Academic Zen,
This semester is when the @#$% hits the fan.
As a noble and enlightened soul did warn me ... Physics is hard.
I have gotten an A on every single test I've taken for an entire year worth of classes. (With one exception, grr grr). 4.0 student. I do my homework every day. I am the very model of a modern major general.
I will be estatic if I managed a C on that Physics test on Tuesday. I am also not alone.
There were 22 students who took that test.
9 showed up the next class.
I can definitely see why Engineering degrees are slipping in this country. People want to have friends and enjoy life and all that. Those two things have nothing to do with an engineering degree. No sirree.
I don't even want to BE a physical engineer. I ain't no materials scientist. I want to be a programmer. I deal with mathematically discrete abstractions, not throwing clowns off of roofs. Logic is my province, my kingdom. The absurd is anathema.
Logic has nothing to do with physics, contrary to the belief of some. Logic is a toolset to understand physics, physics is not rooted in logic. Physics is the empirical world, which our minds can only try to survive and make peace with. It cannot be understood, only endured.
I was hoping that, since all of my current classes require Calculus that all of the subject matter would be completely related. Which would have theoretically made studying efficient. If I study for one in full, I actually study for the others in part.
That is true, but not to the degree I wanted. Physical sciences is a whole different skillset than pure mathematics. And continuous mathematics (Calculus) is a different animal than discrete mathematics.
While they aren't apples and oranges, they are lemons and limes. They taste vaguely the same, but they're still different creatures.
On the brightside, if I do conquer this, I know it'll be a pretty rarified skill. If the kids abandoning ship en-mass is teaching me anything.
ALSO. This song describes my current state of mind perfectly.
As a noble and enlightened soul did warn me ... Physics is hard.
I have gotten an A on every single test I've taken for an entire year worth of classes. (With one exception, grr grr). 4.0 student. I do my homework every day. I am the very model of a modern major general.
I will be estatic if I managed a C on that Physics test on Tuesday. I am also not alone.
There were 22 students who took that test.
9 showed up the next class.
I can definitely see why Engineering degrees are slipping in this country. People want to have friends and enjoy life and all that. Those two things have nothing to do with an engineering degree. No sirree.
I don't even want to BE a physical engineer. I ain't no materials scientist. I want to be a programmer. I deal with mathematically discrete abstractions, not throwing clowns off of roofs. Logic is my province, my kingdom. The absurd is anathema.
Logic has nothing to do with physics, contrary to the belief of some. Logic is a toolset to understand physics, physics is not rooted in logic. Physics is the empirical world, which our minds can only try to survive and make peace with. It cannot be understood, only endured.
I was hoping that, since all of my current classes require Calculus that all of the subject matter would be completely related. Which would have theoretically made studying efficient. If I study for one in full, I actually study for the others in part.
That is true, but not to the degree I wanted. Physical sciences is a whole different skillset than pure mathematics. And continuous mathematics (Calculus) is a different animal than discrete mathematics.
While they aren't apples and oranges, they are lemons and limes. They taste vaguely the same, but they're still different creatures.
On the brightside, if I do conquer this, I know it'll be a pretty rarified skill. If the kids abandoning ship en-mass is teaching me anything.
ALSO. This song describes my current state of mind perfectly.
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