#unnonexistence

[ragsy]

some sort of sea monster, requested by @unnonexistence

[anonymouspuzzler]

Question for Buck: Do you have a favourite car?

i wanted to have a full page infodump about different types of cars but i, the artist, do not in fact know a single damn thing about cars

[ofliterarynature]

all the scorpio races posts reminded me that the song Twelve Hands High by The Extra Glenns always reminds me of tsr

I've never heard the song before but omg yes!Sounds like someone went to Thisby and had an Experience™️

[unnonexistence]

Unnonexistence's Notecard Method for Learning Mathematics

Hello! This is the study method I developed after flunking out of first-year university algebra and having to retake it! It may or may not be particularly innovative and it may or may not help you, but I did (eventually) graduate with a Bachelor's degree in math despite having unmedicated ADHD, so, y'know, there's that. I owe it mostly to the notecards.

DISCLAIMER that any example cards are my actual real notes & I am not fact-checking them. They lean towards intuitive rather than strictly correct & were only ever intended to be for personal reference. I did pass these courses, and I think most of the cards are pretty good, but like... use at your own risk.

You Will Need:

A pack of index cards. I like the 3" x 5" ones that are lined on the front and blank on the back.

Some pens you like. I use fine-tip markers in about 4 colours, plus a white gel pen for fixing mistakes. Pencil can get smudgy over time, so it's not ideal.

Any course materials you have (notes, textbook, etc.)

Optionally, a nice box for your index cards. (You can also just use a rubber band or something. Whatever).

General Approach

We're making reference cards. One concept per card. You probably have an intuitive sense of how big A Concept is for you - it should be an amount of information that can comfortably fit in your brain at one time. If it doesn't fit on one or maaaybe two cards, it's probably too big.

Here's a topic I broke up into two cards - Chain Rule and Extension of Chain Rule. One IS an extension of the other, but the information is a lot easier to remember in two chunks. (3 pictures, here, because the first card is double-sided).

You are NOT trying to cram as much information as you can onto each card. You are trying to create an easy reference for yourself, which means making the cards as clear and legible as you can. When it's 5 minutes before your calculus exam and you're having a panic attack because you forgot how the chain rule works, you want to be able to flip through, find that Chain Rule card, and be able to absorb the information on there.

For math courses, A Concept is often a definition, a theorem, a formula, or a problem-solving approach. As much as possible, you want to write it down in a way that makes sense to you. Add any helpful tips or intuitive explanations or things you keep forgetting. If your cards are blank on the back, that's a great place to draw diagrams.

(On the back of this card you can see where I wrote "Rho" in pencil and never bothered to replace it with the symbol, lol. My prof had bad handwriting & I wasn't sure how it was supposed to look.)

Proofs are often too long to fit on a card, but if you have a theorem where the proof is important, it's a good idea to write out a little summary of how the proof works/how to do it.

Ideally, you do the work of Understanding The Concept when you're making the card, and then you can just refer back to it in future. I forget definitions a lot, and this saved me so much time that I would have spent reading one confusing page of the textbook over and over or trying to find stuff in my notes.

I try to keep my formatting mostly consistent. Clear title. Card numbers in the top right corner so I know if anything's missing. Definitions in black ink with important words underlined in colour. I tend to use coloured ink for things like examples and personal commentary. I also use it to create a visual distinction when I do need to cram something on there (not ideal, but sometimes necessary).

The Method

Sit down with your class notes or your textbook. Your goal is to get all the important concepts you're supposed to have learned in this course so far onto notecards. (Probably not all in one go.)

The ideal time to do this is right after each lecture (most math lectures are around 2-5 cards worth of material), but that's easier said than done. I always had a hard time keeping up & all my card decks, as a result, get spottier towards the end of the term. It's fine. Do your best.

I mostly went through the course material in order. I kept checklists of which lectures I had already made cards for, and which ones still needed doing.

If you don't really get something, but you know you need a card for it, at least put the definition down. You can make a better version or add more notes later. I sometimes make placeholder cards with just a title so I'll remember to come back to something.

If you write down a definition, and you're like "this refers to another thing, and idk what it is but it's come up a few times now," you probably need to make a notecard for that other thing.

How I Use The Cards

When you're doing assignments, it's really useful to have your stack of cards there to refer to. If something comes up that you don't remember the definition for, you can look it up. If you're doing proofs, having all the theorems from the course handy is a great way of getting ideas for where to start. If you're doing calculations, it's helpful to have the techniques you need written out step by step.

I spent a lot of my exam prep time making cards and going through the ones I'd made. It gave me a sense of what I already knew and what I needed to spend more time on. Having things broken up into small chunks also made it a lot easier for my brain to hang onto them.

After making cards like this for a few terms, I also found them really helpful for reviewing concepts from previous courses. Sometimes you just need to refresh your memory on something from the prereq so you're not totally lost. I've graduated now & I still refer back to my cards sometimes.

Conclusion

Well, that's my (somewhat rambly) explanation of my main study method! I hope it's helpful for at least a few people out there. I wish you the best of luck learning math & whatever else you might be studying. You've got this!!

[zekoagun]

hi hello did i hear something about pacific rim spreadsheets??? 👀 & i'm curious about what you wrote in the tags, what did you mean when you said the whole thing was a reference?

HI HI YES OF COURSE the spreadsheets there are two different ones in here, one for the kaiju and one for jaegers, disregard the jaeger one for your uses of course, NOTABLY: it’s impossible or very very stupid for this to be all of the kaiju specifically because it would mean that so many jaegers haven’t seen combat once whereas others would have seen it wayyy more, which would be weird for the amount of money they cost, but this is what we have right now so we just kind of have to deal haha (and also there’s contradictions like how romeo blue according to uprising canon has only seen battle three times all with lady danger which is wrong for so many reasons, ugh). also included is a list of where the sources come from via the asterixes and red highlights, i’m not sure if this is an entirely complete sourcing list because there are some duplicates (meaning that a kaiju shows up on multiple sources) but every kaiju should have one so 🤷

ANYWAY yes, i’m pretty sure it was a reference to independence day (or at least i heard someone say that, i don’t know if it’s true or not since i haven’t watched it) which isn’t unreasonable since their whole signal whatever was also a halving countdown but in the other direction i think,

if you have any more spreadsheet questions feel free 2 ask me :D

does tumblr send a notif if i reply? idk i’ll cover my bases @unnonexistence

[justconstantly]

nine people I'd like to know better

thanks @knifepadme for tagging me!

last song I listened to: I have music playing so as I'm typing this it's looping by Charlotte cardin, I'm just letting my music app play a track mix off of dive by Olivia Dean right now, bc I wanted something chill but not sad

currently watching: only thing I can think of is dungeon meshi? I'm not a huge tv person and I usually watch half a season of something and then forget it exists (case in point even tho I love it I'm like 4 episodes behind dm releases lmao)

sweet/savory/spicy?: also have a major sweet tooth, and I love to bake and have been prolific with all my free time lately, but also a ton of my cooking recently has been focused on spicy, and I don't feel content if it doesn't have red pepper flakes or chili crisps or smth on top

relationship status: nonexistent (asexual 💜🤍🖤)

current obsession: I guess dungeon meshi, lightly? also in general sci fi, I've been reading more lately, irl about 70% of my daily thoughts are taken up with my houseplants tho

tagging (no pressure) @azertykeys @karmajam @belladonnafey @myladyvesta @bromaine-lettuce @junewild @navigatorwrongway @unnonexistence @owlmylove and anyone who sees this 💖

[minipliny]

@unnonexistence The Memory Police i would definitely recommend but should be read when you are feeling broadly emotionally balanced because it is a really existentitally bleak book! I thought it would be more of a story of externally enforced forgetting and a sort of totalitarian future society, but so much of it is internal - the horror of gradually losing yourself. You can read it as an allegory a number of ways but the face value of the story and the reality it pulls you into are very vivid and coherent. I thought it was brilliant but a tough read (and if you've had anticipatory grief for someone with dementia it might hit you there as well). There's also a lot of really well done detail of everyday life and people's plans and strategies for survival, which just adds to its coherence and reality.

[mcmissileproof]

nine people i'd like to know better

thanks for the tag @unnonexistence :V

last song I listened to: whatever was on in the car earlier. I truly do not remember but every time I try to think about it my brain starts playing Choices by The Hoosiers and I guess in a way that makes it the last song I've listened to.

currently watching: dungeon meshi :) usually I'm violently allergic to whatever media tumblr is hyping up at any given time, so keeping up with the big thing is an exciting change for me. I'm having fun and I love all the weird freaks (complimentary) in this cast dearly

sweet/savory/spicy?: tough choice but right now at this moment I'm saying spicy bc I had some good spicy noodles for dinner

relationship status: I had a dating app 4 years ago but deleted it when someone almost took me up on an offer to swordfight but ghosted me when he realized I meant literally fencing. if that's the dating pool I'm working with then why even bother.

current obsession: fire emblem throuses. coming up on a year in and the brainworms show no signs of calming down.

tagging: @pirdmystery @blaiddydboyfriend @targentis @strixhaven and whoever else wants to do it, no pressure if you don't tho B)

[memelovingfrick]

@unnonexistence

Once you get to a certain level of advanced maths, you basically become a wizard.

[byjillianmaria]

Rating OC Headcanons

I was tagged by @cwritesfiction!!! I followed the same format and ranked each headcanon on a scale of 1 - 5, with 1 being the least accurate and 5 being the most accurate. I'll tag @unnonexistence @brionysea anddd @flannelandsarcasm

Use this headcanon generator to generate some headcanons for your OCs! How accurate are they?

Cleo chews their nails when nervous. — 4. I don't think she actually chews on the nails but homegirl's cuticles are ragged.

Cleo knows fnaf lore. — 5. She's a horror nerd living in the present day. She at least knows the basics of the FNAF lore. It's inevitable.

Cleo is unemployed. — 5. Cleo is in high school and spends most of her free time daydreaming about making movies while never actually finishing a script, oops.

Cleo can't spell resturaunt. — 1. The fact that it's misspelled in the prompt would be INCREDIBLY annoying to her. She's one of those people who judges typos in texts (although she'd never actually say anything).

Cleo is in your house. — 1. She lives in my brain, but I am not in my house right now, so Cleo certainly isn't. She loves how ominous this headcanon is, though.

[ragsy]

@unnonexistence bocked!! reborbted!!!!

[anonymouspuzzler]

did buck and leo get the same powers their parents had, or are they different? and as a superhero, is leo trying to emulate his dad or more do his own thing with the captain armstrong persona?

also for a while i thought buck was the younger sibling, and him actually being the older sibling makes the whole "ran away to become a villain" situation juicier. like as the oldest child he was probably under extra pressure to Carry On The Legacy

they kinda did - Leo's powers are basically exactly the same as their dad's super-strength powers. Buck, meanwhile, kind of got a "pick one" deal from their mom, who was a Wonder Woman-esque Possibly Literal Demigoddess with a whole suite of powers at her disposal, and he's now superhumanly durable-slash-heals from injuries much much faster than the average joe. Leo's very much trying to emulate his dad in his current heroism, with only minor differences - he's (at least in public appearances) a little more wisecrack-y and jovial than the first Captain Armstrong, who was personable enough but a little more stoic about superheroism. Leo's much more "guy who will play himself in a commercial" about it.

and yeah, Buck was Very Very Much under pressure as the firstborn Armstrong kid - the public story is that he resorted to villainy after his little brother got named the successor instead of him, but like, the only people who know the real story are him, Leo and their dad (dead), none of whom are much inclined to publicly reflect on the occasion in any great detail.

[keatonkeatonkeaton]

@unnonexistence I hate to be that annoying correcting person but he didn’t injure himself doing this stunt, it was one take and he did it perfectly. He did however break his neck falling from a water tank onto railroad tracks making Sherlock Jr, got up and carried on working and didn’t find out until a medical exam nine years later 👌💕

i don't care if the ghost of buster keaton suddenly appears in my bedroom and drops a train on me, killing me instantly—I'M VOTING HARRY BELAFONTE!

[right after i vote, the ghost of buster keaton suddenly appears in my bedroom and drops the entire front of a house on me, killing me instantly]

Buster Keaton vs Harry Belafonte

[ofliterarynature]

it's a middle-grade novel, but the post about wand battles at waffle house made me think of Hatching Magic by Ann Downer. a wizard loses his pet dragon through a portal to modern-day boston and has to go looking for her

I mean I���d love something a bit older, but that sounds super cute! I’ll have to look it up :)

[unnonexistence]

Hello! Just wanted to inform you the OP of this post [ https : // www . tumblr . com / unnonexistence / 742626886905151488 ? source = share ] is a terf

I can't get the link to work, but if it was the one about menstrual products in hotels, someone else let me know as well & I've deleted it! thank you for letting me know

[myautisticpov]

Hi, feel free to ignore this if you'd prefer not to amswer, but I think you said something recently about ADHD medication that helped with your ADHD symptoms and like 80% of your anxiety symptoms, and I was just wondering what medication it was? I have ADHD + health anxiety, & I'm looking into medications that might help me with both.

I’m just on standard methylphenidate hydrochloride (so stimulant medication), and I take two fast-release doses a day.

Stimulant medication can make anxiety worse for some people, but I found that my anxiety was a way for my brain to deal with my lack of stimulation. Like, if I didn’t have enough stimulation to do a thing, I would get anxious, which would eventually help.

Except then it expanded from academic and social anxiety to health anxiety as well and that’s pretty much never helpful... And neither were the panic attacks, tbh.

Anyway, it seems that giving my brain the stimulation it’s craving stops it from picking at my anxiety triggers to get said stimulation. And the extra focus helps CBT to stick a little more.

Though my meds do wear off by nighttime, so my anxiety will often return in full-force before bed. But a tiny bit of exercise as well helps with that anxiety (literally 5-10 minutes of yoga) and the ADHD meds help me to do that regularly.

Also, a slow-release version of the medication might not have that drop-off at night (idk, I haven’t tried it), but you can’t mix the meds with alcohol, and stimulant meds being so heavily regulated means that you can’t pick and choose on the day whether you take fast or slow release tablets, and even though I’m not a heavy drinker, I prefer sticking on fast-release so that I can choose not to take my afternoon meds if I’m going to a thing in the afternoon where I’ll want to drink, but still be able to take my morning meds. Rather than sacrificing entire days off my meds or going 100% sober.

Also, in contrast, before I was diagnosed with ADHD, beta-blockers (which kind of do the reverse of stimulants) were also super helpful for my anxiety. So, idk, different stuff works in different ways, and it seems with this kind of thing, it’s best to just try stuff out.