Wednesday, November 10, 2004
I ended up dropping statistical mechanics, after having done roughly two-thirds of the work required for the class, for though I am very good at playing the game of academic triage, it's time to admit that I don't learn a whole lot from playing that game. It's time to realize that learning the material from my courses is what's important, and that can only be done under a manageable course load.
Last night I had my last prelim for the semester, in mathematical physics. An easy way to gauge the difficulty of a test is to simply sit and listen to the sounds in the room during the exam. During an easy exam, all you hear is the earnest scribbling of the students around you. During a hard exam, there is less scribbling, and it is interspersed with the occasional loud sigh. There were many audible sighs during my prelim last night, which seems sad, because I started studying for it 5 hours before it began, and I found it to be quite easy.
Last night I had my last prelim for the semester, in mathematical physics. An easy way to gauge the difficulty of a test is to simply sit and listen to the sounds in the room during the exam. During an easy exam, all you hear is the earnest scribbling of the students around you. During a hard exam, there is less scribbling, and it is interspersed with the occasional loud sigh. There were many audible sighs during my prelim last night, which seems sad, because I started studying for it 5 hours before it began, and I found it to be quite easy.
