thanks,

-cvj

…and looked at the blog for a bit. Smile at fact that Mary Cole went to garden centre to sniff Jasmine.

That made me smile, too, when I read that Mary Cole had made a point of experiencing Jasmine for herself, and I like that you mentioned it. It must feel good when you can inspire someone through a blog to go check something out. (Like I did with Children of Men, which, by the way, everyone in my movie-going circle of friends enjoyed.)

I should be a bit less quick in my answer (have to run out of the door in a short while)… This is pretty basic stuff, so time is an issue here. If a student can’t figure out what integral they need to do to solve the problem in a reasonable amount of time, it suggests that there is a problem of understanding, and/or simply poor technique (setting up coordinates, making simplifying assumptions, etc,). These techniques have to be taught and learned. Through practice. Solving lots of problems. Lots. The creativity that they will develop needs to take root in good technique…. Picasso became Picasso by learning good draughtsmanship technique and building on that.

If you want to talk about the “box” here is what I think: You have to know where the “box” is before you learn to think out of it….. otherwise all you end up with is mush.

Cheers,

-cvj

I am talking precisely about creativity. I just want the students to learn how to approach and solve a problem… by any method that gets the job done. I don’t care whether they think like me or not.

There is no box.

Cheers,

-cvj

“…After last midterm, I realized that the class is over very poor on computational skills, and efficient technique….So I’m going to give them an “in-class worksheet” every now and again which takes an entire class period (or most of it) and simply unpacks a single long problem in great detail. The idea is that they take a problem, and aided by the narrative I write, to a step by step analysis of it all the way to the end. In class, they work for a while. Then we stop and I see how they are doing, give a few hints, and then they move on to the next part. There’s just not enough problem-solving in class these days, and students are treating the classes more like a movie.

Hmmm, your assumption is only valid if all your students think like you. What if some brilliant student in your class likes to think about problems in ways that seem inefficient to you.

While I whole heartedly support efficient technique, I also believe that in a field such as ours it is important to promote creativity…..not force students to think “inside the box”. Remember, these are the best, brightest, and most creative minds on the planet.

Maybe I’m wrong….what do you think?

Thanks. I appreciate you understanding if I sometimes strip off the LaTeX equations etc when the purpose of the post is mainly for the more general, non-technical reader. It might be a bit off-putting to some and stifle discussion. It is sometimes fun and interesting to see though, but all very dependent upon the context.

Cheers,

-cvj

I was a little surprised and tried to explain that “problem solving” (in this case understanding the extent to which the data may support the model) is a really useful skill which will be vital in her career as an MD. She looked doubtful. Well, she said, that’s why I want to be a heart surgeon and not a GP. I will just need to know the specific facts for that area.

I tried not to let my jaw drop and just said, as mildly as I could, that if I got the sense that my heart surgeon was unable to think through a problem I would run, not walk, out of their office. My student remained unconvinced.

Vitamin B ?

Have a great day!

I’ve found that a nice cigar and a couple of bourbons really gets the creative juices flowing. At least it tends to make me care less about minus signs!

Moshe: - Let’s hang in there! Not long until the Summer now…

Carl: - No, I’m pretty sure I’ll get more done this way than with the other option…. but I could be wrong.

JustAnotherInfidel: - Yes, it is a genuine choice! I’ve had to choose the tea option two nights in a row now. Work to do. G+T makes me sleepy.

Well, The Tuesday report is due, and it is 11:17pm. I think I’ll get some sleep and finish it in the morning over breakfast, as I am exhausted now.

Cheers!

-cvj

Best,

-cvj

Along that line, I reached an agreement last night with the boss. I’m giving up half my percentage in an ethanol plant. In return, I go on retirement with full pay starting real soon now.

This means I’m likely to be putting in a lot more time writing LaTex. I might finish that textbook on the density operator formalism in a couple months.

Which reminds me. Recall the Koide formula? It was that somewhat unexpected formula that related the square roots of the masses of the leptons:

As Michael Ruiz noted, it makes sense if mass should be thought of as the squared length of a vector, . One is reminded of the equations of Bohmian mechanics (see Wikipedia):

where V is potential and Q is “quantum potential”. Eliminating V and Q, as is natural for a fundamental theory, one finds energy as proportional to the square of a vector.

That’s why you get paid the big bucks:)

Is this ever really a choice?

if I meet colleagues and ask them ‘how are you’ answers come in 4 categories. the first one is ‘fine’ or ‘good’ and means nothing in particular. the second answer is ‘busy’, which is the most frequent one I hear and means ‘as usual’. the third answer is ‘tired’ and seems to be as close as Americans can get to not feeling ‘fine’. the forth type of answer is reserved for Russian, Czech or Hungarian guys and comes in shades of ‘difficult’ ‘life sucks’ or ‘well, I’m still alive’ which I believe is the equivalent to ‘busy’ or ‘tired’.

even the internet is currently tired…

http://www.imood.com/imood.cgi

anyway… nice post Hope to read some more about your ‘typical days’

Cup of tea or gin and tonic

Ginger tea?