It got late suddenly... so this will be short. Nighttime has a habit of sneaking up on me.
Well, I began the morning by making some new enemies! And by that I mean "I gave a test." When I was making it I kept thinking "man, this is an easy question. But apparently some of my students did not feel the same way. As one of them was leaving he looked at me, laughed and said "yeah, you can just throw that away." I felt bad.
After the test was over I studied for my test on Friday. I worked a few problems and wrote out a lot of formulas. I think I have a good handle on the basic ideas, now I just need to work through lots of problems. I typed the formulas up on the computer in the computer lab on the first floor of my building and it was SO cold. Like... I couldn't really feel my hands.
Then I had my own class. It was fine, I guess. I think my biggest issue with that class is that I actually find the material really interesting, but there is so much theory behind it that I often get lost in it... even when the actual applications are reasonably straight forward.
When I got home I started making some dinner. We had corn chowder! It was really tasty. After dinner we cleaned up the kitchen some, then made it dirty again while making snacks for our movie night. Dustin, Timbo, and Paul came over to watch a movie. Specifically a horror movie, in honor of it being Halloween tomorrow. Well, the movie we picked ended up being less than awesome. But it was fun to watch it with friends. And make fun of it.
And now it's bed time. Night!
10.30.2012
10.29.2012
Day 525
Hi everyone.
Today was Monday. That is a fact.
It was pretty standard: homework/get stuff done in the morning, class, come home. I talked on the phone with mom later in the evening. She caught me up to date on the latest going-ons of Primrose and other Findlay events.
So here's the thing. I've been thinking about the current state of math education for a week or so. Actually, it's been a few years but my views have been resurfacing recently. Since this is my soapbox, I get to talk about whatever I want. Those are the rules.
I severely dislike and disapprove of how mathematics is taught to the main populace. To those who do not seek to involve mathematics into their education or career, math is nothing more than that class you have to take because someone deems it necessary. And when you're in those classes, math is nothing more than memorizing stuff and putting numbers into equations. Think of it like freshman biology (or from what my Biology friends told me, most of a Biology degree): it's all memorizing stuff. But math is so much more than formulas. In fact, math is really not at all about numbers and formulas.
Words are limited. It's difficult to completely describe things using standard words and grammar. Sure, we can express colors and shapes and actions. We can express those things to a degree, anyhow. But there comes a point when words fail and subjectivity arises. Is it "red" or is "scarlet"? Do you really "feel my pain," or do you just empathize with me? Is that a true sphere, or just a round object? There comes a point when you want ultimate accuracy and precision. YOU might not want that.... most of us just want the ability to effectively communicate with others. But at the core of knowledge is precision. There is a difference between royal blue and navy blue. But do we all agree on the definitions of royal blue and navy blue? We could go the route of scientific classifications (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family genus, species), but there are plenty of instances where biological entities were improperly classified because they appeared to be related some other being... but after further observation (post-classification) the two were deemed unrelated.
So we could try to use words to dissect life and describe everything, sure. I guess we could do that. Or we could not.
What if we had a language that perfectly described the world in which we live? One that is not limited by anything? Flawless, precise, descriptions. Any good poet will tell you that no language is good enough to grasp the beauty of thought. But there is a language, a not-strictly verbal language that is flawless. And it's flawless because it was designed to be so.
Examine mathematics. It is a way of thought, exploration, and description that is built with the building blocks of the most pure substance known to man (logic). Symbols and numbers are just used as shorthand. We use equations like y = 3*x - 50 because it's more convenient than saying "our company income will be thrice the number of items sold, minus a flat overhead charge of $50." In math class, we often start an idea with something like "Let x be the number of claims in a year." Symbols are just shorthand. Numbers... numbers are beautiful. They are the masterpiece language of mathematics.
Tell me. Is the earth big? I'd say so. How about the sun? I would also say that the sun is big. Is it bigger than the earth? Certainly. But... the earth is still "big"? How large does something have to be before we call it "big"? What if we compare the sun to the size of the known universe? What is "big"?
Tell me. What is "red"? Describe "red" to me, please. I can't describe "red." But I do know that if we assign it a value of #FF0000, then #FF0001 will be really really close to "red"... but it will not be "red." To the naked eye, #FF0000 and #FF0001 are identical. But they are not truly equal.
My students hate math. Most of them, anyhow. And I can't blame them. The text book teaches (for most of the chapters I am required to teach, anyhow) arithmetic, not mathematics. Now, arithmetic is cool. By arithmetic we make our numerical language do stuff. In words, we can clumsily describe the velocity, acceleration, and arc of a cannonball... but it's a nightmareish task to explain how everything changes every nano-second. All of that is easy with math and each nano-second change is discovered with arithmetic. But humans of the twenty-first century need not waste undo time on arithmetic. We have powerful computers, calculators, and cell phones to do that. Humans, with their logic, reasoning, and ideas, should be spending their precious thinking power on those things.
Math is beautiful. Arithmetic is a tool to achieve mathematical means. But arithmetic is not the end result. We use arithmetic to do things with our numerical language.
I could go on... but I'm tired and have already written a nice 3-page paper.
Have a good night, everyone.
Today was Monday. That is a fact.
It was pretty standard: homework/get stuff done in the morning, class, come home. I talked on the phone with mom later in the evening. She caught me up to date on the latest going-ons of Primrose and other Findlay events.
So here's the thing. I've been thinking about the current state of math education for a week or so. Actually, it's been a few years but my views have been resurfacing recently. Since this is my soapbox, I get to talk about whatever I want. Those are the rules.
I severely dislike and disapprove of how mathematics is taught to the main populace. To those who do not seek to involve mathematics into their education or career, math is nothing more than that class you have to take because someone deems it necessary. And when you're in those classes, math is nothing more than memorizing stuff and putting numbers into equations. Think of it like freshman biology (or from what my Biology friends told me, most of a Biology degree): it's all memorizing stuff. But math is so much more than formulas. In fact, math is really not at all about numbers and formulas.
Words are limited. It's difficult to completely describe things using standard words and grammar. Sure, we can express colors and shapes and actions. We can express those things to a degree, anyhow. But there comes a point when words fail and subjectivity arises. Is it "red" or is "scarlet"? Do you really "feel my pain," or do you just empathize with me? Is that a true sphere, or just a round object? There comes a point when you want ultimate accuracy and precision. YOU might not want that.... most of us just want the ability to effectively communicate with others. But at the core of knowledge is precision. There is a difference between royal blue and navy blue. But do we all agree on the definitions of royal blue and navy blue? We could go the route of scientific classifications (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family genus, species), but there are plenty of instances where biological entities were improperly classified because they appeared to be related some other being... but after further observation (post-classification) the two were deemed unrelated.
So we could try to use words to dissect life and describe everything, sure. I guess we could do that. Or we could not.
What if we had a language that perfectly described the world in which we live? One that is not limited by anything? Flawless, precise, descriptions. Any good poet will tell you that no language is good enough to grasp the beauty of thought. But there is a language, a not-strictly verbal language that is flawless. And it's flawless because it was designed to be so.
Examine mathematics. It is a way of thought, exploration, and description that is built with the building blocks of the most pure substance known to man (logic). Symbols and numbers are just used as shorthand. We use equations like y = 3*x - 50 because it's more convenient than saying "our company income will be thrice the number of items sold, minus a flat overhead charge of $50." In math class, we often start an idea with something like "Let x be the number of claims in a year." Symbols are just shorthand. Numbers... numbers are beautiful. They are the masterpiece language of mathematics.
Tell me. Is the earth big? I'd say so. How about the sun? I would also say that the sun is big. Is it bigger than the earth? Certainly. But... the earth is still "big"? How large does something have to be before we call it "big"? What if we compare the sun to the size of the known universe? What is "big"?
Tell me. What is "red"? Describe "red" to me, please. I can't describe "red." But I do know that if we assign it a value of #FF0000, then #FF0001 will be really really close to "red"... but it will not be "red." To the naked eye, #FF0000 and #FF0001 are identical. But they are not truly equal.
My students hate math. Most of them, anyhow. And I can't blame them. The text book teaches (for most of the chapters I am required to teach, anyhow) arithmetic, not mathematics. Now, arithmetic is cool. By arithmetic we make our numerical language do stuff. In words, we can clumsily describe the velocity, acceleration, and arc of a cannonball... but it's a nightmareish task to explain how everything changes every nano-second. All of that is easy with math and each nano-second change is discovered with arithmetic. But humans of the twenty-first century need not waste undo time on arithmetic. We have powerful computers, calculators, and cell phones to do that. Humans, with their logic, reasoning, and ideas, should be spending their precious thinking power on those things.
Math is beautiful. Arithmetic is a tool to achieve mathematical means. But arithmetic is not the end result. We use arithmetic to do things with our numerical language.
I could go on... but I'm tired and have already written a nice 3-page paper.
Have a good night, everyone.
10.28.2012
Day 524
Well, today ended up being a pretty standard Sunday. Before church we had to go to Aldi and finish our grocery shopping, since we went a little too late last night. So we made a quick trip to the store, came home to put groceries away, then went to church with Jessie and Richard. At the beginning of the service a few people gave short talks to show their appreciation for a couple people who help out in the different ministries in the church. That was cool to hear how different people get so involved in the areas they enjoy and how they've been such an impact to all sorts of people.
After church Jessie and Richard came over for lunch. We had some really good hot dogs and beans. We discussed some of our travel plans for the upcoming holidays. And how dumb work is.
I don't have a strong recollection of all of the details of the afternoon because everything just kind of blended together. It was a mashup of homework, cleaning, video games, dinner, and then some more of all of those. So it was fine, but nothing too special. Just... a day.
That's about how things have been going recently. Nothing special, just going. I don't know if I'm tired or my brain is just confused by not being blasted with deadlines, interviews, and tests... But things are just going along. I know that for most people that's normal, that life just goes without any sort of "exciting stories" or adventures, but I get bored when that happens. Maybe it's good that I'll be taking tests for the next few years of my life, as I'll always have something going on. I won't really have too many people that will understand what I'm studying... but it will keep me busy. I must admit, not being busy is pretty great at the moment. The restfulness is nice.
Anyhow. I'm off to bed. I need to get some things done tomorrow morning before class.
Cheerio!
After church Jessie and Richard came over for lunch. We had some really good hot dogs and beans. We discussed some of our travel plans for the upcoming holidays. And how dumb work is.
I don't have a strong recollection of all of the details of the afternoon because everything just kind of blended together. It was a mashup of homework, cleaning, video games, dinner, and then some more of all of those. So it was fine, but nothing too special. Just... a day.
That's about how things have been going recently. Nothing special, just going. I don't know if I'm tired or my brain is just confused by not being blasted with deadlines, interviews, and tests... But things are just going along. I know that for most people that's normal, that life just goes without any sort of "exciting stories" or adventures, but I get bored when that happens. Maybe it's good that I'll be taking tests for the next few years of my life, as I'll always have something going on. I won't really have too many people that will understand what I'm studying... but it will keep me busy. I must admit, not being busy is pretty great at the moment. The restfulness is nice.
Anyhow. I'm off to bed. I need to get some things done tomorrow morning before class.
Cheerio!
Day 523
Quick update, as it's late and I'm tired.
Kimmy and I had planned on going grocery shopping this morning, but we were both just too tired. So we went back to bed. After we got up we went about our normal routine of eating and things. Then she had to get ready for work.
After she went to work I went to the library with Timbo and worked on homework for a few hours. That... was pretty much my afternoon. We got most of it done, but I still have a few problems. I was just getting tired and frustrated by the end. We both were.
Kimmy got home shortly after I did, so we made some dinner, watched a show on Netflix, then went grocery shopping. We got out a little bit later than I had planned, which resulted in Aldi closing before we could go there. So we have to finish shopping tomorrow morning before church.
When we got back we put groceries away and such. Oh! We got free cat food! When we got our kittens we were given some coupons, and two of them were for free cat food! So that was exciting.
Then later on we watched a movie. And now it is bed time. Night!
Kimmy and I had planned on going grocery shopping this morning, but we were both just too tired. So we went back to bed. After we got up we went about our normal routine of eating and things. Then she had to get ready for work.
After she went to work I went to the library with Timbo and worked on homework for a few hours. That... was pretty much my afternoon. We got most of it done, but I still have a few problems. I was just getting tired and frustrated by the end. We both were.
Kimmy got home shortly after I did, so we made some dinner, watched a show on Netflix, then went grocery shopping. We got out a little bit later than I had planned, which resulted in Aldi closing before we could go there. So we have to finish shopping tomorrow morning before church.
When we got back we put groceries away and such. Oh! We got free cat food! When we got our kittens we were given some coupons, and two of them were for free cat food! So that was exciting.
Then later on we watched a movie. And now it is bed time. Night!
10.27.2012
Day 522
You know, I'm actually growing quite fond of these days that seem to go on forever. Because it means that I'm doing a long with my days.
This morning Kimmy had to go to work, so it was an early morning for both of us. After she left I did some budgeting things and bill-paying. Also, apparently when Comcast says that it will automatically deduct the payment each month on the 14th, what it really means is "Surprise! We're not going to deduct it, but we'll happily slap you silly with a late fee if you trusted us!" Thankfully I noticed this 2 days before the bill was due so I was able to pay it on time, but I was not happy.
After lunch I went to class. We had all just settled into our seats when one of the secretaries from the math department came down to inform us that Dr. Foley would not be coming to class. So.... I went up to the computer lab and worked on a project. I finished it up (even though it's not due for another week and a half) and had a lot of fun with it. And it's been really helpful with some of my homework problems. Then when I finished it I went to Mr. Owens class. We've just been talking about a different probability distribution which we've seen before. So it hasn't been too bad.
When I got home I folded some laundry, then started dinner. One of the repair guys was supposed to come over today..... but I guess he was busy or something. So after Kimmy got home from work we had dinner. Jessie and Richard stopped by to drop off Kimmy's lunch bag (that we'd left in Findlay). After dinner Kimmy and I played Scrabble. I was sure I was going to win because I was ahead the entire game. And then with about 4 turns left in the game Kimmy played a word and earned 80 points. I was not exactly amused. So she ended up winning pretty sufficiently.
After Scrabble I played some TF2 with some friends. When we were done, Kimmy and I came up with our grocery list for the week so we can go shopping tomorrow morning.
And now... it's time for bed. Night!
This morning Kimmy had to go to work, so it was an early morning for both of us. After she left I did some budgeting things and bill-paying. Also, apparently when Comcast says that it will automatically deduct the payment each month on the 14th, what it really means is "Surprise! We're not going to deduct it, but we'll happily slap you silly with a late fee if you trusted us!" Thankfully I noticed this 2 days before the bill was due so I was able to pay it on time, but I was not happy.
After lunch I went to class. We had all just settled into our seats when one of the secretaries from the math department came down to inform us that Dr. Foley would not be coming to class. So.... I went up to the computer lab and worked on a project. I finished it up (even though it's not due for another week and a half) and had a lot of fun with it. And it's been really helpful with some of my homework problems. Then when I finished it I went to Mr. Owens class. We've just been talking about a different probability distribution which we've seen before. So it hasn't been too bad.
When I got home I folded some laundry, then started dinner. One of the repair guys was supposed to come over today..... but I guess he was busy or something. So after Kimmy got home from work we had dinner. Jessie and Richard stopped by to drop off Kimmy's lunch bag (that we'd left in Findlay). After dinner Kimmy and I played Scrabble. I was sure I was going to win because I was ahead the entire game. And then with about 4 turns left in the game Kimmy played a word and earned 80 points. I was not exactly amused. So she ended up winning pretty sufficiently.
After Scrabble I played some TF2 with some friends. When we were done, Kimmy and I came up with our grocery list for the week so we can go shopping tomorrow morning.
And now... it's time for bed. Night!
10.26.2012
Day 521
I was pretty tired this morning. For some reason I had a terrible time falling asleep last night, so I did not feel very fantastic upon waking up. But carry on, I did.
Class was a bit rough, since it was all review and this was a pretty hard chapter. But I think most of them understand it decently enough. We'll see on Tuesday! After class I went to my office, started writing the test, and had some lunch. Then I talked with Saha (one of my office mates) about how classes are going. I told him that I was just done with school and he laughed and said "believe me... I understand." He's working on his second master's degree and if he can't get a job upon graduation he'll have to stay to get a PhD. So... he's quite ready to be done. Then we compared notes on how we've been teaching our classes and how things have been going with that.
After my office hours I went to my class. Yep, it went pretty much the same as it always done. After class I talked with Alex a little bit about teaching (we also teach the same class) and some of the issues his students have been having.
When I got home Kimmy and I started looking at student loan things. It was not fun at all. But I think that we'll be able to get her loans deferred until after I graduate, so that would be nice.
Then Kimmy and I had a picnic! We got some dinner at Pita Pit and went to Minnestrista park to eat. It was pretty nice outside. So that was fun.
Then when we came back we just relaxed for the evening. We just finished playing Scrabble a little bit ago. It was pretty close, but I won. :)
And now it's bed time. Good night!
Class was a bit rough, since it was all review and this was a pretty hard chapter. But I think most of them understand it decently enough. We'll see on Tuesday! After class I went to my office, started writing the test, and had some lunch. Then I talked with Saha (one of my office mates) about how classes are going. I told him that I was just done with school and he laughed and said "believe me... I understand." He's working on his second master's degree and if he can't get a job upon graduation he'll have to stay to get a PhD. So... he's quite ready to be done. Then we compared notes on how we've been teaching our classes and how things have been going with that.
After my office hours I went to my class. Yep, it went pretty much the same as it always done. After class I talked with Alex a little bit about teaching (we also teach the same class) and some of the issues his students have been having.
When I got home Kimmy and I started looking at student loan things. It was not fun at all. But I think that we'll be able to get her loans deferred until after I graduate, so that would be nice.
Then Kimmy and I had a picnic! We got some dinner at Pita Pit and went to Minnestrista park to eat. It was pretty nice outside. So that was fun.
Then when we came back we just relaxed for the evening. We just finished playing Scrabble a little bit ago. It was pretty close, but I won. :)
And now it's bed time. Good night!
10.24.2012
Day 520
More things.
Well, it's back to school today. My morning started pretty much as usual: after breakfast I did homework. I don't have a lot due this week, so it's a nice transition back into school. But yeah, I started with homework til lunch time. After lunch I went to class.
Also, I need to get a haircut soon. Duly noted.
So then class happened. It was pretty normal, I suppose. In between classes I did the last homework problem because apparently I'd written the wrong number down. So I fixed that.
There's some big news that I've been sharing with my friends in my program. Backstory: in the American actuarial world, there are two governing organizations that deal with two different areas of insurance, namely the SOA and the CAS. They both have their own sets of exams, but the first 4 are the same and are "jointly administered." This just means that the exams are identical count in both societies towards your exam progress. However, at the end of next year this will no longer be the case. Meaning that the first SOA exam will no longer count for the first CAS exam (but right now it does). The big issue with this is that if you want to get into property insurance (like automobile insurance), this is governed by the CAS. But college students really have no idea what area they want to go into... in fact most of us would be happy with any area and just want a job. But at the same time, you have to have at least two exams before getting a job. So in the near future, students will be faced with the dilemma of being forced to eliminate career paths early on or retake previous exams. Which would be awful. And the main reason behind this is just organizational politics. But ultimately, students lose.
Funny story from last night. After we got in bed, we noticed that there was a fly buzzing around. This wasn't really a big deal... to us, anyhow. But our cats felt that it was a VERY big deal. So they spent the next 20 or so minutes jumping at it, trying to bat it off the wall or out of the air. It was pretty silly. Bacon gave up pretty early on, but Beans kept at it. Which really didn't make a lot of sense because Beans has no jumping ability. She still can't make it onto the tables from the floor. But she kept trying! Eventually she figured out that she could brace her front paws against the wall, giving her more vertical leverage. And every few minutes she'd give it another jump. I was just about to turn the lights off when she jumped.... and actually batted it down for the last time. She'd hit it maybe three other times, but it kept getting back up. But not this time... the fly was done. And then she ate her spoils of war. It was glorious.
So back to today. We had some leftovers for dinner because we were too lazy to make anything new. But I do like having regular leftovers. It ensures that food doesn't mold and it's cheaper. I think that the only food that's gone bad was from the time that our refrigerator stopped working. So that's good. I'm sure there have been other times, but I just don't recall them.
After dinner I did some work for my lesson tomorrow. It's a review day, so I made study guides and emailed them off to my class. I think a lot of my students are really close to understanding... but they probably aren't there yet. Hopefully tomorrow helps!
Ok. It's time for bed now. Good night!
Well, it's back to school today. My morning started pretty much as usual: after breakfast I did homework. I don't have a lot due this week, so it's a nice transition back into school. But yeah, I started with homework til lunch time. After lunch I went to class.
Also, I need to get a haircut soon. Duly noted.
So then class happened. It was pretty normal, I suppose. In between classes I did the last homework problem because apparently I'd written the wrong number down. So I fixed that.
There's some big news that I've been sharing with my friends in my program. Backstory: in the American actuarial world, there are two governing organizations that deal with two different areas of insurance, namely the SOA and the CAS. They both have their own sets of exams, but the first 4 are the same and are "jointly administered." This just means that the exams are identical count in both societies towards your exam progress. However, at the end of next year this will no longer be the case. Meaning that the first SOA exam will no longer count for the first CAS exam (but right now it does). The big issue with this is that if you want to get into property insurance (like automobile insurance), this is governed by the CAS. But college students really have no idea what area they want to go into... in fact most of us would be happy with any area and just want a job. But at the same time, you have to have at least two exams before getting a job. So in the near future, students will be faced with the dilemma of being forced to eliminate career paths early on or retake previous exams. Which would be awful. And the main reason behind this is just organizational politics. But ultimately, students lose.
Funny story from last night. After we got in bed, we noticed that there was a fly buzzing around. This wasn't really a big deal... to us, anyhow. But our cats felt that it was a VERY big deal. So they spent the next 20 or so minutes jumping at it, trying to bat it off the wall or out of the air. It was pretty silly. Bacon gave up pretty early on, but Beans kept at it. Which really didn't make a lot of sense because Beans has no jumping ability. She still can't make it onto the tables from the floor. But she kept trying! Eventually she figured out that she could brace her front paws against the wall, giving her more vertical leverage. And every few minutes she'd give it another jump. I was just about to turn the lights off when she jumped.... and actually batted it down for the last time. She'd hit it maybe three other times, but it kept getting back up. But not this time... the fly was done. And then she ate her spoils of war. It was glorious.
So back to today. We had some leftovers for dinner because we were too lazy to make anything new. But I do like having regular leftovers. It ensures that food doesn't mold and it's cheaper. I think that the only food that's gone bad was from the time that our refrigerator stopped working. So that's good. I'm sure there have been other times, but I just don't recall them.
After dinner I did some work for my lesson tomorrow. It's a review day, so I made study guides and emailed them off to my class. I think a lot of my students are really close to understanding... but they probably aren't there yet. Hopefully tomorrow helps!
Ok. It's time for bed now. Good night!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)