CS251a
Advanced Computer Architecture
Advanced Computer Architecture
The era of LLMs has ended the traditional review for me. : ) Thus, we will try online discussions instead.
Please complete the assigned readings before class and actively participate in online discussions, also before class begins.
The primary requirement here is to meaningfully participate in the Canvas discussion. (yes Canvas, because it makes grading this much simpler)
You may participate in any way you like. However, I offer you some suggestions on how to participate that somewhat imply how I value different kinds of participation. I’m listing them in preferred order … i.e. only do the later ones if you feel strongly (a weak idea is much more interesting for a discussion than a weak critique):
Novel Idea / Augmentation What’s a cool/interesting/novel idea that you had while reading this paper. Maybe a new policy/method/strategy/algorithm that you think is interesting. Also, feel free to build off of other ideas and create something stronger or take it in a different direction. It doesn’t have to be a fully-fledged idea, crazy is good. The comment(s) should have some meat to it; a paragraph or so is welcome.
Non-trivial Question Suppose you have read the paper in full, and also you are participating in the discussion at least one full day (24 hours) before the due date… you may write a well thought-out question that goes beyond the paper. Write out why you think it’s an interesting/difficult/important question.
Critique Is there something you think is a significant flaw for the idea in this paper. I do not want criticism of methodology (unless the paper is about methodology perhaps like Power Struggles).
Impact What is the major impact of this paper that goes beyond the stated contributions.
Grades will be on the scale of Excellent(5), Satisfactory(4) and Unsatisfactory(2). Scores can be marked down for less meaningful participation, as well as significantly echoing existing comments without adding.
Please participate before class begins, on Canvas. You may participate up to a day late for -1 point. You only need to participate in discussions for 8 papers during the quarter, though all review papers are required reading for the exams.