From: bernie Date: Fri, 4 Sep 2009 07:01:08 +0000 (+0200) Subject: Edit page blog/2009/09 X-Git-Url: https://codewiz.org/gitweb?a=commitdiff_plain;h=4fbb46c3658a62d71255ef6932027efbfe892076;p=wiki.git Edit page blog/2009/09 --- diff --git a/blog/2009/09 b/blog/2009/09 index 915e015..9c5e643 100644 --- a/blog/2009/09 +++ b/blog/2009/09 @@ -1,4 +1,43 @@ == Bernie's brain dump as of September 2009 == +=== Sep 3rd: Calculus === + +{{HarvardHannenbergHall.jpg}} + +Ok, today it was precalculus. I arrived on time, but I still had no paper with me, so I had to +ask to someone next to me for a bunch of sheets. Quickly filling up a dozen of pages with +notes after so many years of little hand-writing practice has been a bit challenging. My +calligraphy still sucks the same way it did back when I was enrolled in Florence. + +I'm starting to build some confidence that this crazy idea of going to school is actually +feasible. This Calculus A may even be too easy, but I'm still afraid I'd be unable to +keep up with Calculus B considering my many little handicaps which include lack of practice +for many years and being unable to keep my concentration for long spans of time. + +The dilemma is: should I take it easy and aim for the rewarding satisfaction of being +good at maths for a change? Or would Calculus B be a better use of my time and money, +even if there's a high risk of failing the tests? + +I have one week left to change my course plan without loosing any money. + + === Sep 1st: Back to school === +{{HarvardYard.jpg}} + +Today I attended my first class of **discrete matematics** (E-104). I was too optimistic in estimating the +time to bike from the FSF to the Harvard Science Center, and as a result I arrived 5 minutes +too late. Next, I entered the wrong classroom, and it took me another 5 minutes to figure out +that kinetic laws had nothing to do with my course. + +When I finally got sited in the correct classroom, I realized I had no paper! So I started +taking notes on my laptop, but I was really the only one doing so. Not much because it's +not customary for Harvard, but mostly because ASCII is not very well suited for writing math. +Luckily, the first class was about logic operations, whose notation is very easy to transcribe +on computers. To make things worse, the battery ran out near the end of the class, producing +an embarrassing alarm sound that everybody could hear. + +My #1 fear, being unable to follow the professor in English, dispelled almost immediately. +Besides, this first lesson wasn't very hard in itself. I noticed that the professor accompanies +the explanations with several small questions directed at the audience. These days this is +one of the few reasons left to prefer a real university over a set of videos on You Tube.