Why do I have to take this course?

"...because algorithm analysis is cool."

- Sarah Michelle Gellar
Star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Why is this course so important?

"Computer science is much more than programming. A strong understanding of the design and analysis of algorithms may be the biggest factor in what distinguishes a computer scientist from an expendable programmer."

-Eric Breimer

"A person well-trained in computer science knows how to deal with algorithms: how to construct them, manipulate them, understand them, analyze them. This knowledge is preparation for much more than writing good computer programs; it is a general-purpose mental tool that will be a definite aid to the understanding of other subjects, whether they be chemistry, linguistics, or music, etc. The reason for this may be understood in the following way: It has often been said that a person does not really understand something until after teaching it to someone else. Actually, a person does not really understand something until after teaching it to a computer, i.e., expressing it as an algorithm... An attempt to formalize things as algorithms leads to a much deeper understanding than if we simply try to comprehend things in the traditional way."

-Donald Knuth
A really famous, important computer scientist