New paradigms

The Centaur Courses came out of a need to consolidate a body of ideas and techniques which have lately shown significant success in facilitating the learning/teaching of advanced mathematical notions. These are supplemented by an endeavour to transcend traditional restrictions on education like high tuition fees, strict eligibility requirements, examination-centric teaching etc. The application of these ideas has suggested a new paradigm for the conduct of practical and intellectual activity involving physics, mathematics and computing,- one better suited to the social and cultural ends pursued since the last century.

Tending to a malaise

The existing educational apparatus intended to enrich inquiry into these fields of thought evolved from a large collection of perfectly reasonable notions before quickly deteriorating at the hands of industry and bureaucracy, leaving a graveyard of good intentions and missed opportunities. It continues to be propped up by short-term commercial concerns which have become increasingly insulated from even the most practical problems of engineering and computing. However, this has been accompanied by another equally (if not more) significant progression: a steady increase in general interest in the associated technical discourse, especially interest in quantum physics, mathematical logic and epistemology. This is despite growing exclusion from effective education in the details involved, an exclusion the Centaur Courses was built to address.