Week 11

CSC165 definitely saved the most mind-stimulating (and simultaneously completely mind-boggling!) topic for last - computability.
In their slog (http://csc165f1.blogspot.ca/), a fellow student from the class describes why it is impossible to create a function that will tell you whether or not any input function will halt. Although creating this "magical" function does not, at first glance, seem particularly complicated, delving into it further makes it clear why checking if something halts by making it un-haltable while it halts is a paradox.
This student was not sure on the meaning and application of reductions. Based on their explanation, I believe they are on the right path. In direct relevance to the halt function: if some function f(n) can be reduced to g(n) and it is known that g(n) halts, then the function f(n) must halt. With the contrapositive, if the function f(n) does not halt, then the function g(n) must not halt.
These concepts definitely require some time for deep consideration. Once you get used to the complexity, it becomes possible to apply the understanding to many problems, including those on our assignments and tests.