About
BubbleSort: Computer Science Zines
$60,431
1,153
If you want zines but can't afford them
If you would like to subscribe to the zines but don't have the resources, email bubblesort.zines at gmail and we'll try to match you with a zine donor!
Thank you so much everyone for your overwhelming support and love!
REACHED $20,000 stretch goal: I'll record a video of my zine making process to be shared with all backers!
REACHED $30,000 stretch goal: hardware zines will come with video tutorials!
REACHED $40,000 stretch goal: anyone who ordered a full 6-zine subscription (either digital or paper) will get 1 additional zine about interesting and unusual applications of computer science!
REACHED $50,000 stretch goal: you'll be able to order full year subscriptions to bubble sort zines!
$60,000 stretch goal: a website with extra tutorials and resources!
As seen on
How Silicon Valley can change its culture to attract more women
The story
I want to create a series of zines that cover computer science concepts in an accessible way, targeted towards people who don't think computer science is for them. The zines would be filled with stories and hand-drawn art and diagrams. Though my intended audience is high school students (think Hello Ruby's teenage sister), I was surprised by the enthusiastic interest from lots of adults by this project!
Computer science and programming are powerful tools for expressing creativity and for actuating change. Let's make sure that these tools & skills are accessible to everyone. This doesn't just mean computers in every classroom. This means framing computer science in a way that is accessible and inclusive to people who might not think there is a place for them in computer science. If there was a computer science course at a highschool, who would enroll in it? If there was a wizardry course at a high school, who would enroll in it? That's right: everyone. Think about how much changes when we re-frame computer science as magic (which it basically is).
These zines would be released once a month for 6 months (6 zines total). Additional zines are available as stretch goals! Tentative zine topics are:
- How Do Calculators Even (intro to logic circuits)
- Literal Twitter Bot (intro to hardware hacking)
- Secret Messages (cryptography & how to send friends secret messages)
- How Does the Internet Work?
- Recursion
- Sorting
Additional zine topics for stretch goals:
- Abstraction
- Interesting/Unusual applications of computer science
- I/O
- Intro to Neural Networks & Artificial Intelligence
- Image Processing - How Photo Filters Work
- Computer Graphics - How Your Favorite Movies Were Made
That means there is material for a whole year subscription of zines, if there is enough interest!
The zines will be ~20 pages each, locally printed on high-quality paper, with thick paper covers. You can order them individually, or as a 6 month subscription to Bubble Sort Zines. You can order them for yourself, or as gifts to your favorite high school or college students, or as gifts to a whole classroom!
An excerpt from the intro to hardware hacking zine:
Imagine that you're at Hogwarts and you're taking charms class. What kind of objects would you enchant? What would you make them do?
Would you enchant a bracelet to glow whenever your BFF has something to tell you? An umbrella that reminds you "take me take me" if it's going to rain that day?
Think about the Weasley house. There's a clock that tells Mrs. Weasley if anyone is in danger. Think about how death eaters were able to get alerts whenever anyone used the name Voldemort. Embedded programming is what we muggles have to use to attach reactive behaviors to ordinary household objects.
This zine will teach you to make a stuffed bird that chirps whenever your friends send you messages via twitter, and explains the magic that makes it work.
Sample table of contents from the intro to hardware hacking zine:
- Introduction
- Supplies list
- Intro to circuits
- Intro to i/o
- Intro to embedded programming
- Intro to api's
- Building your twitter bot
Sample table of contents from the intro to logic circuits zine
- Introduction
- Supplies list
- Binary numbers
- Intro to circuits
- Build a simple circuit
- Intro to logic circuits
- Build a simple logic circuit
- Intro to adder circuits
- Build a simple adder circuit
Who am I
I have been a software engineer at Airbnb for 3 years. Prior to that, I did HCI research at Tokyo University in their media lab, did machine learning research for the humanoid robotics team at Honda Research Institute, and got undergrad and grad degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT. During undergrad, I was a lab assistant for the department's intro to computer science lab, and during grad school, I was a teaching assistant for the department's discrete math class, explaining concepts like recurrences using hand-drawn cartoons of vampires.
I've been using cartoons to explain science and math concepts to myself since i was little & always drew comics in the margins of my notes all through high school & college.
I love the intersection of technology and art and think of programming and hacking as a way to express creativity. I care a lot about sharing this excitement about programming and creativity and have given talks about it at many programming conferences. I communicate best through both words and pictures, and hand draw the slides for all of my presentations. I'm confident in my ability to explain complex topics in an accessible way.
Past Experience
I have written, illustrated, & printed many zines including one on how to pack for international bike camping & a travel guide to tokyo. I already have good understanding of layouts, printing, & binding, and plan to do these things myself.
Budget
Your contributions will be used towards:
- writing
- drawing
- editing
- printing
- binding
- occasionally commissioning guest artists to draw covers
- conducting research sessions with local schools
What you'll get: a series of 20-page zines handcrafted with love, filled with drawings and diagrams and stories, that explain computer science concepts in accessible, fun, and memorable ways.
If you would like to subscribe to the zines but don't have the resources, email bubblesort.zines at gmail and we'll try to match you with a zine donor!
Why this is important
Little girls and boys perform equally in math and science in elementary school. Little girls are super excited about math and science and I completely disagree with anyone who says we need to put lots of effort into getting them more interested. They already are. It isn't until later in high school that society tells them math & science isn't for them & their participation drops. I don't think we need to get high school girls interested in math and science so much as make sure they feel welcome, included, and supported.
This isn't to say that I believe the lack of diversity in tech is solely because of a pipeline problem. I also believe strongly in making sure underrepresented demographics are treated well once they enter the industry. There's a lot that of work that needs to be done to ensure that any young people who are excited about science and technology now have an inclusive environment to work in when they get older. If you are funding this project, please consider also funding people and organizations that support diversity in the tech industry like AlterConf & Model View Culture.
Credits
music: leaves by airtone
videography: ellen kyle
Risks and challenges
I am have taken the time to familiarize myself with printing, binding, and shipping zines on smaller projects leading up to this project.
I want to make sure that the content of the zines speak to their intended audience, so it might take a few iterations and user studies to get everything right.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterQuestions about this project? Check out the FAQ