I struggled with CS429. I also happened to know how neurons work. One day I realized: a logic gate is just a neuron with a threshold. This project is me drawing that line — all the way from a single AND gate to a full von Neumann machine with an instruction pipeline, explained through the lens of the brain.
| Page | CS429 Concept | Neuroscience Analogy | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Logic Gates (AND/OR/NOT) | Neural threshold firing (synaptic integration → action potential) | ✅ Done |
| 2 | Binary / Data Representation | Neural coding (rate / temporal / population) | ✅ Done |
| 3 | Sequential Logic / State Machines / Flip-Flop | Refractory period + LTP memory trace | ✅ Done |
| 4 | Combinational Logic Circuits | Feedforward neural circuits (fixed weights) | ✅ Done |
| 5 | Von Neumann Architecture | Brain region functional specialization | ✅ Done |
| 6 | Instruction Pipeline | Visual pathway hierarchical parallelism (V1→V2→V4→IT) | ✅ Done |
| 7 | The Brain-Computer | Interactive architecture diagram — all 6 concepts in one view | ⬜ Future |
Each page has four layers — not just a demo:
- Pure CS explanation — the concept in plain terms
- Interactive demo — sliders, toggles, live feedback
- Neural analogy with cross-wiring — controls on one side move the other
- "Where the analogy breaks" — every analogy has a failure point. This section names it.
No other web tool teaches CS architecture through a neuroscience lens. Built because the person who needs this — a neuro student struggling with CS429 — is me.
All 6 pages built (July 31, 2026). Open index.html for the landing page.
Pure HTML/CSS/JS · Single file per page · Built with Claude Code
Built by @KIRRAWA, UT Austin '29 · Neuroscience & CS