Instructors:
    Prof. Ryan O'Donnell, Wean 7121. Office hours: Tuesday 12-1, or by appointment.
(Teaching primarily 1st half of semester.)
    Prof. Mor Harchol-Balter, Wean 8119. Office hours: Wednesday 1-2
(Teaching 2nd half of semester, so come see me about homeworks in 2nd half.)

Teaching Assistants:
    Eric Blais. Office hours: Tuesday 2-3, Wean 3709.
    Timmy Zhu. Office hours: Monday 2:30-3:30, Wean Windows cluster.

Text and Notes:
    There is no required text. You might find these useful:
        Introduction to Probability, Dimitri P. Bertsekas and John N. Tsitsiklis.
        Probability and Computing, Michael Mitzenmacher and Eli Upfal.
        MIT lecture notes (11/21/05-12/14/05, 11/14/05-12/12/06).

Prerequisites:
    15-251, as well as comfort with calculus and linear algebra.

Course Overview:
    Probability theory has become indispensable in computer science. In areas such as artificial intelligence and computer science theory, probabilistic methods and ideas based on randomization are central. In other areas such as networks and systems, probability is becoming an increasingly useful framework for handling uncertainty and modeling the patterns of data that occur in complex systems. This course gives an introduction to probability as it is used in computer science theory and practice, drawing on applications and current research developments as motivation and context.