The last couple of weeks have been rather busy and the next four weeks won’t be any different. At the moment I’m studying this course called “Linear Algebra (And Geometry) 1”. It includes vectors, matrices, dimensions, how to apply transformations and so on. YouTube has a video series with professor Gilbert Strang, a teacher with the capacity of really bringing the subject to life. It’s a joy to observe him teach… and I’d wager anyone with a high school level of mathematics understanding – or the willingness to refresh your memory, could follow along. As far as I understand it, it’s one of those branches of mathematics which are essential to the entire AI and Machine Learning industry, which has been quite popular lately. Having said that, I’m still miles away from being an expert.
Anyways, Gilbert Strang tends to be very concrete when he teaches, giving examples that are easy to understand. The thing is, with the field of study I’ve chosen, there’s a bit more abstraction to it all. Instead of juggling around numbers, I find myself having to prove why a certain principle makes sense in a certain situation. With one night and two full days left to study all of this, I still find it quite difficult. Each exercise feels like a magician showing a trick, with me having to explain how he did it. About nine out of ten times, I’m left feeling clueless. “Alright Mr Magician, show me how you did it.” Now, I get his explanation. I’m like, “Okay, the ball was made out of foam, you pressed it together and you held it behind your fingers. I’ll remember it for next time.” Only problem is, his next trick is the disappearing rabbit, the one after that sawing through his assistant and so on. Every time it’s a completely different trick and I’m clueless as to how he did it.
That’s about how it feels to me right now. I’ve heard a mathematician on YouTube talk about the ‘magical’ moment when it all clicked for him, about three days before starting his exam. Well, fingers crossed that something similar will happen for me too – and soon. However, I’ll keep persisting nonetheless.
Something which Patton said back in the day, which I’ll include as a motivational quote:
I don’t want to get any messages saying, ‘I am holding my position.’ We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy’s balls. We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy. We are going to go through him like crap through a goose; like shit through a tin horn!
Yours truly
Vincent J. Dancet