#223 101s thrown away

[posts-without-the-letter-e]

Rading fantasy again, I'v startd thinking about how odd it is how in books lik that, th non-human racs invariably scoff at human frailty and vulnrability, vn thos that thy'll call frinds. Lik that's man?? Why would you b a dick to your frind who you know is not capabl of as much as you ar, and it's not thir fault thy wr born lik that. That's man.

Lik considr th opposit: Charactrs of non-human racs trating thir human companions lik frail littl old dogs. Worrying about small wounds bing fatal - humans di of small injuris all th tim - or bing surprisd that humans can actually at salt, vn if thy can't stomach othr spicy rocks. Bing amazd that a human frind thy havn't sn in 10 yars still looks so young, thy'v hardly agd at all! And whn th human tris to xplain that thy wrn't going to just unxpctdly shrivl into a raisin in 10 yars, th longr-lifspan frind dismisss this lik no, h's sn it happn, you don't s a human for 10 or 20 yars and thy'v shrivld in a blink.

lvs arguing with ach othr lik "you can't tak hr out thr, sh will di!" and whn th human gts thr to ask what thy'r talking about, thy xplain to hr that th journy will tak thm through a passag whr it's going to b sunny out thr. Humans burn in th sun. And sh will hav to clarify that no, actually, sh'll b fin. Thy fight hr about it, until sh manags to convinc thm that it's not lik vampirs - humans only burn a littl bit in th sun, not all th way through. Sh'll b fin if sh just wars a hat.

Manwhil dwarvs ar rluctant to allow humans in thir mins and citis, not just out of bing scrtiv, but bcaus thy know that you cannot bring humans undrground, thy will go insan if thy go too long without sing th sun. Nobody is ntirly sur how long that is, but th gnral consnsus is thr days. On tim a human tris to xplain thir dwarf companion that this is not tru, thr ar humans that ndur much longr darknss than that. As a mattr of fact, in th furthst habitd cornrs of th lands of th Northmn, th wintr sun barly riss at all. Humans can surviv thr wks of darknss, and not just onc, but vry singl yar.

"Thn how do thy san?" Asks th dwarf, and just as h dos, th convrsation gts intrruptd by th northland human, who had bn avsdropping, and turns to look at thm with an unnrving glint in hr colourlss gry ys, grinning whil saying

"That's th nat part, w don't."

Reading fantasy again, I've started thinking about how odd it is how in books like that, the non-human races invariably scoff at human frailty and vulnerability, even those that they'll call friends. Like that's mean?? Why would you be a dick to your friend who you know is not capable of as much as you are, and it's not their fault they were born like that. That's mean.

Like consider the opposite: Characters of non-human races treating their human companions like frail little old dogs. Worrying about small wounds being fatal - humans die of small injuries all the time - or being surprised that humans can actually eat salt, even if they can't stomach other spicy rocks. Being amazed that a human friend they haven't seen in 10 years still looks so young, they've hardly aged at all! And when the human tries to explain that they weren't going to just unexpectedly shrivel into a raisin in 10 years, the longer-lifespan friend dismisses this like no, he's seen it happen, you don't see a human for 10 or 20 years and they've shriveled in a blink.

Elves arguing with each other like "you can't take her out there, she will die!" and when the human gets there to ask what they're talking about, they explain to her that the journey will take them through a passage where it's going to be sunny out there. Humans burn in the sun. And she will have to clarify that no, actually, she'll be fine. They fight her about it, until she manages to convince them that it's not like vampires - humans only burn a little bit in the sun, not all the way through. She'll be fine if she just wears a hat.

Meanwhile dwarves are reluctant to allow humans in their mines and cities, not just out of being secretive, but because they know that you cannot bring humans underground, they will go insane if they go too long without seeing the sun. Nobody is entirely sure how long that is, but the general consensus is three days. One time a human tries to explain their dwarf companion that this is not true, there are humans that endure much longer darkness than that. As a matter of fact, in the furthest habited corners of the lands of the Northmen, the winter sun barely rises at all. Humans can survive three weeks of darkness, and not just once, but every single year.

"Then how do they sane?" Asks the dwarf, and just as he does, the conversation gets interrupted by the northland human, who had been eavesdropping, and turns to look at them with an unnerving glint in her colourless grey eyes, grinning while saying

"That's the neat part, we don't."

[realtalk-princeton]

Question for Clover: any advice for sophomore-fall MAE classes? I'm enrolled in 305, 221 and 223 and scared for thermo/diff eqs. Do you recommend any strategies? I'm also taking intro to neuro for the Robotics certificate, and a Politics class on the presidency, should I consider PDFing that depending on how it goes?

Response from Clover:

Those are the same 3 MAEs I took in the fall! I took them along with a STEM certificate class as well, and then a PDFO distrubution. I think sophomore fall MAE can be challenging because you’re really thrust into it all. I’m going to write about each one individually below, and then follow up with other stuff.

Thermo has a “reputation” of sorts because lab makes it “1.5” classes with problem sets, quizzes, and lab reports, lab grading can be harsh, and the subject matter can be generally difficult. The class starts off weirdly easy with sort of just “in = out” stuff... but around midterm season, things escalate fast. Be sure to be ready for this jump, and stay on top of it. Everything builds in the class, so (for example) if you don’t understand the process in a Rankine cycle when you first learn it, fix that right away. Go to office hours, go back through the notes, etc. until you learn that weeks content, because otherwise that confusion will compound and leave you confused the rest of the semester and scrambling to learn from the ground up come finals period (speaking from experience 😔). I think one of the most important things is to make sure all the terms that get thrown around in lecture mean something to you. For me, a big issue was I’d sit down for a given weeks homework all about “X cycle problems”, and could do them just fine— but I didn’t understand what I was doing, just going through the motions of that week. When an exam rolled around and everything was mushed together, I couldn’t parse how to solve the problem because I didn’t know what was what. So really staying on top of new terms is good too. Exams were hard but dw the curve is your friend. As for labs, they were graded pretty harshly our year— this is dependent on the AIs you get. I recommend trying to finish your reports early and go to TA office hours to get feedback on your reports before turning them in— this will help you to not lose silly points and play to the graders preference (some graders care a lot about decimal places, for example).

305 is some tough math and has an equally tough weekly workload. Howard Stone’s lectures were great for me at the beginning because I could follow along step-by-step with him. Towards the end of the semester when things got into PDEs, I shifted my attention more to his gigantic 400 page notes, which are super detailed and helpful. Most important of all though are precepts. A lot of 305 preceptors are awesome and post great weekly notes (one even posted awesome study guides for the exams). I think 305 is mostly about being sure to give yourself enough time to really work through the problem sets— they’re extremely valuable to your understanding, so you don’t want to rush. Exams in 305 didn’t really throw curveballs like MAT 201/202 did imo— very comparable to the problem sets. Finally: don’t get spooked by the 1st HW. It is very long, but dw they don’t all take that long (except towards the very end of the course).

Finally... 223. Amazing. Spectacular. Andrej is amazing. His lectures are engaging even for 1.5 hrs, as he gives breaks and also doesn’t just read off slides. The slides supplement what he’s saying with the big formulas/theorems, and then he does problems off to the side, which is awesome!!! Usually lecture is just content, but he shows you how to set up problems which is helpful if you like seeing steps being worked out. Now this might be because I’m more of a “physical object” MAE person, but I think the content made sense throughout the whole course, and on top of that... was very interesting and cool!! Problem sets can be tricky but office hours are useful for getting the set-up. Exams are very comparable to homeworks, nothing where you’re like “wtf is this”. Only qualm was I didn’t find precepts very helpful and fully stopped going after the first few. It was mostly specific to the AIs teaching it didn’t help me in terms of my personal learning style, so gauge for yourself! I will say that not attending didn’t have an impact on my performance in the course, but if I’d attended and been engaged, I bet it would’ve helped me “get” the homework problems faster.

For every class above, what I recommend more than ANYTHING is to make PSET groups! I cannot stress this enough. Have weekly PSET checking sessions, even if it’s different groups for each class— you’ll really need it. Helps so much for working through problems, checking your answers, etc.. can also be (imo) more productive than office hours because it’s a small group so you all move at about the same pace and you’re not waiting around for help. Also a convenient and wonderful way to make MAE friends who will be with you in coming semesters :’)

I know this was hella long but yeah just wanted to give a gist of my personal advice/suggestions. It can be hard for sure, and take up a lot of time, but staying on top week to week will help prevent “world collapsing” moments. That sort of brings me to the final point, which is definitely be open to PDFing if you need. Fall semester taught me the value of taking it easy where I can. I got over the hump of “ohhh but I always wanna give 101%” and dropped some commitments and prioritized my work in certain ways such that I could get sleep, do clubs, etc.. If you think a PDF will help you focus more on your MAE classes, I would encourage you to consider it, because your MAE classes will be most important at the end of the day.