Drunk and doing statistical mechanics problems

[KrazyHorse]

http://www.pha.jhu.edu/courses/171_312/StatMechFinalFall07.pdf

(one of three old finals for which I promised to hand solutions out)

This course is so much ****ing easier than my undergrad stat mech course.

[Asher]

If the students need the solutions, then they'll never know if they're right or not. If they knew how to get the right answer they wouldn't need solutions.

Drunken advice for you.

[KrazyHorse]

Dude, you're preaching to the choir.

I never once went to a conference section or went to a TA's or prof's office hours in undergrad. These kids are adults. Learn from the lectures or don't learn at all.

[KrazyHorse]

Then again I didn't pay 40k a year to go to school.

[Asher]

I only went to the labs when attendance was mandatory via quizes or whatever else.

They pissed me off. Some profs decided labs would be a good place to teach new content. **** them. didn't even go to those.

The internet is too awesome for that. Especially with the computers

[KrazyHorse]

Dude, I am so awesome at undergrad physics. Taking me under an hour to do 3 hour undergrad exams while on 8-9 drinks.

[KrazyHorse]

Only problem is that the prof occasionally does not include necessary information on exam. Well, other problem is that I am running out of paper to write on.

[Asher]

It helps to do the basics when you can succeed at the advanced.

[Asher]

I once wrote an algorithm to procedurally draw a Christmas tree on one of my first year theory of compsci exams that I didn't study for. I had no idea how to construct an NFA at the time.

I got half marks on it. It was really simple too.

[KrazyHorse]

NFA?

[KrazyHorse]

I actually did really badly on stat mech in undergrad. Only really learned it when studying for qualifying exams in grad school. Spent 3 strahgit days reading textbook and by the end of that I understood it.

[Asher]

Nondeterministic finite automata

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondeterministic_finite_state_machine

It's really ****ing simple when you know how to do it or what it is. When I saw it on the test I wondered why they were asking about firearms, and thus the christmas tree (a gun was too hard for the time limit)

[Asher]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
I actually did really badly on stat mech in undergrad. Only really learned it when studying for qualifying exams in grad school. Spent 3 strahgit days reading textbook and by the end of that I understood it.

It all comes down to motivation

[KrazyHorse]

I think I ended up with C+ in undergrad course. Was very bad about doing homework and ****. We usually had a 100% final option. That was one of the classed where the 100% final didn't work out so well for me.

[Asher]

Do you consider it worthwhile to do a masters in a science (or quasi science like CS), or is it better to live in the real world?