Fruit of Knowledge
Say what you will about one discipline being more “pure†than another, but there are some exciting things going on in biology right now.
Author: jeremy
The Fundamental Rule of School Breaks
The semester is just long enough for me to always forget this very important lesson before the next break comes along.
What’s the Story?
Imagine you’re trying to learn quantum field theory, and you just got to a tricky part: deriving the LSZ reduction formula (don’t worry, you don’t have to know what this is!). The calculation and algebra are a little messy, particularly if you’re working with the fermionic case. When going through the derivation, it’s easy to lose the forest for the trees. In these cases, I find it helpful to ask, “What’s the story here?†This…
Vacuum Baubles
For anyone that actually gets this technical reference, I salute you. Nothing like making people work hard to understand a comic during the holidays!
Active and Passive Notes
I never use my notes from class. Honestly, do you? I’ve been a student for over a decade now, stretching from elementary to graduate school. I don’t remember exactly when I started taking notes, but it definitely happened all throughout secondary school. Since then, I’ve been an obedient student, taking notes in each class and making sure I jot down everything the teacher said. I remember the odd time I saw someone not taking notes.…
Inverse Square Law
“Oh yeah, the amount of energy I have in a day follows an inverse-square law. I mean, clearly this must be true!†(Other physicist) “Now that I think about it, I do seem to be four times as tired when I’m twice as far into my day…â€
Contrived
I’ve been knee-deep into a problem before, only to throw up my hands and curse my professor for something that is clearly meant to keep us occupied (and serves no greater purpose).
Mathphobia
No, I don’t want to turn this into some sensational piece about declining school systems. Instead, I want to talk about a very real feeling that I experienced while studying this semester. First, let me set the scene. I’m a graduate student in theoretical physics. As this might suggest, I deal with mathematics on a daily basis. It’s just a part of the toolkit that makes me a scientist. It shouldn’t be much of a…
Audiobook Presentation
Wrong Preparation
This is one of the most frustrating experiences you can have in school. You spend all this time studying and - suprise! - you weren’t looking at the right material.
