... was in the format of an essay test, plus some 'identification' (meaning, she gives a term and we define it).

I'm actually kind of pleased with how my long-form answers came out, because I generally suck at extemporaneous writing -- I tend to babble and ramble and then it ends up being thorough but not elegant. I will now multitask, and turn homework into blog content in a vain, desperate attempt to look like I'm posting more than I am. :-> Plus, then you guys can stick an oar in.

Questions are paraphrased, because I don't have a copy of the original test sheet.

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My College Algebra professor has just given us our 'some writing, as appropriate to the discipline, may be required' assignment. I have to write a few pages about the life and mathematical achievements of 'some famous mathematician.'

Problem is, there are far too many for me to have any realistic way of choosing -- the bounty is too appealing. So, if you all would be helpful friends and make suggestions, you'd keep me from wasting hours and HOURS of time when I could be doing homework instead wandering the back-alleys of Wikipedia (and stranger places) reading up on tens of mathematicians trying to decide who to pick.

It would be most helpful if, in addition to their name, you give me at least one reason you think they're the most interesting choice. :->

More on why I haven't been posting later. Maybe.

When I was a child, I was what is politely called 'precocious.' [1] This had advantages, but it also meant that when I *didn't* pick up a new skill quickly, I got very frustrated very fast, threw tantrums, and generally just didn't understand why it had to be so hard.

My Grampa Beltz sat me down and explained it to me, over and over. Some things are easy. Some things are hard. But even the very, very hardest things, he said, I could learn. The trick was to make sure you made a big enough hole to put the magic in.

Magic? Ah, I should explain. There are fairies and leprechauns and other tutelary spirits in the world. [2] They want to help us, honest they do, but sometimes things are hard even for them. So you have to help them help you by pushing as hard as you can to open yourself up inside to make room for them to put the magic in, and then all sorts of things can happen.

I thought he was kidding -- or worse, humoring me -- until the day I learned to read.

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I'm taking Social Science 101 this semester, and we have an ongoing project we're going to be working on from now until finals: an original research project, in the form of a survey. We are to follow all the steps of the scientific method [1] in the setup, research, data-analysis, etc. The teacher knows there's no real chance of getting reliable, replicable data this way, given the sample sizes and statistical reality, but it will give us students a good idea of how working science is conducted.

However, there is one important question, or rather two: who shall I survey, and what questions shall I ask? You're all creative people, so I thought I'd get some input from the peanut gallery. :-> The questionnaire is to be 12-15 items long, and I am to give it to circa 60 people [2].

To take them in reverse order, what population shall I survey? I could stand in the lobby here at school and get 60 of my student peers to answer the questions, if I spent a couple of lunch-hours doing so. I could ask my stepmom or youngest sister to take a stack of questionnaires to my sister's grade school and administer them to her classmates, if a child cohort is desirable. I could probably get the older of my two sisters, who's at NAPS at the moment, to get 60 of her peers to take a questionnaire. I could gather data at Windycon, when I'm there in November. I could post a link and have all of you nice internet folks take my survey. Or, of course, any of the other potential ways to recruit cohorts ...

The cohort actually leads to the questions, in a way. As an example, if I survey Windyconners, I can easily find at least 60 members of any of the following subsets there:

• Frequent readers
• Highly educated people
• People who were socially awkward in high school
• Space advocates
• Scientifically-oriented people
• Girls who like geeks
• People who like high fantasy
• People who like hard science fiction
• ... etc.

And each of those groups leads to a different set of interesting questions, depending on what my literature search turns up -- e.g., what previous studies of similar cohorts have shown.

Any ideas? Just to help get my juices flowing when I start wading through abstracts ...

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Footnotes
1. All the steps of the scientific method according to our current textbook, which is rather different (mostly in the breakdown of steps, not the total gist of what you do, of course) than how I learned it in grade school and high school.
   
2. 60 people that actually take it, that is; not counting turn-downs. Alternatively, I can administer to lots of people and have the first question be my screening question -- I need 60 that fit my cohort criteria.

The teacher had we students as a group brainstorm and choose a topic for this essay. From among many (strong and otherwise) choices [1], we decided we wanted to compare and contrast the advantages and/or disadvantages of choosing between living with one's parents as an adult, or getting out on one's own and making an independent household.

You folks seem to like homework posts better than gardening and life-update posts [2], so here's another one. :-> Below you will find my essay. I've already turned it in, so feel free to nitpick on anything from grammar errors to structural choices or beyond; I'm interested in hearing what you folks have to say, since I'm far too close to it to even be able to see it clearly anymore. I'm fairly certain the conclusion is its weakest part, but I don't see how to fix it up.

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Footnotes
1. Choices of essay topic not chosen included:
   • Differences in experience between attending public and private schools
   • Differences in experience between attending high school and attending college
   • Commuting via car vs. commuting on public transit
   • Taking a job just for the paycheck vs. building a career path
   • How communication via text message differs from that via voice calls
   • Urban living vs. the suburban experience
   As you can see, it was a fertile field. I first (since they seem to delegate me the honorary TA whenever the teacher tells us to work collectively) started to narrow it by asking for each topic whether there was someone in the class who really-truly COULDN'T think of even a place to start on writing about it. In the end, the only topic with no black marks against it was the one picked, though the commuting, job, and city/suburbs topics only had one 'no' vote each, so they may get revisited later.
   


2. Relative popularity of homework posts is unscientifically calculated solely from the amount of comments and discussion thereby sparked. If I'm in error in my choice of metric, please do correct me below. :->

Just because some of you might actually find the systems analysis and solving fun, I'll post you a few problems from my homework of the last week or so. It's actually harder for you than it was for me, since I (a) have the textbook and (b) just got the class lecture in how all these things work.

No cribbing off your neighbor! If you're going to guess, you're on the honor system not to read anyone else's comment until you've figured out what you think the answer is. :-> I'm posting where they are in my textbook so I can look 'em up if needed.

1. Slopes of Linear Functions
   Write the equation of the function satisfying the following conditions in point-slope format, and then in slope-intercept format.
   Slope = -4, passing through the point (-3,-2)
        (Section 2.4, problem 5)


2. Parallel and Perpendicular Slopes
   The equation of a line is given. Find the slope of a line that is a parallel to the line with the given equation; and b. perpendicular to the line with the given equation.
   2-I. 4x + y = 7
        (Section 2.4, problem 37)
   2-II. x = 6
        (Section 2.4, problem 43)


3. Solving Systems of Linear Equations
   Solve each system by either the addition or the substitution method. Identify any points of intersection, and note any congruent or parallel lines (all intersecting/no intersection, respectively).
   3-I. 4x + y = 5 and 2x - 3y = 13
        (Section 3.1, problem 31)
   3-II. 2(x - 1) - y = -3 and y = 2x + 3
        (Section 3.1, problem 37)
   3-III. x + 3y = 2 and 4x + 5y = 1
        (Section 3.1, problem 47)


4. Problem Solving Using Systems of Equations
   Assign the unknown quantities in each word problem below to variables. Generate a system of equations and use it to solve the problem.
   4-I. A zookeeper has birds and lions. He counts 100 heads and 340 feet. How many birds and how many lions does he have in the zoo?
        (Given in class by the prof. And no, you wiseacres, there are no amputee animals in this particular zoo!)
   4-II. You invested $7000 in two accounts paying 6% and 8% annual interest, respectively. If the total interest earned for the year was $730, how much was invested at each rate?
        (Section 3.2, problem 13)
   4-III. A coin purse contains a mixture of 15 coins in nickels and dimes. The coins have a total value of $1.10. Determine the number of nickels and dimes in the purse.
        (Section 3.2, problem 25)

I just got back that paper on high school dropout rates; the teacher had relatively little comment (disappointingly little, for me), which I guess means it's a good paper.

( So you can read it, if you want.Collapse )

This weekend I'll be working on a comparison/contrast paper weighing the advantages and disadvantages of choosing to live with one's parents as an adult, or going out on one's own and getting an apartment; it will be brought into class on Wednesday for 'peer review' and editing, and turned in Thursday.

Monday, I get to take a practice exit exam -- zero to sixty, a 5-paragraph essay churned out between 8:30AM and 10:20AM, including all prewriting and editing. Oh, and it's longhand. *headdesk* Oh, well, at least I'm glad I worked on making my handwriting legible several years ago ...