MIT Challenge _ Scott H Young

9/23/2020 MIT Challenge | Scott H Young
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MIT Challenge
https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/myprojects/mit-challenge-2/ 1/21
Over the next 12 months, I’m going to learn the entire 4-year MIT curriculu
computer science, without taking any classes.
UPDATE: The MIT Challenge is now complete. I finished on September 26, 2

just under 12 months after beginning October 1st, 2011. Click on “See More…
for any class to access my exams, official solutions or code I wrote.
Answers to some common questions:
1. How much did I work during the challenge? In the beginning roug
60 hours/week. Later more like 35.
2. Did you get a degree from MIT? No. See the talk above for my
motivation to do the entire education without credit.
3. Did you do everything an MIT student does? No. I did the exams a
programming projects for a curriculum that is very similar to MIT’
own (I had to swap some lab classes and humanities requirements
other classes). The number of credit hours is the same though. Che
here for MIT’s actual 4-year CS curriculum as a comparison to my
(Note: This link has been updated as the old one was dead, howev
haven’t checked whether there were changes made to the CS
curriculum since I did the MIT Challenge)
4. Did you use textbooks or lecture videos? Everything is in the “See
More…” pane for each class. Please check it out if you’re unsure fo
each class.
5. What order did you do the classes in? In the order listed below. Ex
some were taken at the same time. However if you followed this or
serially you wouldn’t miss any prerequisites.
6. Did you grade the work yourself? Yes. Admittedly, this introduces
some degree of error over having a professor grade my work.
However, most of the exams are quantitative with solution sets tha
have grading rubrics, so it limits the error somewhat. I encourage
anyone to check out my actual exam results and compare them aga
the solutions. In many of the exams that had lengthy calculations
required, I allowed for part marks provided the concepts taught in
course were applied correctly. I believe the provided grading is
arguably a fair one, but if you wanted to take the strong position th
any mistake (such as forgetting to carry a minus sign) invalidates a
entire question, this would reduce some of my grades. I’ve gone
through and recalculated under these more severe restrictions and
would put the final exams for 18.01, 5.111, 18.03, 6.002 and 6.013 be
the passing threshold (the other 28 classes were either unaffected o
stayed above passing). I believe the original grading was fair, if
imperfect, but these later calculations show the impact of my decis
to use part marks.
7. Do you believe everyone shouldn’t go to university and do this
instead? Of course not. I did my undergrad in university and I don
regret it. My goal for this project was to see if it would be possible–
push the expectations for how long, how costly and how
conventionally an education must be obtained.
Computers have always fascinated me. From finance to Facebook, algorith

the hidden language that underlies most of our life. The largest transforma
our world are being written in code, and advancements in artificial intellig
allow us to use computers to understand what it means to be human.
Beyond the poetry of the machine, computer science is also immensely pra
Fortunes have been made and revolutions sparked on lines of code.
I’ve always wanted to speak that language. But, I didn’t want to invest fou
of my life and hundreds of thousands of dollars to learn it.
I’m embarking on this experiment because I want to show that learning do

require acceptance boards and SAT tests, thousands of dollars in debt, or e
4-year pace most students assume is necessary to learn a subject.
Will I fail? It’s definitely a possibility—people a lot smarter than myself str
through immense workloads at institutions like MIT, and I’m attempting t
the same material at 4x the speed, without the benefit of instructors.
All I can promise is to share what I find with you. Listed below are all 33 c
I’ll be covering. For each of them, I’ll write the final exam and you can com
my answers to the MIT official solutions. I’ll also post any failures, so you
sure I’m not omitting my mistakes.
Post-MIT Challenge Update

Since the challenge was completed, I’m using this space to share some of th
courses I complete or programs I’ve finished related to computer science.
WordSmith – This is an AI I built that plays Scrabble. Free and open-sou
LEARNING PROGRESS (33/33):

Click to the titles to view videos, access the courses and see my results
 8.01: Physics I – Classical Mechanics – COMPLETED

I completed this class in July as part of a pilot experiment to see if I wa
up to doing the entire program. The course is brilliant, Prof. Walter Le
does an amazing job bringing physics to life without sacrificing
intellectual rigor. Note: This course was removed by MIT, you can acc
a different version here. Scott’s rating: 5/5
1. Access the course material for free

2. Feynman Technique I did
3. My exam results
4. Actual MIT Solutions
 18.01: Single Variable Calculus – COMPLETED

 18.02: Multi-Variable Calculus – COMPLETED
 8.02: Physics II – Electromagnetism – COMPLETED
 6.01: Introduction to EE and CS I – COMPLETED
 5.111: Principles of Chemical Science – COMPLETED*
 7.012: Introduction to Biology – COMPLETED
 18.03: Differential Equations – COMPLETED
 6.02: Introduction to EE and CS II – COMPLETED
 6.042J: Mathematics for Computer Science – COMPLETED
 6.006: Introduction to Algorithms – COMPLETED
 18.06: Linear Algebra – COMPLETED
 6.041: Probabilistic Systems Analysis – COMPLETED

 6.002: Circuits and Electronics – COMPLETED
 6.046J: Design and Analysis of Algorithms – COMPLETED
 6.034: Artificial Intelligence – COMPLETED
 6.003: Signals and Systems – COMPLETED
 6.004: Computation Structures – COMPLETED
 24.241: Logic I – COMPLETED
 14.01: Principles of Microeconomics – COMPLETED
 6.033: Computer Systems Engineering – COMPLETED
 6.013: Electromagnetics and Applications – COMPLETED
 14.02: Principles of Macroeconomics – COMPLETED
 24.242: Logic II – COMPLETED
 6.011: Intro to Comm., Control and Signals – COMPLETED
 24.244: Modal Logic – COMPLETED
 14.20: Industrial Organization – COMPLETED
 14.23: Government Regulation of Industry – COMPLETED
 14.48J: Economics of Education – COMPLETED
 6.005: Elements of Software Construction – COMPLETED
 6.801: Machine Vision – COMPLETED
 6.837: Computer Graphics – COMPLETED
Because I’m not enrolled in MIT (or affiliated with them in any way) I’ve h
construct my own rules to make the challenge fair, yet feasible. The basic r
simple:
1. I consider a class successfully completed if I can pass the final exam (w

typically means getting a grade of at least 50% although I aim for much
higher).
2. I write the exam under the same constraints of a student: no looking at
questions or solutions beforehand, no notes or forbidden material, sam
constraints (the default is 3 hours if not specified).
3. I grade the papers myself, comparing them to the actual MIT solutions
post both, so anyone can double-check my grading methods.
Keep in mind these are only the minimum requirements of my challenge. F

classes which have a significant programming component, I try to do
representative programming assignments, to the extent that this is possible
Q)Are you doing all the assignments, papers and projects?
For theory or math-based classes, final exams are generally a comprehensi

of evaluation, so I’ll use those as my evaluation. I still end up doing most o
of the assignments and quizzes as preparation, but since I can’t maintain
consistency with this criteria over the entire challenge (many assignments
either unavailable or impossible to evaluate objectively) I’m doing them in
informal manner.
For classes with a significant amount of programming work or practical de

problems, I’ll try to complete most the assignments. However, since these
harder to evaluate, I’m still relying on final exams as the major criterion fo
classes.
 COSC 545: Theory of Computation – COMPLETED
My MIT Challenge TEDx Talk
FAQ for the MIT Challenge

1. What rules are you following?
2. Are you doing all the assignments, papers and projects?
3. Does your curriculum differ from MIT’s?
4. What happens if you fail a class?
5. Why are you doing this? Do you just love studying?
6. Will you get a diploma for doing this?
7. You’re doing classes serially, isn’t that just cramming for tests?
8. What kind of past experience do you have with the subject?
9. I’m a blogger/reporter/journalist–how can I contact you to share the s
Q) What rules are you following?
Q) Does your curriculum differ from MIT’s?
I spent nearly a month trying to piece together the closest mirror of MIT’s
computer science curriculum to follow. Unfortunately, I can’t do this perfe
since some classes are impossible to evaluate (including labs and research
classes), and others didn’t have any access online.
I am taking the same number of credit hours as an actual MIT degree, so w

couldn’t take one class, I replaced it with a similar alternative. In terms of v
of knowledge to learn, therefore, my curriculum is similar to the one sugge
MIT to its students.
The only other exception with MIT has to do with electives. I’m taking var
non-computer science classes, to best mimic the HASS requirements for M
students. These aren’t a perfect match, as the online courseware for arts is
considerably weaker than for sciences at MIT.
You can see the actual MIT curriculum for computer science here.
Q) What happens if you fail a class?
Given the pace I’m attempting, I think it’s inevitable that I’ll fail a class. My
requirement is that I pass a final exam, so if I fail one, I’m allowing myself
a different exam after.
My strategy is to take a fail-first approach, to be more efficient with my tim

classes where I have several final exams I can use as the basis of evaluation
is very different from university where a failure can be a real setback. That
benefit of self-education over rigid formal institutions.
Q) Why are you doing this? Do you just love studying?
Nobody likes studying, but everyone wants to be smart. Learning, getting

those insights and feeling smarter about a subject are immensely rewardin
bad many of us have forgotten this after years of punitive formal education
I’ll admit, I may be a bit crazy, or arrogant, for wanting to complete a 4-yea
program in only 12 months. However, my real motivation is to show peop
learning faster is possible and that it can be more fun at the same time.
Q) Will you get a diploma for doing this?
No, and that’s exactly the point. Our society incorrectly equates knowledg
accreditation. Getting a piece of paper is great, and for many lines of work
completely necessary. But the equation is made so strongly that people for
two things are different.
I already have a career as a writer and small business owner. I never want
for a large corporation, where HR might scrutinize over my lack of a diplo
me, I just want to learn computer science in case I want to start a new busi
work for a start-up.
I have nothing against college. University was an amazing and worthwhile

experience for me, and it could be for you as well. All I hope is that by sho
an alternative, people who feel the current system doesn’t work for them c
another path.
Q) Isn’t this just cramming for tests?
No, but the difference is subtle. Most the classes build on past concepts, so
goal with each is to develop a deep understanding that I can leverage. Cra
is typically a resort to memorization to quickly pass a test then forget it.
Understanding is harder, but not necessarily more time consuming (and a
requirement if each class builds on the one before it).
As an update, Since the first four classes, I’ve been proceeding 3-4 classes i
parallel at a time. Although this involves reviewing over a much shorter ti
span than is typical (1 month instead of 1 semester), it increases the benefit
spaced repetition.
Ultimately, my ability to comprehend and perform adequately on higher l

classes will be the test of my method, since most freshman classes serve pr
as grounding for more difficult senior classes.
Q) What kind of past experience do you have with the subject?
When I was still in high-school I did a fair bit of programming, mostly crea
small computer games. In addition, I’ve taken 4 university-level computer
classes, when I attended the University of Manitoba for my business degre
do have some prior experience with programming which will give me an
advantage in the challenge. That being said, my prior level of skill isn’t pro
far from many of the CS students actually attending MIT and for whom th
curriculum is based.
In addition, I completed the first course 8.01 Classical Mechanics as a pilot

experiment for this main challenge in July of 2011. Therefore the number o
classes I’m attempting in the 12 month period is officially 32.
Q) I’m a blogger/reporter/journalist–how can I contact you to share the s

You can contact me at challenge@scotthyoung.com or use the form here. I’

going to be fairly busy (for obvious reasons) so apologies in advance if it ta
awhile to get through my emails, as I usually go offline when I’m working
through a course.
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Name
Mustapha BOUCHENE • 7 months ago

Well, if someone want to do the same as you did but need the certificate (to be a researcher which is
outside universities) what alternatives do you suggest?
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›
Thanh Vo > Mustapha BOUCHENE • 3 months ago

apply to MIT
3△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›
smcvcr • a year ago

not sure if you are responding to new posts these days... but how did you figure out the curriculum
organization? I find it completely bewildering.... I'll have to check if MIT posts this info by departme
COMPUTER SCIENCES, these are the required first and 2nd year computer sciences plus the requir
and science courses. and then 3rd and 4th year, how you specialize in big data, machine learning or o
systems?
Scott Young Mod > smcvcr • a year ago

If you see the link I posted above, there was a curriculum I used. It looks like MIT has change
took the challenge eight years ago, but it's still largely the same.
Basically, MIT has general requirements which are the essential training in all sciences they e
their graduates, so I did bio, physics, chem, etc. as general req's. Then there will be departme
specific requirements, for CS/EE, there were a bunch of those. Finally there will be major-spe
requirements (I ended up doing a mix of EE and CS for convenience reasons, but you could sp
Then there are electives which are within the department but aren't specific classes.
It is a bit tricky to figure out at first, but you just have to approach it how an MIT student wou
many credits are required, which classes do you need to take, which ones are electives, and fin
i b i
https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/myprojects/mit-challenge-2/ ibl f d 'll d fi d bl b i 13/21
ones are going to be impossible for you to do so you'll need to find a reasonable substitute.
盛剑雄 • 2 years ago

Did you have forget the knowledge you learned ?
7△ ▽ 1 • Reply • Share ›
Blubberous • 2 years ago

Wow I think I love you. Thanks man, the logic courses are exactly what I need right now.
Xavier Chia • 2 years ago

Thanks for doing this! I had the same thought process as you and decided to start doing a MITOCW
Science degree.
I had a similar trajectory. Going to business school because I wanted to pick up the social skills neces
a girlfriend and make friends outside of DOTA and Counter-Strike. It seems universities put in progr
MBAs to help technical people transition to business but going the other way (soft skills to technical)
popular.
I'm about half-way through my first course on 6.189 Introduction to programming with Python. It's b
so far. I got a little confused with the way the course is structured so I'm just going to go through the
textbook then backtrack and complete the assignments, additional readings, projects and exams.
I do want to get to a level where I can participate meaningfully in coding meet-ups or hackathons an
projects or a job from there.
Thanks again for doing this! It's inspiring to know someone else has walked down the self-learning p
Erica Carvalho > Xavier Chia • 2 years ago • edited

Hi Xavier, this course you are taking has an Edx version. I completed it a while ago and it is e
think a new session is starting again in January, so you would have to wait a bit.
https://www.edx.org/course/...
You might also want to check this out: https://github.com/ossu/com...

This is a complete education in computer science using online material.
I don't mean at all to complete it within a year as Scott did as I need to balance it out with my
take my time.
Xavier Chia > Erica Carvalho • 2 years ago

Wow Erica this is tremendously useful! Thank you! I looked into OSSU and found a da
degree (I work in data science so I think getting a degree in this field will be beneficial
computer science). Thank you once again! If you'd like to connect over LinkedIn I am
https://www.linkedin.com/in...
Erica Carvalho > Xavier Chia • 2 years ago

Hi Xavier, glad to heIp! I have an account which I still haven't used, I'm terribl
social media. I'll add you anyway. It would be nice to have someone pursuing a
project to share ideas.
I'm currently taking this data science and statistics program from MITx:
https://www.edx.org/microma...
You can take each course for free or pay so you can receive a certificate. This on
different from other data science programs because it focuses on building a sol
probability/statistics foundation before getting into machine learning.
A • 2 years ago
Did you forget the content a few years after? Or did you find that you were able to remember? i.e was
cramming for an exam where you learn too much too quickly and forget it?
Scott Young Mod > A • a year ago

There's probably a lot I've forgotten--but I don't think it's too different from the retention los
my actual undergrad. Knowledge that isn't used regularly is forgotten--so while I tend to rem
stuff from the MIT Challenge that has worked its way into my life, some of the more esoteric t
faded.
That said, relearning is generally easier when you go back. I had to do a bit of this in my recen
mechanics project, as I had forgotten a lot of details from calculus and linear algebra, but it w
faster to pick up things a second time.
A • 2 years ago
Do you find you're still able to remember the content? Or was there an effect - similar to when you cr
exams that you quickly forget afterwards?
Feanor Nosselo • 2 years ago

Fredy is right! Please renew the broken links!
Fredy Guibert フレディ • 2 years ago

May I have your attention please?
May I have your attention please?
Broken links detected please fix them up,
I repeat, broken links detected, please fix them up!
We're gonna have a problem here...
2
smcvcr • 2 years ago

scott, great stuff... i'm thinking of doing something similar but on smaller scale. but i'm wondering if
can do exactly what you did (probably a different major)......... i have a few questions as i'm have just
deeply into my first course (single variable calculus): 1) did you buy/use the text book for most cours
you find the course notes lacking for alot of courses? nice that they exist but for my 1st course they se
over things like mad, 3) did you try as hard as if you were undergrad when you want great marks to g
or get into great grad school? my sense is no, which makes some sense. 4) you talked about this, but
really do all the graded assignments? for something like computer science, i can imagine that being h
you talk about it for each course, but out of all your courses, how many were lacking in terms of the m
being comprehensive? i.e. not having a graded final, or a final altogether.. strikes me the MIT OpenC
has really improved, both generically and them making a small number of courses into "flagship" cou
(where they maintain the materials very diligently).... thx again, probably my big question is whether
bought expensive textbooks for each course or just got by with course notes...
smcvcr > smcvcr • 2 years ago

also, how many courses did you do at once? 4 or 5 like a normal student or much more seque
power focus on one course for a week at exclusion of any other courses?.... i'm guessing 2 or 3
nice balance between intensity and boredom/frustration....
smcvcr > smcvcr • 2 years ago

one thing i can not figure out... you took i think the equivalent courses for 4 year mit comp sc
degree... i saw you took 33 courses. i thought based on 10 courses of 3 credits per year that it
40 courses. my math/logic might be off but if not then which courses were larger than most o
others?
Abhi • 2 years ago

8.01 course can be downloaded from http://academictorrents.com/
here one can download a lot of other resources to.
Roman Staszak • 3 years ago • edited

Scott: Congratulation :-))) What a very impressive way of studying. Is this the future of the XXI centu
education?
Greg • 3 years ago

But can you explain Quick Sort?
Scott Young Mod > Greg • a year ago
Randomly pick an element, partition the list so all the stuff bigger goes above and all the stuff
Randomly pick an element, partition the list so all the stuff bigger goes above and all the stuff
goes below. Repeat the process recursively on each sublist. O(n lg n).
Caroline Wright • 3 years ago

You're my new hero. Please tackle something musical for your next project. Perhaps you could learn
guitar, or banjo (very difficult when played in the style of Earl Scruggs), or fiddle -- or even learn to s
that's not something you can already do pretty well. What a delightful approach to learning!
filosz • 3 years ago

This is a very good method to learn Computer Science due to relatively small resources you need to l
books, PC, some programs, etc. However, learning that way such discipline as Mechanical Engineeri
opinion extremely hard.
Hilman • 3 years ago

How about 6.009 Fundamentals of Programming?
ahmed > Hilman • 2 years ago

do you know any online course cover the same material or any alternative to it becz i want to
course ?
Christine siamanta Kinori • 3 years ago

Do you know prolific candid seo content
Lex Ma • 3 years ago

Your op.
You'd be a great computer scientist.
Imagine in 3 years a phd bro!

Isabel Buritica • 3 years ago

Congratulations
Nwy 140 • 3 years ago

Somebody who wants more courses options, check my skilltree : https://bit.ly/SkillTreeNwy
sam • 3 years ago

i ld i ll f h
https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/myprojects/mit-challenge-2/ b k h i h ll 17/21
Hi .. could you give me all of the Text books names that you use in MIT challenge ?
Linda Liu > sam • 3 years ago

haha i want to ask the same question
Bjarke Tan > Linda Liu • 3 years ago

doesn't he have them on the page?
Mohan das • 3 years ago

Hi i need some documentry samples on ur 10 robot MODEL NO:(CB31UR10)
Ahmad Husein • 3 years ago

Thanks for your insghts.
is it a project • 3 years ago

you started a book club online
Gherardo Pertile • 3 years ago

Hi Scott, Gherardo from Italy here, ...I'm 50 years old and I'm an architect, school teacher and now .
too
; ) .... One year ago I took up my bass guitar again, which I played since I was twenty years old, and in
I've made quite good improvement.
But now I'm starting learning reading music and I'd like to have some suggestions in doing it as fast
Thanks for all your inputs and kind regards!

Gherardo.
Julia • 4 years ago

Me he quedado a cuadros.
Ketan • 4 years ago

Scott what you did is really amazing and a lot inspiring. I myself would be joining college in India in
months. I would really like to thank you for the course curriculum and links you provided.
Could you also provide the names of the books or journals you used (the two feet tower stacked besid
would be really helpful. Thanks again.
vayar • 4 years ago

Confused.
I'm trying to learn some physics this way... did you have videos for the 8.01? Can't find any on OCW.
Shady R. Khairy > vayar • 3 years ago
meez • 4 years ago

hey .. first of all thank u so much Scott .
I need help .. I want to major in computer science .. but it is not available in my country .. so I'm conf
the college gave me only two options :1/computer engineering 2/electornic engineering .. so please w
I do ? I want to major in computer science (software engineering)
Dudovsky > meez • 4 years ago

You should take computer engineering since it is a discipline in the middle between electroni
engineering and software engineering.
Ni k 4
Nick • 4 years ago
Scott what you have done is amazing and very inspiring.
Atoms • 4 years ago

Inspired by your book and your spirit:)
Eric Kimn • 4 years ago

This is fantastic. Before I saw this, I had the exact same idea (albeit years after Scott started in 2011)
spent time putting together a curriculum. I also incorporated courses from Stanford, UC Berkeley, ho
been putting this together for my own education, and I also bought all the books. It is super cool to s
someone has done exactly what I've been doing. I don't really have 60 hours a week to dedicate to it s
a full time job as well as family, so 4 years in 1 year sounds a bit unfeasible. The problem I've been fa
been genuine retention when I go too fast.
Scott, if you're there, how did you handle that? Did you take time off of work to finish it?
△ ▽ 1 • Reply • Share ›
David Bingham > Eric Kimn • 4 years ago

I've been debating taking off a year to do something like this and I was ecstatic about finding
today! Seriously feels so good to discover others like me. I am also interested in the answer to
Paula Raisman > David Bingham • 3 years ago

I don't know if this is too late of a response, but... I like learning on my own and had b
some trouble retaining some of the info, so I started an online course in Coursera nam
"Learning how to learn", and it has been amazing. It shows you how the brain works a
successfully learn by retaining everything, plus methods of studying.
Actually I learnt about Scott because he had a guest interview in that program. He talk
how he learns and some methods also. The time for completing the course is just a mo
go slowly, but I think it can be completed in a shorter span of time.
TheNameIsPhantom! • 4 years ago

Can We see your textbook list
Ishraki Kazi • 4 years ago

:) thank you
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MIT Challenge _ Scott H Young

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9/23/2020 MIT Challenge | Scott H Young

RECENT ULTRALEARNING ARTICLES CHALLENGES PRODUCTS PODCAST

UPDATE: The MIT Challenge is now complete. I finished on September 26, 2

Answers to some common questions:

Computers have always fascinated me. From finance to Facebook, algorith

I’m embarking on this experiment because I want to show that learning do

Post-MIT Challenge Update

WordSmith – This is an AI I built that plays Scrabble. Free and open-sou

LEARNING PROGRESS (33/33):

 8.01: Physics I – Classical Mechanics – COMPLETED

1. Access the course material for free

 18.01: Single Variable Calculus – COMPLETED

 6.041: Probabilistic Systems Analysis – COMPLETED

1. I consider a class successfully completed if I can pass the final exam (w

Keep in mind these are only the minimum requirements of my challenge. F

Q)Are you doing all the assignments, papers and projects?

For theory or math-based classes, final exams are generally a comprehensi

For classes with a significant amount of programming work or practical de

 COSC 545: Theory of Computation – COMPLETED

My MIT Challenge TEDx Talk

FAQ for the MIT Challenge

Q) What rules are you following?

Q) Does your curriculum differ from MIT’s?

I am taking the same number of credit hours as an actual MIT degree, so w

Q) What happens if you fail a class?

My strategy is to take a fail-first approach, to be more efficient with my tim

Q) Why are you doing this? Do you just love studying?

Nobody likes studying, but everyone wants to be smart. Learning, getting

Q) Will you get a diploma for doing this?

I have nothing against college. University was an amazing and worthwhile

Q) Isn’t this just cramming for tests?

Ultimately, my ability to comprehend and perform adequately on higher l

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