The recently published book How to Rule the World by Theo Baker describes his first year as a computer-science student at Stanford. He discovered his calling as an investigative journalist for the student newspaper, researching and writing articles that, among other things, led to the downfall of the Stanford president for research misconduct. The name of the book derives from an unofficial class where the instructor claims to present “the underlying incentive structures and frameworks that govern how the world works.”
Among the multiple threads comprising the story, Baker describes the undergraduate course CS107 as one that “filters out true computer science majors from wannabes,” saying “It’s a brutal course, delving into extremely low-level coding that scarcely resembles the programming most coders do on a daily basis.” The textbook for the course is CS:APP, and many of the assignments are derived from those included on the CS:APP web pages. He describes the CS:APP Binary Bomb assignment (renamed SecureVault) as “the most iconic CS107 assignment—and very possibly the most iconic assignment at Stanford.”
His description of the nature of the course and its content contrasts with the stated purpose of CS:APP: “Our aim is to explain the enduring concepts underlying all computer systems, and to show you the concrete ways that these ideas affect the correctness, performance, and utility of your application programs.” CS:APP courses are taught all over the world at a variety of institutions. Many students have found the “low-level coding” covered to be very valuable in their studies and their careers. Perhaps the underlying incentive structures for Baker and his fellow Stanford students do not include learning about how the systems on which they intend to make their fortunes operate.
