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tarigwaemirAd Mundo Exteriore,
Are eight and a half days sufficient time to study for a final that covers reams of material that you don't really recall all that well? Would it be wise to spend all eight and a half days exclusively preparing for this final and only, say, six other days studying for two finals that happen to come on the same day? Does it make a difference if those two finals are in subjects that are sufficiently difficult but not potential sources of academic breakdown? Please, all you who have already been through the hell of your first week of college finals, give me some advice on how to schedule all this studying before I go mad and start tracing woodgrain lines à la Qing-jao.
I'm trying to plan out my schedule for reading period, giving myself plenty of time for procrastination and also filling out summer program applications, which, by the way, are all apparently on a rolling basis (why don't I notice these things before?!). Luckily, nearly all the applications are identical (thank you, minor demideity of academia for the blessings of redundancy), which hopefully means that they won't be too painful. Ugh, I hate applications.
In other news, I'm one-third of the way through David Foster Wallace's book on infinity, and while there has been plenty of hinting and anticipation of Cantor's transfinite numbers, in the form of various tidbits marked by "to be explored in depth later" or notes to that effect, I haven't even really reached Newton and Leibniz yet. -_- Nevertheless, Wallace really is an absorbing writer, and it's pretty fnxoopy that a layperson like him could write so well about such sophisticated ideas in mathematics. I've been wondering if the reason why I find Wallace easier to read than more, well, conventional writers is because my mind has become so scatterbrained and easily distracted that only his constant footnoting and digressions can keep my attention for long periods of time. If so, I'm definitely losing what little power of concentration I had...what a depressing thought. >_<
I really need my GEB around so I can compare the examples of "Vicious Infinite Regress" (abbreviated as VIR, in Wallace's handy list of abbreviations) arising from self-reference and those chapters on recursive functions (I think they started with that whole "meta-genie" sketch?). And then I can sigh and go, "How pretty!" without really understanding it all. ^_^ Math can be so loveable when it's spoon-fed to you with aesthetically-pleasing analogies.
There's still a few days left 'till the New Year, but I'm going to list my resolutions now:
1) not to check LiveJournal more than once a day (hah!)
2) try to keep a regular sleep cycle (an even more unlikely prospect)
2a) try not to fall asleep after kendo on Saturday
2b) try not to stay up too late on Sunday night/early Monday morning
3) find out where the Cambridge Public Library actually is and see if I can get myself a card
4) try to worm myself into a research lab somewhere
5) continue learning the thousand characters (not so hard, since we begin hanja in Korean next semester)
Oh, and I nearly forgot:
6) pick up on reading Origin again
...Tari
Are eight and a half days sufficient time to study for a final that covers reams of material that you don't really recall all that well? Would it be wise to spend all eight and a half days exclusively preparing for this final and only, say, six other days studying for two finals that happen to come on the same day? Does it make a difference if those two finals are in subjects that are sufficiently difficult but not potential sources of academic breakdown? Please, all you who have already been through the hell of your first week of college finals, give me some advice on how to schedule all this studying before I go mad and start tracing woodgrain lines à la Qing-jao.
I'm trying to plan out my schedule for reading period, giving myself plenty of time for procrastination and also filling out summer program applications, which, by the way, are all apparently on a rolling basis (why don't I notice these things before?!). Luckily, nearly all the applications are identical (thank you, minor demideity of academia for the blessings of redundancy), which hopefully means that they won't be too painful. Ugh, I hate applications.
In other news, I'm one-third of the way through David Foster Wallace's book on infinity, and while there has been plenty of hinting and anticipation of Cantor's transfinite numbers, in the form of various tidbits marked by "to be explored in depth later" or notes to that effect, I haven't even really reached Newton and Leibniz yet. -_- Nevertheless, Wallace really is an absorbing writer, and it's pretty fnxoopy that a layperson like him could write so well about such sophisticated ideas in mathematics. I've been wondering if the reason why I find Wallace easier to read than more, well, conventional writers is because my mind has become so scatterbrained and easily distracted that only his constant footnoting and digressions can keep my attention for long periods of time. If so, I'm definitely losing what little power of concentration I had...what a depressing thought. >_<
I really need my GEB around so I can compare the examples of "Vicious Infinite Regress" (abbreviated as VIR, in Wallace's handy list of abbreviations) arising from self-reference and those chapters on recursive functions (I think they started with that whole "meta-genie" sketch?). And then I can sigh and go, "How pretty!" without really understanding it all. ^_^ Math can be so loveable when it's spoon-fed to you with aesthetically-pleasing analogies.
There's still a few days left 'till the New Year, but I'm going to list my resolutions now:
1) not to check LiveJournal more than once a day (hah!)
2) try to keep a regular sleep cycle (an even more unlikely prospect)
2a) try not to fall asleep after kendo on Saturday
2b) try not to stay up too late on Sunday night/early Monday morning
3) find out where the Cambridge Public Library actually is and see if I can get myself a card
4) try to worm myself into a research lab somewhere
5) continue learning the thousand characters (not so hard, since we begin hanja in Korean next semester)
Oh, and I nearly forgot:
6) pick up on reading Origin again
...Tari
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(no subject)
Date: 2003-12-28 04:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-12-30 08:06 am (UTC)...Tari
(no subject)
Date: 2003-12-28 07:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-12-30 08:07 am (UTC)...Tari
(no subject)
Date: 2003-12-28 07:38 pm (UTC)And the library has a few branches I believe. There's one on Broadway that should be quite easy to get to.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-12-30 08:09 am (UTC)...Tari
ambitious...
Date: 2003-12-29 07:37 pm (UTC)explain why we're stressed out on vacation?
and goodness, i forgot resolutions existed =X
[btw, this is danica... finally got an lj =O]
Re: ambitious...
Date: 2003-12-30 08:14 am (UTC)Good luck with all your apps...if it's of any comfort, since you're a junior in high school you probably are eligible for the widest range of summer programs. (On the other hand, that just means more apps to fill out. -_-;;)
...Tari