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Here we go again... 15-221: Technical Communication for Computer Scientists- Ugh. Potential CS majors, beware- we all have to take this course, and it's only ever offered at 9am (attendance is required). It's supposed to be an easy A, so we'll see how that goes. Additionally, everyone says not to take it senior year, which is why I'm taking it next semester- well, also because at least two friends are also taking it. Third on the waitlist. 15-312: Foundations of Programming Languages- Supposedly like 15-212, yet more abstract again! I'm really enjoying 212, so I'm looking forward to this. (Have I mentioned how cool ML is as a language? It's so cool.) 15-451: Algorithm Design and Analysis- Another requirement. Looking forward to this, especially since a friend will probably be TAing the section I'm in, which should make things interesting. And that's all I honestly know about it. Third on the waitlist again. 21-484: Graph Theory- A requirement, AND both Mackey and Bohman are teaching it, AND it shouldn't be too terribly hard. Mackey's fantastic at actual down-and-dirty teaching, and Bohman is supposed to be a brilliant theorist, so this should be a fun class. And now into some interesting choices... 21-604: Introduction to Recursion Theory- Yes, a grad course. Why a grad course? A) Because Kelly is insane. B) Because Kelly is thinking about maybe doing that get-a-Masters-as-well-as-a-Bachelors-degree-in-four-years thing. C) Because Number Theory is proving to be super interesting, and the same professor (Statman) will be teaching this class D) Because all the cool kids (a.k.a., my math major friends) are doing it. Take your pick of the reasons. 15-889: Introduction to Computer Science Education- I expected Dean Stehlik to laugh at me when I approached him about taking this, but he was actually encouraging about it, which makes me think that I might not fail next semester after all! As you have probably been able to tell, I am very, very interested in education, especially related to computer science. I've been developing my own ideas and possible implementations this past semester, and I feel like this class could really help me decide what my career path should ultimately be. Plus, it will be fun. So, as a new topic related to courses to cover- FCEs! At the end of every semester, surveys are sent out to all students, asking them to rate their classes and professors in various areas, like how good the textbook was, how helpful/efficient the recitations, how legible the handwriting... etc. The important information is put up online once everything's been calculated. This gives students a chance to see what their professors might be like ahead of time- you can look up these FCEs here- and also gives students an idea of what classes each professor usually likes to teach. Of course, standardized information can only help you so much. At the end of the day, you'll get the best knowledge just by asking around your department. Ask your advisor, your friends, people who have taken the course. Students secretly like to gossip, and you can gain much important information this way (case in point: I might have made the mistake of not taking 15-251 with Von Ahn if I hadn't heard about the Puzzle Hunt beforehand). Your advisor will select most of your classes for you your first semester freshman year, but after that, you're on your own; be prepared!
Fun random story- yesterday, since the weather was unusually lovely, I was sitting outside and doing homework outside of the University Center. I was approached by two grad students, one with a camera, who said that they were from the ETC ( Entertainment Technology Center) doing a project, and could they ask me a few questions on film? Life is no fun if you turn down adventures, so I agreed. We talked for a minute or so about the usual generic things (what's your major, what kind of music do you listen to, etc.), and then he asked me how much I like dancing. To tell the truth, I'm a terrible dancer- I can jump around a little bit, and that's, um, it. I've only even danced at parties once or twice in my life, which I told him. Then we got to the interesting part- and the point of their project- as he asked me what he could offer to get me to dance right there. Well. I like adventures, yes, but I'm not a fan of making a complete fool of myself, especially if I know that's what will happen from the start. So I thought for a moment or two, came to an honest conclusion, and told him (quite seriously) that a job offer from Google would probably do it. Hey- he didn't put any bounds on it! ... I kind of feel bad about effectively refusing to dance, even when he offered to start dancing first, but I do think that I gave a pretty clear picture of the rational of a Carnegie Mellon student. And I'm also planning on following up on this, to see what kind of final result they get eventually, since I'm sure that it will be interesting. In the meantime, I have a question for you, dear readers- what would it take to get YOU to dance on camera? Honest assessments, please!
... I
feel like a broken record for saying this, but I am SO sorry that I
keep not updating at a decent rate. Here's my latest excuse: a Scotch'n'Soda show!
The
Mystery of Edwin Drood is a delightful murder-mystery musical comedy
which is really a play within a play (or a musical within a
musical?). It is presented by The Music Hall Royale, really a collection
of always-talented actors and actresses from Scotch'n'Soda, who are a
British vaudeville troupe. The actors have the dubious privilege of
playing both their 'actor character', who may range in temperament
from a diva to a sloppy joker, as well as their 'Drood character',
one of the characters in the show itself.
The
show they present- The Mystery of Edwin Drood, of course- is a
theatrical representation of the book by the same name, written by
Charles Dickens. It tells the story of Jasper (a choir teacher) and
his madness, as he plots the death of his cousin, Edwin Drood. Since
this is a murder mystery, Drood is, of course, killed- but did Jasper
do it? The really stunning feature of the show comes at the end-
Charles Dickens died before finishing the novel, AND before revealing
who the murderer was. Therefore, the actors let the audience decide!
The audience's choice of the murderer and the detective (another
character in the show) changes the ending. As a result, there are
hundreds of potential endings, all of which the actors and staff need
to learn. Exhausting, to be sure- and with interesting combinatorial
properties that a math major such as myself might wish to examine...
Ahem.
Anyway, the show is fantastic. I've cracked up numerous times while
watching at rehearsals, and I fully approve of the level of quality
I've seen. Show dates are Friday at 8pm and Saturday at 3 and 8- if
you're here for the weekend, come and see it! I myself have been
helping with the financial aspects of the show (receipts, receipts,
receipts!), but I'll also be on the House staff, which means I get to
usher in a British accent and in character- come and see me there!
Also, in a really exciting turn of events, we got the front page on CMU's website! Check it out!
(Also,
stay tuned in the future for Betty's Summer Vacation, Scotch'n'Soda's
homecoming show).
Carnegie
Mellon has a lot going on at any given point of time- there are
always events, shows, lectures, something or another going on. Still,
it's extremely unusual for two security-force-requiring events to
happen in the same week.
Set
the stage from September 21st-25th. Monday?- nothing much out of the
ordinary. Classes go on as usual, foot traffic is mainly composed of
wandering students, with the occasional dogwalker.
Tuesday.
Bill Gates is coming to town.
Surely
you've heard of the Gates Building, as Justin kept track of its
progress in previous years. The building was unlocked and made
available to students starting this semester, but was not fully
finished- there was still construction going on here and there, still
many exhibits clearly missing. The building was to be opened
officially on that Tuesday, with Bill Gates himself coming in to give
an opening speech, and with many different presentations given in the
building itself. With the man came security, naturally, as he wasn't
the only guest- many other donators had come to tour the building and
see how it had turned out. Classes in Gates were canceled for the day
(and, in general, most Computer Science classes were called off), and
students were encouraged to attend the lecture- if they could reserve
tickets in time.
Normally,
this would have been exciting, but not overwhelming. However, the
G-20 was scheduled to begin on Thursday, and security was already
filtering in for the event. As a result, campus police swarmed across
campus, and armored cars lined up on the street behind. I spent most
of the day in Gates, hanging out in the grad lounge (it's so nice)
and watching potentially important people walking by.
After
Tuesday, the attention all went to the G-20. Though the conference
was being held elsewhere in Pittsburgh, a lunch was scheduled to
happen in Phipps Conservatory, which happens to be located just
behind campus. Chaos resulted. Security went up to maddeningly
heights all around campus, as there were to be twenty world leaders
eating less than a mile away. A group of protestors took over the
Fence for the week, too, which made the situation impossible to
avoid. There were benefits- many students got to participate in the
event in some form or another, and it was educational overall.
Unfortunately, there were also many riots that occurred elsewhere in
Pittsburgh- I myself encountered a squadron of armored police
blocking off a street while walking home Thursday night, though
nothing violent happened while I walked by.
Life
went back to normal after all of this, but it was an interesting week
indeed!
Hi guys! Man, it's been a while. First of all, sorry for the month-or-so-long-absence; the admissions website went on the fritz, so we weren't able to update. That's been fixed now.
A LOT has happened since I last posted, so you'll be getting a plethora of updates over the next week! Potential topics include:
Bill Gates and the G-20: A Week of Chaos Walking to the Sky: Destruction and Sequential Rebirth Weather in Pittsburgh and How to Survive it A Grand Tour of the Gates Building Netbook Netbook Netbook! Project Files and Why I Don't Like Eclipse Scotch'n'Soda Presents: The Mystery of Edwin Drood Applying for Internships is like Applying for Colleges
... etc., etc., etc. Tell me which ones you're most interested in and I'll update them first.
Yep, you heard right. I get to do research this semester, with the Computer Science department! Now, don’t get too excited- I’m not doing something mind-blowing like programming androids that can take over the world (that would be over in AI or the Robotics department). However, what I am doing is still pretty cool.
I’m working in a group that is trying to put together a system that will make learning through the internet entirely more effective. I can’t give you too many details, since nothing’s set in stone yet, but I can say that the end result will hopefully come about by the start of next semester, and that I’ll be able to show it to you directly. Also, I’ve already written a program which, given the necessary java files, can generate project files for multiple IDEs. I’m learning new stuff all the time.
Research is exciting, if you can get it (which is more doable here than you’d think). It looks fantastic on your resume, gives you a chance to get published (!!!!) as an undergrad, and, much more importantly, it helps you do real-world work that will make a difference. Get to know your teachers, think up ideas, pay attention to job postings and rumors. Don’t be afraid to ask a professor flat-out for a position; one of my friends did just that, and ended up getting the job. (Now, it wasn’t that simple- he had to jump through a few hoops first- but he got it in the end). Also, don’t expect a research position freshman year. You can get one (if you’re lucky) sophomore, but waiting until junior year has better results- you’ve covered all of the basics in your subject, and gotten some higher-end work done, too.
So, what else has happened in the past two weeks? Well, we had the TOC last week, which I didn’t go to- partially because I’m a slacker, but mostly because I’ve decided that the effort isn’t worth any potential results. I will, however, be applying for jobs online. This week, we’ve got the major combination of Gates Opening/Bill Gates talk and the G-20, which have added themselves together to form one huge mass of police in full body armor patrolling the campus, complete with protestors milling about. It’s a political nightmare. Fortunately, nothing untoward has occurred yet.
By the way, Gates opened officially today! I didn’t get to see the man himself talk (the seats all were taken before I even heard about them), but I did get to mill about the building during the day and watch all of the important people walk around. By the way, now that there’s no potential red tape, I’m going to put together a full tour of the building for you guys, complete with images. The building is truly fantastic- you’ll see! I spend a lot of time in there.
Not much else happening at the moment; classes have proved to be (mostly) easy, with the notable exceptions of Number Theory (which is fun!) and 15-212 (which is also fun!- but a lot of work). Work is still crazy, but getting more in order. The average amount of sleep I get per night is slowly dropping. Life goes on, as usual.
Thanks to Lindsay for giving me the idea for this entry! (Hint, hint- leave comments, guys, and you may very well get shout-outs. Come on. Who doesn’t like a good shout-out? Also, when you leave comments, I feel guilty about not updating more often, which leads to more updates! Happy times!)
In college in general, you’ll find that there’s two different types of classes- the giant ones, where there’s some one-to-two hundred other people in a lecture hall with you and your CA probably doesn’t even recognize you, and the small ones, where there’s only four other students and you better turn your homework in on time or the professor will glare at you after class.
Giant lecture-hall type classes typically only happen when they’re either directly required for a certain major, or when they’re an intro course. All intro courses are giant- your only chance at getting to know your teacher is to approach him or her directly. Recitation gives you a better chance, but they’ll tend to be big too, around thirty students, so it’s best to approach the TA directly.
Classes get smaller and smaller as you get off the beaten track and into higher level courses. As a class gets smaller, the chances of it having a recitation and a designated TA also decrease (though they usually still have a grader). For example, my Number Theory class only has around thirty people total in it; we don’t have a recitation at all.
Both types have their advantages. I’ve found that it’s generally easier to pay strict attention in small classes (a better chance of getting called on = more embarrassment if you had zoned out), but that large lectures give you a better chance of knowing people in the class, and learning the material with them. It balances out.
In general, I’ve found that most of my Computer Science classes have been large, with recitations. Most of my Math classes have been small, and without. That’s directly proportional to the number of students majoring in either department. However, I did take an unusual track in Math, so it’s possible that the usual courses are as big as Combinatorics is for me this year, or as Differential Equations was last year.
Is this interesting at all? I don’t know. What do you think?
I love Carnegie Mellon. No, really, I do! That’s why I got into writing this blog, and why I encourage people to apply here so strongly- because it’s my favorite place in the world, and I want to get other people who will love it too here.
Now, I have some friends who call me crazy for saying this. They ask how I can love this school so much, when everyone who goes here is regularly overworked and sleep-deprived. Not going to lie, this is generally true (though you can get sleep if you’re willing to drop the parties). However, I tend to counter these points by referencing one of the several days I’ve had which exhibited Carnegie Mellon’s awesomeness.
Last Tuesday was one of those days.
It started out absolutely normally; I got up in time for the 15-110 lecture, and walked down to campus. The weather was nice, and I hit almost none of the lights, which meant that I got to campus in time to mail a rent check before going to class. Lecture takes place in Gates, which is awesome to begin with, so the day started off nicely.
15-110 was relatively fun (I never get tired of seeing Kosbie lecture, even though I’ve ‘taken’ the class four times now- he’s very dynamic), and I even learned a new approach to div/mod problems through it. The day didn’t get really exciting until after lecture, though, when I was working with a student in one of the Gates lounge areas. We were interrupted by seeing a different student walk through the building, guiding a large, cylindrical robot through remote control (though the robot seemed to be mostly guiding itself), while another student filmed it. +1 Carnegie Mellon point right there.
Later, I took the bridge over to Newell Simon to pick up some lunch, then get a few other things done before class. I ended up running into an old friend I hadn’t seen since the last year, and we spent some twenty minutes talking about our summers. It turned out that he had won in a competition for Disney, and that he and his team were currently working on an Imagineering product that they would present later on in the year. This is made doubly awesome by the fact that he’s always wanted to be an Imagineer. +1 Carnegie Mellon point.
I eventually ran downstairs to pick up lunch, and ended up running into two of my teachers, one from the Computer Science department, one from Math, who were having lunch together (+1 Carnegie Mellon point). I had had no idea that they even knew each other beforehand. So, that was pretty fun.
Then I had 15-212 lecture (which was pretty much normal), then Putnam Seminar. Putnam was fun- we had a guest lecturer, who was super interesting, and I managed to solve two of the three Putnam problems he gave us in class right away (+1 Carnegie Mellon point). I love Number Theory. So much.
Then I had to run to a workshop for the Authorized Signers for various clubs- I’m one this year for both Scotch’n’Soda and Math Club- and I learned a bunch of stuff from there. Finally, once that was done, I got to go home and veg/do homework/grade… so I guess the awesomeness ended there. Still, four Carnegie Mellon points in one day is pretty good!
It’s hard to believe that we’re already done with two weeks of classes. So much has happened, and I’ve gotten so much accomplished already! Unfortunately, one of the things I haven’t accomplished is writing more entries for this blog. I am dreadfully sorry about that, especially since I’ve been thinking up interesting topics to write about. The problem only lies in time- I’ve been working from seven in the morning to eleven at night (at least) to get stuff done, and simply haven’t had time to write. That’s not going to change any time soon, so don’t expect constant updates this semester. However, you can look forward to bulk updates over the weekends, when I have rather more free time!
So, what’s keeping me so busy? The main thing is 15-110 (formerly 15-100). I’m acting as Head CA for Lecture 9, which covers sections M-Q, and my responsibilities are numerous. I get to sit in on lecture and take notes (since not all of the CAs are able to attend), organize office hours and meeting times, hold my own recitation on Fridays and my own office hours, write the autograders for homework assignments and labs, organize the entire grading process for homeworks, labs, and quizzes (which is a HUGE task when you’ve got 140 students), make sure grades get to students in a timely fashion, answer tons and tons of questions over email, help students who entered the class late catch up, write useful scripts and programs… the list goes on and on. I’m technically on payroll for ten hours a week (ha!), but until I get more of the above tasks automated, I’m putting in something more like 15-20. Or potentially more. I don’t mind, though- I love my job to pieces.
I also put a lot of time into my ‘big’ classes (naturally). Combinatorics and Probability have proven to be pretty easy so far, so they don’t take much time, but Number Theory requires a lot of reading outside of class, and Intro to Economics and Principles of Programming will both eat up chunks of time with their assignments. I’m also actually attempting to do the required reading this semester, which takes more time than you’d think.
Scotch’n’Soda takes up time. I’m currently the apprentice Managing Director, since our current MD is graduating in a year, so I get to learn the ropes of the job. It’s proven interesting so far, but attending board meetings and other necessary events does take up time (not to mention all the paperwork required). There have also been many events in the past two weeks, with the aim of getting freshmen interested in our club.
I’ve also got various other responsibilities which haven’t fully started up yet- I’m acting as treasurer for Math Club, for example, and I’ll also be doing research in CS with Professor Kosbie this year. There’s also lots of info sessions on various grants and internships to attend (since I need to find a job for the summer- yeah, already.), and other important events, and it all sums up to my calendar being one huge block of colors. It doesn’t help that I’m averaging at least thirty emails a day, and sending out at least half as much.
So, yes, I’m busy- but it’s the kind of busy that I like best!
Yes, it’s that time of the year again! Time to dust off your backpack and buy all your books, to meet up with friends and gossip about teachers. Yesterday, classes started again.
As you might recall, my schedule this year looks something like this. It should be apparent that Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are rather more packed than the other two days of the working week. I’ve done this on purpose (or convinced myself that I have anyway), to give myself days which can be designated purely for homework-doing. Here’s hoping that actually happens.
Monday morning, I got up at the ungodly hour of 7:00am to make sure I was completely ready for the day. That won’t happen again until the spring semester rolls around, most likely. I got to talk with a housemate while walking to school, since our first classes were both at 9:30, and got to the right classroom with ten minutes to spare, despite it being located all the way over in Scaife.
By the way, a word to the wise- should you find yourself with a class located in Scaife building, add an extra five minutes to the time it will take you to get there. Scaife is really far away.
My first class was 21-325, Probability, and I found myself surrounded by Math Studies students and other people who I recognized. Catching up and hearing about what people did over the summer was much fun, as always! I was expecting the course to be a lightweight, but it seems that I might be wrong on that count- the professor seems quite on top of her subject, and was interactive in her approach. This’ll definitely be a class that I’ll be able to enjoy.
After that, I had an hour break, which I spent getting paperwork to the right people and helping a collection of other Scotch’n’Soda types move scaffolding from the UC Turnaround to Rangos. Much fun was had in trying to spot appropriate trucks, though the actually size of the delivery was a tiny bit disappointing.
Directly after that, I had to run to Porter 73-100 for Principles of Economics. On the way, I encountered a question which I thought I should relay to any newcomers reading- how do you get to Porter? Just keep walking through Baker until you get past the appropriate sign; both are located in the same building. It’s confusing, I know. Econ was absolutely packed, but very, very interesting- I’m taking it with Professor Klepper, who I’ve been told has a very interesting teaching style. Yet another course I should enjoy!
Then it was time to jog over to Baker for Combinatorics (21-301). I recognized quite a few people here as well, though none of them from Math Studies. We had some technical difficulties, which led to the class going somewhat slowly, and I already knew the bits of material we managed to cover. Hopefully it will pick up pace soon.
Then I had two hours for a break, which I spent getting stuff done. I had lunch at Gingers, which hasn’t been discovered by the freshmen yet; as soon as they know about it, it should be stuffed with packs of people. Then I went and did some exploring in Gates! Oh, hadn’t you heard? The building isn’t exactly completed yet, but classes are taking place in it, and I can vouch for the fact that it looks AWESOME.
I’m not sure what the policy is on taking pictures before it’s officially opened, so I’ll just give you a general description instead. The main lobby is very open and airy, and there’s this giant spiral staircase that goes up about five floors. Hallways branch of everywhere- it’s easy to get lost, so be sure to leave early- and there are two ‘bridges’ connecting it to other buildings, one to Purnell, one to Newell Simon. There are also plenty of little nooks and crannies which are perfect to sit in, and the offices look huge, with gigantic windows as well. And the lecture halls! They’re so giant! And there’s even classrooms located right in the middle, so you can see into them from the staircase… you have to see it to understand what I’m talking about.
My final class was Number Theory (21-441), which I’ve been looking forward to all summer long. We got right into the material with no nonsense about a syllabus, and we’ve proved several things already. If any of my classes are going to be reminiscent of Math Studies, this one will be. Since Number Theory is tentatively the field I might want to go deeper into, this class means a lot to me.
The rest of the day was spent catching up with friends outside (the weather is beautiful, right now, at least), then going home and crashing early. A quiet end to a hectic day, but don’t worry; you’ll be hearing about the many, many things I’m behind in in no time at all!
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