Umm,
What can I say about that car crash of a Unit. I am sure it is wonderfully interesting, only, I haven't been able to study it in any real depth, due to my current medical difficulties.
I have an extension on TMA05, but I will send it on Wednesday this week (5 days late), with only 80% of the questions answered and a probable score of around 50%. If this is the case, I need to score an average of 75% on the next two TMA's to gain a TMA overall score of 85%.
Oh, I will also be attempting an old waitress's trick, by enclosing a few boiled sweets and drawing a smiley face on my script, in the hope that I can get some extra credit from my tutor.
What I have learnt from Group Theory B, can be summarised as follows:
1. Orb = 1990's electronic trance band
2. Fix = what my wife keeps asking me to do with our garage door handle.
3. Stab = what I feel like doing to self, after studying this unit.
If I have missed anything, please let me know.
Monday 30 July 2012
Sunday 22 July 2012
KBO
I am struggling. Struggling to concentrate. Struggling to organize myself. Struggling to find the time to study. Struggling to keep my office tidy.
I don't know what is going on. But there you are. I am about one week behind on my reading of Group Theory B book 3, and I have asked my tutor for an extension.
The good news is, that if I have a difficult time for the next few months, then according to the Open University final mark calculation algorithm; I would achieve a distinction grade for the TMA's, if I am able to score an average across the next 3 TMA's, of 72%.
I don't want to drop marks, but it is good to know that I could survive this disaster.
As a Scottish Physicist recently told me,
KBO.
I don't know what is going on. But there you are. I am about one week behind on my reading of Group Theory B book 3, and I have asked my tutor for an extension.
The good news is, that if I have a difficult time for the next few months, then according to the Open University final mark calculation algorithm; I would achieve a distinction grade for the TMA's, if I am able to score an average across the next 3 TMA's, of 72%.
I don't want to drop marks, but it is good to know that I could survive this disaster.
As a Scottish Physicist recently told me,
KBO.
Thursday 12 July 2012
An IQ Experiment
Just a bit of fun:
I was interested in how I am being affected by the different medications that I am taking following my back surgery. They make me feel very foggy and I have difficulty thinking, so I am keen to know how much of this 'fog' is affecting my real performance.
I have a baseline IQ test result, as I joined Mensa some years ago. I then took another Mensa IQ test today, about 3hrs after taking my 'meds'. Both tests were the same type, so they are directly comparable.
So, drum roll pleas:
Baseline IQ = 155
Medicated IQ = 96
Medication is BAD, BAD, BAD.
Now, where are my pills?
I was interested in how I am being affected by the different medications that I am taking following my back surgery. They make me feel very foggy and I have difficulty thinking, so I am keen to know how much of this 'fog' is affecting my real performance.
I have a baseline IQ test result, as I joined Mensa some years ago. I then took another Mensa IQ test today, about 3hrs after taking my 'meds'. Both tests were the same type, so they are directly comparable.
So, drum roll pleas:
Baseline IQ = 155
Medicated IQ = 96
Medication is BAD, BAD, BAD.
Now, where are my pills?
A Day in the Life of a Dyslexic
8am - A day off work, so an O.U study day, for me.
9am - Get books out. Can't remember where I got to yesterday, a typical dyslexic problem. I need to also organize an exam study schedule. Can't organize my thoughts though; having a 'bad' dyslexia day, today.
10am - I have re-read the same three unit pages in the last hour. As I get to the end of one subsection, I can't remember what I read at the beginning. The words move and swirl on the page as I try to make out the proof.
11am - Reading with dyslexia, is exhausting. I put the books down. Quick cup of Nespresso (Indrya) and I settle down in front of the computer to do some more work on TMA05.
12pm - So I can see the screen without the text swirling around, I have changed the background to Turquoise colour and the text to dark purple in font 28. It still moves about on the page, but I can now see what symbols I am getting out of Mathtype. I have also shut all the curtains, as the light enters my eye and causes pains in my head (like when you eat ice-cream too fast). This symptom is courtesy of Irlen Syndrome, a condition which accompanies my Dyslexia and Dyspraxia.
1pm - Dinner time. I dare not read the newspaper whilst I am eating, as reading saps my study energy for later.
2pm - Back to the grind. Writing out flash cards with Theorems from the handbook - the cards are small and my lack of dexterity in the hands (Dyspraxia), means that it is a slow process. As I try and fix my glance between the flash card I am writing and Handbook, I continually loose my place as the writing swirls and vibrates on the page.
3pm - I need a break. I have another caffeine hit and I sit down to read (Hardy's - A Mathematicians Apology), but as I read on the Iphone, it hurts my eyes. I remember I have a 'Text to Speech' app on my Iphone, so I open it, only to discover that the essay isn't read properly by the app and it is almost unintelligible (think - Steven Hawkins computerised voice - and you are near to what it is like).
3:30pm - I give up with the app and add the essay to my growing pile of - want to read, but can't - pile.
4pm - Try and gain some inspiration from a book called 'The Dyslexic Advantage'. I get to page two and put it down. The text is too small and it swirls so much that I get motion sickness. How Ironic, considering the title of the book!
5pm - Teatime - Fish and Chips.
9pm - I pick up the books again and try to make progress through the unit. Because it is now almost dark outside, I can reduce the light in the room I am in to complete darkness and use a desk lamp and coloured overlays on the pages. This reduces the swirl of text and lets me gain some ground.
1am - Bed - exhausted. 15 pages studied, all but forgotten, and a draft question for TMA05, pencilled out.
Most people think that dyslexia is just problems with spelling or grammar. This couldn't be further from the truth.
Dyslexia can cause:
Visual disturbances
Memory loss
Organization difficulties
Distracting thought patterns
Overwhelm if more than one or two tasks are in hand
Spelling problems
Loss of confidence / feeling ashamed.
Dyslexia is a spectrum of symptoms and difficulties, with each dyslexic having often a unique set of difficulties. Dyslexia is often accompanied by Dyspraxia or Irlen / Mears-Irlen Syndrome, ADD and other specific learning difficulties.
This was a typical day, in the life of a typical Dyslexic.
Thank you.
[For more info - check out these links: ADD/ADHD association/ Dyslexia association / Dyspraxia association / Irlen association]
9am - Get books out. Can't remember where I got to yesterday, a typical dyslexic problem. I need to also organize an exam study schedule. Can't organize my thoughts though; having a 'bad' dyslexia day, today.
10am - I have re-read the same three unit pages in the last hour. As I get to the end of one subsection, I can't remember what I read at the beginning. The words move and swirl on the page as I try to make out the proof.
11am - Reading with dyslexia, is exhausting. I put the books down. Quick cup of Nespresso (Indrya) and I settle down in front of the computer to do some more work on TMA05.
12pm - So I can see the screen without the text swirling around, I have changed the background to Turquoise colour and the text to dark purple in font 28. It still moves about on the page, but I can now see what symbols I am getting out of Mathtype. I have also shut all the curtains, as the light enters my eye and causes pains in my head (like when you eat ice-cream too fast). This symptom is courtesy of Irlen Syndrome, a condition which accompanies my Dyslexia and Dyspraxia.
1pm - Dinner time. I dare not read the newspaper whilst I am eating, as reading saps my study energy for later.
2pm - Back to the grind. Writing out flash cards with Theorems from the handbook - the cards are small and my lack of dexterity in the hands (Dyspraxia), means that it is a slow process. As I try and fix my glance between the flash card I am writing and Handbook, I continually loose my place as the writing swirls and vibrates on the page.
3pm - I need a break. I have another caffeine hit and I sit down to read (Hardy's - A Mathematicians Apology), but as I read on the Iphone, it hurts my eyes. I remember I have a 'Text to Speech' app on my Iphone, so I open it, only to discover that the essay isn't read properly by the app and it is almost unintelligible (think - Steven Hawkins computerised voice - and you are near to what it is like).
3:30pm - I give up with the app and add the essay to my growing pile of - want to read, but can't - pile.
4pm - Try and gain some inspiration from a book called 'The Dyslexic Advantage'. I get to page two and put it down. The text is too small and it swirls so much that I get motion sickness. How Ironic, considering the title of the book!
5pm - Teatime - Fish and Chips.
9pm - I pick up the books again and try to make progress through the unit. Because it is now almost dark outside, I can reduce the light in the room I am in to complete darkness and use a desk lamp and coloured overlays on the pages. This reduces the swirl of text and lets me gain some ground.
1am - Bed - exhausted. 15 pages studied, all but forgotten, and a draft question for TMA05, pencilled out.
Most people think that dyslexia is just problems with spelling or grammar. This couldn't be further from the truth.
Dyslexia can cause:
Visual disturbances
Memory loss
Organization difficulties
Distracting thought patterns
Overwhelm if more than one or two tasks are in hand
Spelling problems
Loss of confidence / feeling ashamed.
Dyslexia is a spectrum of symptoms and difficulties, with each dyslexic having often a unique set of difficulties. Dyslexia is often accompanied by Dyspraxia or Irlen / Mears-Irlen Syndrome, ADD and other specific learning difficulties.
This was a typical day, in the life of a typical Dyslexic.
Thank you.
[For more info - check out these links: ADD/ADHD association/ Dyslexia association / Dyspraxia association / Irlen association]
Monday 9 July 2012
Getting Bogged Down
As I am working my way through GTB, the second Group Theory offering for M208 with the Open University, I have started to formulate my revision plan, in ernest.
The plan is simple enough;
note down all of the important sections in the handbook onto flash cards and learn them backwards over the next 12 weeks;
take a selection of exercises from the end of each unit and learn the structures of the answers, of each type;
Learn, verbatim, the answers to 3 past papers, so that the structure of the answers, is engrained;
Use two past papers as unseen tests,. One of them, timing of each individual answer and then stopping to reflect, before moving on to the next. The other paper, as a mock exam, one week prior to the exam, itself.
I hope that is enough.
However, I am just struggling to move through GTB, at the moment. It is taking hours to revise GTA, before absorbing the new material. We then have Analysis part B, to contend with at the end of July.
I know what I want to achieve, but I really am struggling to fit in all of the study of new material, writing TMA's and preparing and executing my revision plan.
I have started my flash cards, with GTA all complete, LA1 and LA2 half done. But it is only when one looks back through the handbook, that one can fully appreciate the mountain that stands in front of that golden, ephemeral glimpse, of a Distinction grade.
Why do we put ourselves through it?
The plan is simple enough;
note down all of the important sections in the handbook onto flash cards and learn them backwards over the next 12 weeks;
take a selection of exercises from the end of each unit and learn the structures of the answers, of each type;
Learn, verbatim, the answers to 3 past papers, so that the structure of the answers, is engrained;
Use two past papers as unseen tests,. One of them, timing of each individual answer and then stopping to reflect, before moving on to the next. The other paper, as a mock exam, one week prior to the exam, itself.
I hope that is enough.
However, I am just struggling to move through GTB, at the moment. It is taking hours to revise GTA, before absorbing the new material. We then have Analysis part B, to contend with at the end of July.
I know what I want to achieve, but I really am struggling to fit in all of the study of new material, writing TMA's and preparing and executing my revision plan.
I have started my flash cards, with GTA all complete, LA1 and LA2 half done. But it is only when one looks back through the handbook, that one can fully appreciate the mountain that stands in front of that golden, ephemeral glimpse, of a Distinction grade.
Why do we put ourselves through it?
Wednesday 4 July 2012
Groups B, TMA05. Lord, Give Me Strength!
Oh Lordy, what a nightmare this TMA is. Rotate this, congugate that, Fix this, Kernel that.
Now, I class myself as a bit of a '3D specialist', being able to spin objects around in my head easier, it seems, than most. I am told, that this is often the case with people who have Dyslexia, such as myself. However, TMA05 requires 4D IMAX, surround sound With full 1080p HD and Blue Ray capability, to answer parts one and four. (Chris, you'll know what I'm talking about!)
Anyway, I must get back to my calculations, as I can see that this one is going to require some midnight coffee and Orio's.
Tuesday 3 July 2012
M208 TMA04 Passed!
Thank goodness! With all of the testing events of the last two months, I genuinely thought that my journey on M208, was over. I had written TMA04 under the influence of opiates, tricyclics, barbiturates and a bucket of caffeine.
After a few 'all nighters', I managed to stay on track and submitted my script, only two days over the submission date.
My score was 87% with dropped marks from a circular proof and the odd typographical mistake or omission when setting out my proofs
The knock on effects of getting this TMA submission in on time, is keeping on track with the relentless programme of TMA production and unit material study.
I think that if I had dropped even a week behind, then it might have finished me, such was the low level of belief, last month.
Well, this keeps the dream alive, and in a strange way, i suspect it has shown me what my actual level of 'ability', really is.
What I mean is, throughout my OU Maths studies, I have polished and perfected TMA's, often to the point of neurotic obsession. And, whilst this has allowed me to gain marks in the 90's, I did often feel that it was a false achievement. False, because it is probably possible for anyone to score well on a TMA, given enough time.
So, by having my time squeezed and my senses dulled by medication, I believe that this has allowed my 'raw' TMA scores, to reveal themselves. I suspect these scores are my 'true' level of mathematics ability.
Is this level of ability enough to achieve a PhD and beyond in mathematical physics?
Well, I have heard two views on this.
Firstly, last year, I was told by a Learning Advisor at the OU, that I had no business thinking about postgraduate maths work, unless I was scoring an average of 93%+ on my TMA's.
Another view from Prof. De Garis, is that one needs to have an intelligence level within the top 1% of the population, to cope with PhD level mathematical physics.
Well, with a raw TMA score, it seems that my ability is probably around the 86% mark. With polish, it is nearer 95%.
I believe that beyond intelligence, there is one factor that is the most important in deciding as to whether success is part of your life. And that is: good old fashioned elbow grease.
The Midnight oil has never been such a valuable resource!
After a few 'all nighters', I managed to stay on track and submitted my script, only two days over the submission date.
My score was 87% with dropped marks from a circular proof and the odd typographical mistake or omission when setting out my proofs
The knock on effects of getting this TMA submission in on time, is keeping on track with the relentless programme of TMA production and unit material study.
I think that if I had dropped even a week behind, then it might have finished me, such was the low level of belief, last month.
Well, this keeps the dream alive, and in a strange way, i suspect it has shown me what my actual level of 'ability', really is.
What I mean is, throughout my OU Maths studies, I have polished and perfected TMA's, often to the point of neurotic obsession. And, whilst this has allowed me to gain marks in the 90's, I did often feel that it was a false achievement. False, because it is probably possible for anyone to score well on a TMA, given enough time.
So, by having my time squeezed and my senses dulled by medication, I believe that this has allowed my 'raw' TMA scores, to reveal themselves. I suspect these scores are my 'true' level of mathematics ability.
Is this level of ability enough to achieve a PhD and beyond in mathematical physics?
Well, I have heard two views on this.
Firstly, last year, I was told by a Learning Advisor at the OU, that I had no business thinking about postgraduate maths work, unless I was scoring an average of 93%+ on my TMA's.
Another view from Prof. De Garis, is that one needs to have an intelligence level within the top 1% of the population, to cope with PhD level mathematical physics.
Well, with a raw TMA score, it seems that my ability is probably around the 86% mark. With polish, it is nearer 95%.
I believe that beyond intelligence, there is one factor that is the most important in deciding as to whether success is part of your life. And that is: good old fashioned elbow grease.
The Midnight oil has never been such a valuable resource!
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