A Nat Sci course on information theory to be given for the first time this Spring may evolve into one of the first sequential upper level courses described in the new rules on General Education.
Nat Sci 112, Information Theory and Coding, will be given as a half course by Norman Abramson '53, visiting lecturer on Information Theory.
Under the new rules, a student could meet the Gen Ed requirements in a given area by taking a two-course sequence. A departmental course would be designated as prerequisite for an upper-level Gen Ed course.
As it is now, Nat Sci 112 will be an upper level Gen Ed course of the old elective type. The course examines the fundamental concepts of information theory and their applications to several other fields, such as music, linguistics, economics, and sociology. There are no pre-requistes for the course other than the knowledge of logarithms and an ability to calculate average values.
Edward T. Wilcox, director of Advanced Standing and the Freshman Seminar Program, said that Nat Sci 112 "is the kind of course which might well be thought of in sequence with a prerequisite next year, but we couldn't introduce it with a prerequisite now."
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