A course titled “The Strategy of StarCraft” topped a list of the 15 strangest college courses in America. I am not a gamer, but I have to admit that this course sounds intriguing. It’s description states (emphasis added):
UC Berkeley students with an interest in real-time strategy games and the competitive gaming landscape are encouraged to participate in this class. This course will go in-depth in the theory of how war is conducted within the confines of the game Starcraft. There will be lecture on various aspects of the game, from the viewpoint of pure theory to the more computational aspects of how exactly battles are conducted. Calculus and Differential Equations are highly recommended for full understanding of the course.
Strange? Maybe. I would call it untraditional. I applaud whoever developed this course, since it looks like it uses gaming as a vehicle to teach decision-making.
Link courtesy of Marginal Revolution.
Punk Rock Operations Research 
March 25th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
This does sound like a strange class. Yet I bet there is a lot of Operations Research tied into the A.I. and algorithms with these real-time strategy games. Especially if there is a computer that is your opponent. I often wondered if gaming companies like Blizzard, Sony, and Electronic Arts hired Operations Research analysts to help create their gaming engines.
March 26th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
The course sounds interesting, but that list of 15 strangest college courses is a little misleading. The StarCraft course (as well as the Simpsons and Philosophy course) are DeCals at UC Berkeley — student-run (and student developed) courses that would never actually fulfill any university requirements.
http://www.decal.org/home/faq.php#what-is-decal
April 12th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
You can follow it here:
http://www.academicearth.org/lectures/introduction-starcraft
Found it yesterday!