Sorry, I got mildly distracted.
First off, I did forget to say last week that I finally got a 2/2 on a quiz! Yay! (Go ahead and laugh, and I know, it's kind of sad.) In fact, I also got a 2/2 on the quiz for this week, so I'm really glad my studying is paying off.
Second, I'm kind of sad that I didn't get the greatest test score on our most recent test. I honestly thought I did much better. Looking back, I guess I didn't really understand the question and/or made silly little mistakes here and there. I guess I'll just have to practice writing proofs more, though they seem to be my greatest enemies this year (in both CSC165 and MAT137).
And now, onto the actual SLOG itself, this week we learned more about big-O and big-Ω proofs and how to write them, as well as computability. While I understand the general concept of big-O and big-Ω, I don't think I'm anywhere near ready to write proofs for them without my notes. Computability is also a bit confusing, but of course, it's a new concept to me, so I'll simply have to keep learning. It's interesting, though, and in my opinion, much more interesting than most of our previous lessons (sorry).
Anyways, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Fall Break, and I hope we can all actually get some sleep! (Wait, what's sleep?)
Best Wishes,
Dominique
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Weeks 8 & 9: Well, I'm Okay
Oops... I didn't write a SLOG for last week. Uni work does take quite some time, eh? I guess fitting everything in (especially after Halloween) is a bit hard.
Let's see... we had Assignment 2 due and a term test over the past week. Assignment 2 was... well, not quite amazing, but it helped a lot for the term test, which I feel a rather confident about. While I'm not sure I got the best grade, I am getting better at writing and understanding proofs, which is great.
Now, we're doing algorithm complexity and worst case scenarios, as well as big-Oh stuff. I'm a bit confused, but it is much clearer than proofs originally were for me, so I guess practice is key and so long as I keep up with tutorial work, I should be fine.
Speaking of which, tutorials are great. They help me understand so much and I tend to retain the information better. Then again, I guess sitting for a 3 hour lecture isn't very helpful, as I lose focus after a while. Reviewing slides afterwards is always very helpful.
Despite the fact that I've missed a week, I don't have much to write, so I'll leave it off here. Hopefully I get a good grade on that test and on the assignment.
Best Wishes~
Dominique
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Week Seven: Not a Rhyme, Sorry.
This week was a strange one for me. We did proofs, so nothing totally different there. However, we also learned about algorithms.
While I have already learned about algorithms and run time to some extent, it was different in how it was explained. We learned run time in steps rather than simply memorizing which algorithms were the quickest and how they worked, though I suspect we'll be doing that later. We actually counted the number of steps it took before the program terminated, which wasn't something I was expecting but something I was okay with. In addition, we talked about input size and how constant factors don't matter. I thought it was interesting; when the topic was mentioned last week, I was afraid of something very, very complicated.
Going back to proofs, this week's tutorial was very helpful. I much more fully understand how to write a proof and how it differs from MAT137. I'm glad we learned the structure last week, and then input the actual proof this week. It was very informative and helped me to work things out. I've still go to practice, but this helped me out more than internet and practice thus far has.
I think, however, my goal for now is to simply get a full 2/2 on those weekly quizzes. I keep making stupid mistakes, but at least I'm learning the material instead of being eternally confused. Still, a 2/2 would be nice. For now, though, I'll keep studying.
Best Wishes,
Dominique
While I have already learned about algorithms and run time to some extent, it was different in how it was explained. We learned run time in steps rather than simply memorizing which algorithms were the quickest and how they worked, though I suspect we'll be doing that later. We actually counted the number of steps it took before the program terminated, which wasn't something I was expecting but something I was okay with. In addition, we talked about input size and how constant factors don't matter. I thought it was interesting; when the topic was mentioned last week, I was afraid of something very, very complicated.
Going back to proofs, this week's tutorial was very helpful. I much more fully understand how to write a proof and how it differs from MAT137. I'm glad we learned the structure last week, and then input the actual proof this week. It was very informative and helped me to work things out. I've still go to practice, but this helped me out more than internet and practice thus far has.
I think, however, my goal for now is to simply get a full 2/2 on those weekly quizzes. I keep making stupid mistakes, but at least I'm learning the material instead of being eternally confused. Still, a 2/2 would be nice. For now, though, I'll keep studying.
Best Wishes,
Dominique
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Week Six, What a Mix
I'm quite enthusiastic with my score on the past test. I did rather well, and I'm glad that all my studying and such paid off. I'm very happy with what I was able to accomplish, even if I'm not totally understanding every single bit of it. I'm getting there.
This week we learned even more about proofs, which admittedly, I'm still poor at. I'm really getting the structure down now, but I don't think I'm really ready to apply it yet (though, I'm quite sure it's probably part of our next tutorial).
I'm currently looking into how to really write a proof--not just a structure, but everything to fill in the blanks. How do you jump from one statement to the next? Can you just reverse it without explanation? Should you explain everything (the scratch work), or just the steps to get to the end? How much work do we show, and how much do we actually need? It's confusing and it varies. Admittedly, it's even more confusing when you're taking MAT137 and the structure, work, and logic can be completely different. I keep mixing the two up.
Anyways, there's not much to talk about this week. I'm ecstatic that I didn't do poorly on the test whatsoever and I'll keep on charging through, but I sincerely hope I start to understand proofs more as we keep going.
Best Wishes!
Dominique
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Week 5... *insert clever title here*
This past week included our first term test and a huge lesson on proofs.
I'll start with the term test, which I honestly thought was much easier than what I was expecting. I was surprised because I'm sure I got most of it (though, just watch me not do so well). I had a really detailed aid sheet that I ended up barely using. I'm sure, though, that copying everything down onto the aid sheet helped me on the test. Overall, I think I did fine, and I don't have to worry about too much.
The lesson however, I'm not so comfortable with. I'm not all the best with proofs, though I think I've got the structure down. While I understand the logic, getting the work done myself is going to be quite hard to learn. I think it all comes down to practicing it, as doing it by myself without notes is a long way away at this point. I'm looking for ways to do proofs easily; MAT137 provides some insight, but they're different in how CSC165 deals with variables moreso than MAT137 (in my opinion). They're also taught in different ways, so I think there's some confusion that results from that.
Overall, though, I think things are going well and I'm mostly keeping on top of things. I'm not exactly sure how to write a problem-solving Polya slog, but I'll get to work on that soon. I've mostly just been looking up things online about how to more easily write proofs and how to think about whether I should be using the contrapositive/contradiction rather than the original statement. Hopefully that suffices.
Best Wishes,
Dominique
I'll start with the term test, which I honestly thought was much easier than what I was expecting. I was surprised because I'm sure I got most of it (though, just watch me not do so well). I had a really detailed aid sheet that I ended up barely using. I'm sure, though, that copying everything down onto the aid sheet helped me on the test. Overall, I think I did fine, and I don't have to worry about too much.
The lesson however, I'm not so comfortable with. I'm not all the best with proofs, though I think I've got the structure down. While I understand the logic, getting the work done myself is going to be quite hard to learn. I think it all comes down to practicing it, as doing it by myself without notes is a long way away at this point. I'm looking for ways to do proofs easily; MAT137 provides some insight, but they're different in how CSC165 deals with variables moreso than MAT137 (in my opinion). They're also taught in different ways, so I think there's some confusion that results from that.
Overall, though, I think things are going well and I'm mostly keeping on top of things. I'm not exactly sure how to write a problem-solving Polya slog, but I'll get to work on that soon. I've mostly just been looking up things online about how to more easily write proofs and how to think about whether I should be using the contrapositive/contradiction rather than the original statement. Hopefully that suffices.
Best Wishes,
Dominique
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Week 4 and Not Ready for More
Originally, I was going to go on a rant about how I'm frustrated with the idea that I really am not understanding the course material as much as I should be. I've been reading the course notes, going over my notes, and applying the knowledge, but it still doesn't seem to be helping me as much as it should be. I've even been doing online research, drawing little comics about negation and such, but I'm not getting it when it comes down to actually using it. So honestly, I'm terrified of our first term test coming up.
Let's see. This week, we learned about bi-implication and distributing it to make an equivalent statement. While I understood it in class and in tutorial, I really couldn't apply it. I've been practicing since then, and I think I got the hang of it, but I sincerely hope I truly understand it and not a convoluted version of it. Transitivity and mixed quantifiers were okay, since I'm doing similar things in MAT137 (admittedly, I often get CSC165 and MAT137 material mixed up). Finding the "Chain", however, for proofs was a bit harder for me. I understand that most likely, the only solution to my utter confusion on these topics is to simply practice applying these things and to ask questions whenever I'm confused.
I know I should be going to office hours, but I've been utterly busy. I know it's a long shot, but if anyone is reading this and has any resources/links they could provide me that'd be useful, I'd very much like to take a look, please.
Also, Assignment 1... what a journey. Hours and hours spent answering and reviewing answers, asking questions on Piazza, and arguing with my partners about what's correct. I must say, however, it really did help a lot in expanding my thoughts on logic and how it could be applied, as confusing as it was.
I'll leave it there for now. I'm sorry my SLOG has turned into a place where I complain about how tough the course material is, but I'll improve on it. I am gradually understanding more and more, I believe, it's simply applying that.
Best Wishes,
Dominique
Let's see. This week, we learned about bi-implication and distributing it to make an equivalent statement. While I understood it in class and in tutorial, I really couldn't apply it. I've been practicing since then, and I think I got the hang of it, but I sincerely hope I truly understand it and not a convoluted version of it. Transitivity and mixed quantifiers were okay, since I'm doing similar things in MAT137 (admittedly, I often get CSC165 and MAT137 material mixed up). Finding the "Chain", however, for proofs was a bit harder for me. I understand that most likely, the only solution to my utter confusion on these topics is to simply practice applying these things and to ask questions whenever I'm confused.
I know I should be going to office hours, but I've been utterly busy. I know it's a long shot, but if anyone is reading this and has any resources/links they could provide me that'd be useful, I'd very much like to take a look, please.
Also, Assignment 1... what a journey. Hours and hours spent answering and reviewing answers, asking questions on Piazza, and arguing with my partners about what's correct. I must say, however, it really did help a lot in expanding my thoughts on logic and how it could be applied, as confusing as it was.
I'll leave it there for now. I'm sorry my SLOG has turned into a place where I complain about how tough the course material is, but I'll improve on it. I am gradually understanding more and more, I believe, it's simply applying that.
Best Wishes,
Dominique
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Oh gosh, it's Week 3
This week has been a rather interesting week in terms of CSC165 and logic.
Once again, I must reiterate that I'm not very good with logic, but that I am getting much better. For example, I'm really starting to get the hang of negating things. This week's lesson on negating from the outside in was great, actually--I always did it piece by piece instead of negating the whole thing and simplifying it, if that makes sense. While I can negate English without using "not" and such, symbols are very different for me.
Truth tables are also pretty interesting. While the concept is simple, it can be very useful in determining results and satisfiability. (By the way, for "It's a boy and it's not a boy," that statement can be true, as gender is fluid. Yay!) Indeed, adding the many laws/properties of math in logical statements makes things a bit harder. I understand we mustn't simply memorize, but rather, know how to apply them, but it does take time. Continuing on, however, I am slowly learning how to apply and correctly state mathematical statements with quantifiers.
As I am taking MAT137 at the same time, the two classes really compliment each other and it's been very useful to have this type of logic pounded into my head. With only one of the classes, I highly doubt I would truly understand much; researching online and doing practice problems is helping a lot, too. The tutorial session has also been pretty great, as it's helped me actually understand what we are doing. At times, I feel frustrated that I can't keep up, but the tutorials help so much. Being able to ask questions and hear what's going on explained in great detail helps me learn.
I believe that's it for this week--if there's anything I can improve on in these SLOGs, please tell me. Thank you!
Best wishes,
Dominique
Once again, I must reiterate that I'm not very good with logic, but that I am getting much better. For example, I'm really starting to get the hang of negating things. This week's lesson on negating from the outside in was great, actually--I always did it piece by piece instead of negating the whole thing and simplifying it, if that makes sense. While I can negate English without using "not" and such, symbols are very different for me.
Truth tables are also pretty interesting. While the concept is simple, it can be very useful in determining results and satisfiability. (By the way, for "It's a boy and it's not a boy," that statement can be true, as gender is fluid. Yay!) Indeed, adding the many laws/properties of math in logical statements makes things a bit harder. I understand we mustn't simply memorize, but rather, know how to apply them, but it does take time. Continuing on, however, I am slowly learning how to apply and correctly state mathematical statements with quantifiers.
As I am taking MAT137 at the same time, the two classes really compliment each other and it's been very useful to have this type of logic pounded into my head. With only one of the classes, I highly doubt I would truly understand much; researching online and doing practice problems is helping a lot, too. The tutorial session has also been pretty great, as it's helped me actually understand what we are doing. At times, I feel frustrated that I can't keep up, but the tutorials help so much. Being able to ask questions and hear what's going on explained in great detail helps me learn.
I believe that's it for this week--if there's anything I can improve on in these SLOGs, please tell me. Thank you!
Best wishes,
Dominique
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Starting Out: Weeks 1-2
I guess I've never been amazing at beginning things, but I'll give it a try.
CSC165 is quite an interesting class thus far. Admittedly, though I want to be a Computer Scientist, I'm not the best with logic. Ergo, time spent in class and looking over notes is a bit frustrating.
I'll start with the fact that I've never really had experience with the symbols and the small differences in sentence structure. I come from America, where we have no experience with such things, yet I understand most of my friends have at least seen these symbols and definitions before. For example, it took me a while to understand how vacuous truths worked. After all, if we look at A => B, and A is false, shouldn't the statement be false? No, as when A is false, nothing can be concluded. Regardless of whether B is true or false, the statement must be true, or rather, vacuously true.
So yes, it's confusing at first. In class, I'm often left staring at the slides utterly frustrated. However, the first tutorial cleared up so much for me, and I honestly understand so much more now. I've also been researching the topics online and doing some practice problems to get used to the logic behind the problems. I've been looking up statements and drawing up venn diagrams as well as writing them down using the symbols we've learned and read about in the course notes.
Quantification may not be my strongest point, but I am learning. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to keep up, but I really am improving. I'm able to differentiate between a sentence and a statement now--the former being open and unspecified, the latter being quantified and can be evaluated--and read the symbols with a bit more ease. Hopefully I'm able to keep this up throughout the year.
For now, though, I hope this SLOG is satisfactory--if there's anything I can improve on or if there's anything I should talk about, please tell me! I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks!
Best Wishes!
Dominique
CSC165 is quite an interesting class thus far. Admittedly, though I want to be a Computer Scientist, I'm not the best with logic. Ergo, time spent in class and looking over notes is a bit frustrating.
I'll start with the fact that I've never really had experience with the symbols and the small differences in sentence structure. I come from America, where we have no experience with such things, yet I understand most of my friends have at least seen these symbols and definitions before. For example, it took me a while to understand how vacuous truths worked. After all, if we look at A => B, and A is false, shouldn't the statement be false? No, as when A is false, nothing can be concluded. Regardless of whether B is true or false, the statement must be true, or rather, vacuously true.
So yes, it's confusing at first. In class, I'm often left staring at the slides utterly frustrated. However, the first tutorial cleared up so much for me, and I honestly understand so much more now. I've also been researching the topics online and doing some practice problems to get used to the logic behind the problems. I've been looking up statements and drawing up venn diagrams as well as writing them down using the symbols we've learned and read about in the course notes.
Quantification may not be my strongest point, but I am learning. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to keep up, but I really am improving. I'm able to differentiate between a sentence and a statement now--the former being open and unspecified, the latter being quantified and can be evaluated--and read the symbols with a bit more ease. Hopefully I'm able to keep this up throughout the year.
For now, though, I hope this SLOG is satisfactory--if there's anything I can improve on or if there's anything I should talk about, please tell me! I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks!
Best Wishes!
Dominique
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