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published 2020-10-27 by Pyfisch.
Crisis Communication is one of the only computer science courses at TU Darmstadt with a proper motivation section. The premise is that “the zombie apocalypse is inevitable” and therefore we need to prepare. Communication is essential during any crisis to find food, water and shelter, to be informed about threats and to organize help. However mobile phones, wired internet and other communication infrastructure depends on the electrical grid or may be unavailable or overloaded during a crisis. This is why this course teaches the basics of electrical engineering, radio communication, signals and protocols, so we can build our own radio to survive, save humanity and tell the tale to our grandchildren.
The lecturer remarked that she considers the climate apocalypse or currently a corona apocalypse to be more likely but emphasized that our radio communication skills will be useful during any kind of apocalypse.
Although she assumes that we are generally familiar with zombies she recommended the textbook “The Zombie Survival Guide” by Max Brooks. It contains a list of known zombie outbreaks, and while Wikipedia considers the book to be “humorous” another editor already applied a [citation needed] note to this ridiculous claim. In addition we had a look at the CDC zombie awareness program and the US military defense strategy against zombie attacks. It is quite remarkable how well prepared the US is for any kind of danger but fails so miserably to protect its citizens right now. Finally she showed us an info graphic by The Oatmeal, what not to do in case of a zombie apocalypse.
Vice News: The Pentagon Is Prepared for a Zombie Outbreak
The Oatmeal: How Everything Goes to Hell During a Zombie Apocalypse
I liked the creative course introduction very much and chose the course because I want to learn more about networks and it combines theoretical lectures with exercises and hands-on experiments. The course contents are closely related to the “Amateurfunkprüfung” (amateur radio exam) and most team members are ham radio operators themselves. My next post will be the notes from the lecture on wave propagation.
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