"I've done nothing, I'm so behind! I might as well give up now, it's all pointless anyway."
How often do we say this? For the last three weeks I've done nil-by-maths. I haven't even done nothing well. I didn't even do anything that wasn't not-maths properly. I did nothing constructive. Of course I did something.
I've squatted, typing tripe, I read books that I've read before and obsessed about my idleness. I slept late, got drunk early and watched the telly. I was an effective useless-object.
Today I went back to work, walking into the usual mountain of mundane-horror that always faces me on my return. Still I was, not whistling, because I don't do that, but chipper. I was chipper because this weekend two things happened.
- I saw the block-pikky that my mother has now finished [you won't find that]
- I found a site that whisked me into the black-hole that is quatum physics and cosmology
The block-pikky is a thing of joy, the quantum physics hapiness might have to be explained.
I don't know what your tutorials are like; I am mawed with geniuses. Afterwards in the pub we compare concepts. I have to talk a lot to keep them quiet. Which is never good, although I'm good at talking. It tires me.
Mostly I'm in awe of my mates Chris and Duncan, and the rest of the over-achievers. I know nothing about the stuff upon which they talk lots.
Until that is, this my weekend of my nothing, opened my eyes. I'll never understood why they cared about all this crap [for I care about it in a different way or not at-all.]
You want to know why I had this epithany? Maths.
I could point out the bits of maths that made my understanding, such would be stupid. For it is a one.
Tonight I got out my maths books and made a personal breakthrough. What was stopping me was a personal laziness and distate.
You either want to know and are going to do the work, or you don't and don't. I do and don't but I do and will.
Nobody is going to talk to me in the pub on Saturday after the tutorial are they?
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Yeah Strassler is one of the better informative sites out there. At least he avoids hype and sticks to the point.
Don't know why you claim I'm an over achiever, I screwed up on my last TMA for my Partial differential equations course mainly because I got bored so submitted a TMA which will only get me about 60% at the most.
I've spent far too much time procrastinating myself. Need to make a serious effort on the last block of Topology seems to be a bit more concrete than the first block. One of the things I found bizzare about block 1 is that despite being about the foundations of analysis no where was the convergence of a sequence discussed or anything
Will try and get to the August Tutorial and don't stop talking.
All the best mate Chris
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hi Chris
I'm not sure that I'm getting this particle physics stuff...well, we'll see
You are an over-achiever, you've looked at the Topology units!
I'm struggling along with the groups/geometry nonsense—TMA due in a week and a half. No units done. I'm stuck in that bad place where I look at the TMA questions and read just enough of a unit to answer them. I have such a rubbish understanding that I'm too embarrassed to go to tomorrow's tutorial. Shameful.
Especially so as Duncan is churning out M208 hundred per cents like a mathematical sausage machine. [He submitted the last three, months ago, Alan is worried about losing them
]
Still I've promised myself that August will [mostly] be given up to topology [which I'm loving] and I look forwards to October and the joys of number theory!
Hopefully we can have a wee drink and a blether after the August tutorial. I've got, a terribly-tattered, philosophy of maths book that should float Graham's boat.
arb
nellie
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Duncan has a much more methodical and patient attitude to maths than I do on the other hand unlike us he did spend a year getting through most of M208 before submitting himself to the test. Ok that doesn't detract from his ability however it must give him a bit of an advantage.
I intend to devote most of August to Topology as well hopefully the momentum will continue through September to peak at the right time for the exam
However have invested in a keyboard prior to be doing the new OU music course alongside the maths next year so might be distracted by learning how to play twinkle twinkle little star in the style of Chopin.
All the best see ya at the tutorial it seems a long time ago since the last one.