily life
4.1. Different games in daily life
4.2. How to make a better strategy in our daily life?
4.3. A case study in prisoner dilemma: cooperate, trust or betrayal?
4.4. Can all players make their best decisions?
4.5. Optimal mixed strategy in rock-paper-scissors game and the other games
4.6. A beautiful scientific mind: story of John Nash
5. Sequential games in our daily life
5.1. Daily-life game that take turns to make decision
5.2. Algorithm to find optimal strategy in sequential games
5.3. Example: optimal strategies in TicTac Toe
6. Allocation and matching problems in our daily life
6.1. What is of allocation and matching problem?
6.2. Example of allocation problem: renting houses by tenants
6.3. Algorithms to find an optimal allocation strategy
6.4. Difference between allocation and matching problem
6.5. Daily life example of matching problem: matching boys and girls in a speed dating event
1. Participation (10%)
2. Assignments (40%)
3. Group Project (50%)
