Algorithms, or finite sequences of instructions, aren't usually associated with randomness. But in competitive settings, we can turn randomness to our advantage. In this course, I hope to cover three highly effective examples of randomized algorithms. Each topic will be accompanied by a small-group interactive activity. First, we will discuss an unbreakable encryption method from the American Civil War. Second, we will consider a stock investing game, where randomness and clever strategies prove just as powerful as being able to see the future. Third, we will explore how the human body uses randomness to activate and refine antibodies: the precision-guided munitions of the immune system. Finally, I hope we can come to appreciate and reflect on the importance of diversity in algorithmic design and society alike.

Many of the commodities of modern society - porcelain china toilets, cardboard boxes, short skirts, shaving safety razors, waxed paper, glass bottles, angled-jet water fountains, educational films, and folding patterns on hotel blankets - are deeply connected to the public health movements of the past. How have they shaped the present? And - in looking to the future - what can we learn from them?