The funny thing about majoring in physics is the fact that nobody in the higher-level classes seem to do well on exams. The highest class average test score I've seen this semester (F11) in any of my physics classes was... -drumroll-
76/100.
The lowest?
42/100.
On the other hand, my math class had a take-home test in which the average was probably in the high 80's (the professor never directly quoted an average, I'm assuming from the range of test scores that I caught a glimpse of as they were handed back).
Boyfriend (who shall henceforth be known as KP until I think of a better alias) is in chemical engineering; he's extremely disappointed when he gets anything below an 85% on a test. It's funny, really; I would be ecstatic to get that score on a test in my classes.
I'm sure that people outside my major judge me if they see my score. "OMG," they'll say. "Liek ur so dumb, a 52 is liek failing, jeez. Go study lozr." Then they proceed to go get drunk, skip class because of their hangover, and finally study for an hour before the test and ace it.
My response to them?
Well, as soon as you know how to calculate the aphelion, perihelion, eccentricity, and period of an orbit, then use the information to plot a course from the Earth to Saturn in 20 minutes, then we'll talk.
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Coming soon: path efficiency.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Field Theory
I have the best teaching assistant possible for my Astronomy class; I can only hope that when I am a grad student in the near future that I will be as chill and generally cool as he is.
He's witty, laid-back, fun to talk to, and in general just a great all-around guy. Of course, that doesn't mean that his field of study is easy, no matter how much he simplifies it for us silly undergraduates.
As a friend and I were trying to figure out an extremely hard electrodynamics problem, he and another grad student came down the hall of the physics building. Now, it was getting close to eleven PM and we quickly abandoned the problem to talk about nerdy things. I remember something about dirty physics mnemonics, but that isn't important right now.
Somehow we got on the subject of my T.A.'s work, which is field theory. His grad student friend warned us to not let him start talking about it, and we promptly ignored him as my T.A. began to explain his research.
"So, you have 1+1=2. Then, you do a bunch of math, and you have field theory."
That's all we got. We know it's difficult because when a grad student says "you do a bunch of math", it usually means years and years of it.
I'm scared.
He's witty, laid-back, fun to talk to, and in general just a great all-around guy. Of course, that doesn't mean that his field of study is easy, no matter how much he simplifies it for us silly undergraduates.
As a friend and I were trying to figure out an extremely hard electrodynamics problem, he and another grad student came down the hall of the physics building. Now, it was getting close to eleven PM and we quickly abandoned the problem to talk about nerdy things. I remember something about dirty physics mnemonics, but that isn't important right now.
Somehow we got on the subject of my T.A.'s work, which is field theory. His grad student friend warned us to not let him start talking about it, and we promptly ignored him as my T.A. began to explain his research.
"So, you have 1+1=2. Then, you do a bunch of math, and you have field theory."
That's all we got. We know it's difficult because when a grad student says "you do a bunch of math", it usually means years and years of it.
I'm scared.
Hello World!
Every time I try to learn a new program from any sort of book, class, or even on my own, the pilot program is always "Hello, world." In the spirit of that, this is the title of my first post.
Of course, now every time I learn a new script or programming, I have to re-introduce myself to the world/internet. Why? Even though I'm writing a different language, the "Hello, World!" is still in English. Does the internet forget so easily?
Wait, don't answer that.
Of course, it's not like anyone in the world/interblag is going to read my trivial program or page, so why bother introducing myself at all? I mean, I don't want to reiterate myself over and over again, I want my declaration to change. Maybe I could switch up languages. Perhaps use the (pointless) random question generator on my profile page for this site. Quote the Doctor. Talk about the latest makeup trends. Talk gibberish like art the tent asploding of blue licorice shirt game.
I think I may just be opposed to introductions in general. Whenever I'm out with friends and we get into a situation where we must all introduce ourselves, I try to relieve the tension of going around the circle, waiting patiently for your turn to say your name that will be forgotten ten seconds after the new person's eyes meander from you. You've forgotten their name anyway, what does it matter?
In any case, I always introduce myself as my roommate. "Hi, I'm Tessa." Tessa always rolls her eyes at me. "Ginny... why? No, I'm Tessa, and she's Ginny." I argue about it for a few more moments before finally acknowledging that my name, in fact, does mirror that a certain Harry Potter heroine (since that seems to be the only way anyone in my generation is able to remember my name for our first few encounters).
So, this is me. Blogging about this strange life I lead. Maybe I should talk about it a little first.
As already stated, my name is Ginny. I am currently majoring in physics at one of the most beautiful universities in the country, surrounded by beautiful mountains and a great community. I have a crazy group of friends whose activities range from hiking to improv nights to Dungeons & Dragons (I'm currently playing a halfling rouge by the name of Lavi). I am somewhat musical -- I've played violin for 15 years and am currently trying to teach myself ukulele and guitar. Occasionally I become a velociraptor and go to the moon on a flying tortoise.
Just kidding; I had to make sure you were paying attention.
Anyway, this blog is going to be about random scienc-y or music-y or just funny things I hear in my life. Maybe a rant or two, but I'll always try to keep it light-hearted. I hope you enjoy.
Hello, world.
Of course, now every time I learn a new script or programming, I have to re-introduce myself to the world/internet. Why? Even though I'm writing a different language, the "Hello, World!" is still in English. Does the internet forget so easily?
Wait, don't answer that.
Of course, it's not like anyone in the world/interblag is going to read my trivial program or page, so why bother introducing myself at all? I mean, I don't want to reiterate myself over and over again, I want my declaration to change. Maybe I could switch up languages. Perhaps use the (pointless) random question generator on my profile page for this site. Quote the Doctor. Talk about the latest makeup trends. Talk gibberish like art the tent asploding of blue licorice shirt game.
I think I may just be opposed to introductions in general. Whenever I'm out with friends and we get into a situation where we must all introduce ourselves, I try to relieve the tension of going around the circle, waiting patiently for your turn to say your name that will be forgotten ten seconds after the new person's eyes meander from you. You've forgotten their name anyway, what does it matter?
In any case, I always introduce myself as my roommate. "Hi, I'm Tessa." Tessa always rolls her eyes at me. "Ginny... why? No, I'm Tessa, and she's Ginny." I argue about it for a few more moments before finally acknowledging that my name, in fact, does mirror that a certain Harry Potter heroine (since that seems to be the only way anyone in my generation is able to remember my name for our first few encounters).
So, this is me. Blogging about this strange life I lead. Maybe I should talk about it a little first.
As already stated, my name is Ginny. I am currently majoring in physics at one of the most beautiful universities in the country, surrounded by beautiful mountains and a great community. I have a crazy group of friends whose activities range from hiking to improv nights to Dungeons & Dragons (I'm currently playing a halfling rouge by the name of Lavi). I am somewhat musical -- I've played violin for 15 years and am currently trying to teach myself ukulele and guitar. Occasionally I become a velociraptor and go to the moon on a flying tortoise.
Just kidding; I had to make sure you were paying attention.
Anyway, this blog is going to be about random scienc-y or music-y or just funny things I hear in my life. Maybe a rant or two, but I'll always try to keep it light-hearted. I hope you enjoy.
Hello, world.
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