Toy Soldiers

It seems like so many of our legends and myths come
from really insightful observations about daily life.
And we keep making these same observations over and over.
Look! It's the modern day Sisyphus!

Step by step, heart to heart, left right left
We all fall down like toy soldiers
Bit by bit, torn apart, we never win
But the battle wages on for toy soldiers
~Eminem (Toy Soldiers)

Why Programming Can Be Addictive

Unlike many professional activities, programming often offers an immediate reward. For instance, you can spend a day writing a program and immediately have a tangible result as a testimony of your accomplishment. Not only does programming allow for creativity in what you make, but it also let's you choose how you accomplish what you want. Unlike many jobs, you often aren't restricted by some rigorous procedure of solving a problem, which most people find boring. And even the horrible moments of programming (debugging, understanding code, setting up computers and the like) actually add to the allure of programming, because these terrible moments make your accomplishments that much more important. In programming, you are given the freedom to approach a problem however you like, take on the challenges, and come out victorious (if you persist enough, that is). It is an immediate and very tangible form of goal-challenge-reward that so many of us enjoy. That's why programming is so addictive.

Sleeping in Seattle

I decided to read on the floor today instead of in my usual chair for a change. The book I was reading was interesting, but at times the technical jargon overwhelmed me and I felt myself slowing down and getting a bit sleepy. If I had known what tragedy awaited me on that carpet, I never would have laid down.

I had gotten to a particularly dreary portion of my book, when suddenly the sun came out, and began shining its warm, soothing rays onto my head. As I began slowing down, reading every other word, the sun would fill in my lapses with its soothing lullaby. I began thinking more of sleep and less about my book until the sun finally spoke to me, saying, "It's okay to take a nap, just a little daze, that's all. Naps are healthy! They rejuvinate your body and your mind." I must say, the suns testimonial was quite convincing, so I put my arms down and slowly drifted into sleep...

Apparently I napped for quite a while, because my mom managed not only to spot me, but to take her camera out and snap several pictures of me, without my even noticing!
I finally heard the camera's clicking, and slowly opened my eyes, to see what was up. But, the damage was already done. The photos were taken, and I could do nothing but take the photos with good humor. So I smiled and let my mom take one last picture. The End.

Socks!

You have a certain number of socks in your drawer. But, because you have no sense of style, the only colors your socks come in are red and black. If you draw two socks at random (without replacing them into the drawer...that'd just be silly) the probability of you getting two red socks is 1/2. What is the minimum number of socks you need for this to be true? For a harder version, what is the minimum number of socks you need for this to be true AND for there to be an even number of black socks?

A Puzzle

I was going to write about African child laborors working in copper mines, but instead I'll give you a puzzle.
I found it from a search on the word "google puzzle"

"Using the numbers 3, 3, 8, 8 (in any order), make a mathematical expression that equals 24. You can use only addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division (and parentheses), but in any order you wish. Note that you have to use all four numbers; otherwise 3 times 8 would be valid -- and that wouldn't be much of a puzzle, would it?"

There's also a nice solution where you can use any mathematical operators you know (and have been proven beyond a doubt).

A Puzzle

I was going to write about African child laborors working in copper mines, but instead I'll give you a puzzle.
I found it from a search on the word "google puzzle"

"Using the numbers 3, 3, 8, 8 (in any order), make a mathematical expression that equals 24. You can use only addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division (and parentheses), but in any order you wish. Note that you have to use all four numbers; otherwise 3 times 8 would be valid -- and that wouldn't be much of a puzzle, would it?"

There's also a nice solution where you can use any mathematical operators you know (and have been proven beyond a doubt).

Death of Zarqawi

Three Women and a Child Dead With Zarqawi
On Thursday CNN asked Americans what they thought about Zarqawis death. It seems like most people are happy, they are almost rejoicing now that this evil person is dead. But I don't think it was right to kill Zarqawi. Detain him, maybe, but not kill him. It doesn't seem like violence is the solution here. Revenge begets revenge, and this will only make Zarqawi's followers hate us more.

We couldn't even kill just Zarqawi. We had to kill a girl and three women along with him. We couldn't even do a clean job.

But that's beside my point. My point is that killing Zarqawi probably wasn't the best option we had given our information (his location, and presumably the means to get there). We're probably just fueling the conflict, not abating it.

How Ironic...

In case you can't read it, the top says "basic equations." I snapped that photo a few weeks back on my way to school. I was trying to make sense of Schrodinger's equations for a test I had that day, I believe.

A Note on Triviality

Something that is trivial is clear, easy and obvious. But triviality is relative. For example, Chinese people might think the Chinese language is trivial, but it is incredibly complicated for everyone else. They key here is to consider your audience (your frame of reference, in physics terms). If I tell you that juggling is easy and trivial, that won't encourage you much, will it? So even if juggling, or math, or whatever you do is easy for you, that's not what's important when communicating with people. What matters is how they view the topic at hand.

So the next time a student asks you "what's the sine of pi/2?" don't say "that's trivial!" Just calmly explain that it's one, and make sure to explain why.

Talk About A Demoralizing Teacher

So, today my physics teacher basically told me I suck at physics and should not pursue physics because I'm terrible at it. He said something along the lines of,

"If you were a doctor and you knew medicine like you knew physics, I wouldn't want to be your patient. Nobody would want to be your patient, because you'd be terrible"

Then he went on to say,
"You should only do what you're good at. If I were you I'd pick one thing, one goal, one thing I'm good at and strive for it."

I completely agree with both statements, (especially the latter), and think I will drop the physics major in favor of computer science (if I get in, that is).

But just in case you were wondering, telling your students that stuff they think is hard is "trivial" (as my professor pointed out, the integral of x^2 exp(-(x-3)^2) from neg. infinity to infinity is trivial) and telling them they suck at whatever it is your teaching isn't the best way to get a student excited about a topic. Even if the student sucks, don't tell them that. Telling someone they suck at something isn't going to make them like or learn it any better.

Solution to Post Problem

I think it's finally time to post the solution to the post problem I posted earlier. The trick is to simply flip the b post upside down. Now, we all know that the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line, and thus the shortest distance from a to b is a straight line. But since ab is a straight line, then theta 1 and theta 2 must be equal by the "opposite angle" theorem (I made it up...don't know what it's called). And that's all, folks!

Actually, another cool fact about this is that this actually proves why the angle of incidence always equals the angle of reflection!

Tests as a Way of Controlling People

I have an idea that I thought I'd throw out (to get some feedback). Sometimes it seems like tests are a way to control people, to basically manage what people do for a short period of time and make them all do one particular thing (take the test). Tests keep people studying, keep people in check lest they do something different. I'm not sure if this is at all valid, but it's a thought.

A Puzzle

Here's a problem that my dad and I came up with today:

n friends are drawing straws to see who will be the designated driver. Instead of drawing straws the usual way, however, a guy draws a straw, and if it's shorter than the rest the guy gets/has to be the designated driver. If it's not shorter than the rest, however, the guy puts the straw back into the pile. Is this a fair game? If not, which person should you be if you don't want to draw the shortest straw?