Post on 31-Dec-2015
Art and Science
Art•Goal: Communicate
•Human perception and aesthetics
• Grounded in Science
• Admits Qualitative and Subjective elements
Concrete Abstract
Shapes, Relationships, Stories, Experiences, Ideas, Themes
Science•Goal #1: Establish Facts
• Objective
• Quantitative
• Reproducible
•Goal #2: Communicate Results
• Validation:
• Peer review
• Citation / related work
Proof or Derivation
Experimental Evidence
(Persuasive Argument)
Fact
Opinion
Historical Observation
The Art of Science•Choosing the right problem
•Experiment design
•Communicate Results
• Elegant proofs and systems
• Intuitive diagrams and demonstrations
•Computer Science fields that study Art
• Graphics
• Games, Film, and Scientific Visualization
• Vision and Perception
Quantitative & Objective Art! {
Subjective &Qualitative Science!{
Computer Science•Create algorithms and heuristics
(strategies), e.g.,
• Next move in a Chess game
• Color of every pixel in a 3D image
• Where to aim to hit a moving target
•Prove properties of algorithms and rule sets, e.g.,
• Correctness (and termination!)
• Time required
• State (“space” or “memory”) required
• Safe, sound, and complete
Game Design•Synthesize rule systems
• that express ideas
• that are fair and stable
• under which optimal strategies are engaging ones
•Requires CS-style of analysis:
• prove properties of optimal strategies
• prove properties of rule systems
• experimentally measure human quantities
• experimentally validate ideas
Establishing Truth•Proof/Derivation
• For cases where inputs have been measured and the complexity is manageable
•Proof of Bounds
• For game situations too complex to analyze directly
•Experimentation
• For cases are so complex that we cannot prove anything about them from first principles
Proof or Derivation
Experimental Evidence
(Persuasive Argument)
Fact
Opinion
Historical Observation
Examples• Proof:
• In God of War, all players will have obtained the Medusa power before fighting the first minotaur.
• Proof of Bounds:
• The expected value of a Carcassonne road tile is at least 1 point (for the road itself) and at most 1.34 points (because of farms).
• Experiments:
• What fraction of people prefer vanilla to chocolate?
• What amount of variance in Settlers of Catan resource production optimizes engagement for the average player?
ExercisesChoose the best approach for each problem:
What is the expected value of 3d10?
Is Settlers of Catan fair?
How long does it take to shuffle a deck of 52 cards?
Do piece colors affect a player’s engagement?
What is the largest acceptable network lag?
What is the minimum network lag between NY and LA?
Does a Puerto Rico game always end?
Derivation
Experiment
Bounded proof
Derivation
Experiment
Experiment
Proof
Does the bullet with position x and velocity v hit the character at position p? Derivation