The Last Ten Percent

[CuppoJava]

The Last Ten Percent

[Patrick Wong]

I don't know if I agree with you on this... Most worthwhile skills in
life (including pencil twirling!) requires lifelong effort and time to
learn. So learning the first 90% of a skill, which requires 10% of the
total lifetime effort, is still a long and arduous task! So better
quit now or just don't bother at all... (Sorry, school depression is
setting in!)

On Sep 5, 10:07 pm, CuppoJava <patrickli_2...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> The Last Ten Percent

[CuppoJava]

Oh Patrick... I'm not sure what to say. It's only the start of
September. I could say that it gets easier after the first few weeks,
but I'd be lying to you. =)
How are courses coming?

One thing that I didn't mention in the article... and that I don't
quite know how to fit in, is that learning the first 90% of a subject
has implications beyond that subject itself. eg. learning some basic
programming gives you advantages in fields far beyond just computer
science. It puts you ahead of everyone else in finance, statistics,
engineering, physics, etc...

So if you take that into account it's extremely wise to broaden your
knowledge. By putting in a little effort into a subject, you can
become proficient at that subject, and, at the same time, give you an
edge in your "main field".

-Patrick

[Patrick Wong]

Can't argue with that!

My courses seem pretty enjoyable so far. Controls looks like it's
going to be confusing, with all this time shift backwards and forwards
magic (and assuming fast sampling time??? If I made an assumption like
that on an exam, it'll be wrong for sure) - looks like it's time to
buy a textbook! My other courses are solid state lighting (seems
really interesting, especially since the prof does this for
humanitarian reasons), power electronics, power systems and the
project course (god forbid I miss a lecture of this incredible useful
class...)

How about yourself? Are you TAing any courses?

[CuppoJava]

Haha. To be honest, I think this is just the wrong time to start
buying textbooks Patrick! The digital controls textbook is not very
suitable for the class. Westwick is already so good, you just need to
take good notes.

I wasn't very interested in solid state lighting. The course sounds
kinda ... flaky. My friends who did take it didn't like it very much.

Just a heads up about Project though. You're going to get tested on
those lectures by the way. And in detail too. So don't make the same
mistakes I made, and sleep through the lectures. =)

I'm not TAing this term actually. My prof is paying me decently, so I
don't need the money. And it does take some time. I really love
teaching though, so I'll probably sign up for it next year. Don't want
to miss out on the joy of having towering authority over little
undergrads. =)