41–50 of 259 posts
I’m not suggesting a change to the title, it’s probably best to keep it. This was a pleasant surprise and one I think other readers might benefit from.
But there are smart people who get all this stuff "easily" (previous practice, exposure). The rest of us walk out of the exam wondering how many trucks hit us.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah ok, I have no such examinations. Do most in the US start their PhD from a Bachelors degree? I had a masters degree prior to starting my PhD. It is also possible to start a PhD with a Bachelors, however you wouldn't likely be awarded a masters degree if you failed to complete
> Do most in the US start their PhD from a Bachelors degree? Yes, it's almost always in the student's interest to go direct, for two reasons: 1) Master's degrees are frequently unfunded. PhDs in STEM are fully funded basically as a rule. 2) You are going to be in school significantly longer if you complete a Master's degree at a different institution from your PhD. In general the biggest reason a student might comple…
PhDs in the humanities and social sciences are also often, or usually, fully funded as well; my sense has always been that for pretty much any academic-career-path field in the US, not being funded for a PhD is essentially an indication that the university doesn't actually want you there. Meanwhile, I think many simply don't offer Master's programs at all.
One aspect of this is that in the US, PhD students can make up a significant part of the teaching staff at the university, with class structures that are heavily built around having large lectures by a professor and PhD students who do quite a bit of the more one-on-one instruction. So departments with many general education requirement classes, like History, can actually end up having a significant amount of funding for PhD students.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Paul Graham: > The reason his students find his problem sets "emotionally trying" is that they're getting a taste of what real work is like. Which Shengwu Li seems to disagree with, since the author retweeted this thread: https://twitter.com/bradchattergoon/status/16151056145600839... > Good on SL for setting expectations but I also want to comment a bit. If research is all about being comfortable with uncertainty, w…
Grade inflation exacerbates this problem. The straight A student of today might have been the straight B student of 40 years ago. Meanwhile, the student of 40 years ago that was exceptional in some subjects but mediocre in others can today only get an A for exceptional work, but may get a B for what used to be C level work. Truly exceptional work does not pay in grades anymore, only reliability. Now, reliability is a…
The extra-credit question on one of my finals in grad school was: "What is the time-resolved fluorescence of a fluorophore in 4 spatial dimensions?" We had covered 2D and 3D cases in class. my housemate started the question on Friday night (after finishing the regular questions) and was done some time Monday- she said it was pretty hard problem that involved deriving several new equations for 4 spatial dimensions, th…
Do you come from a parallel universe with an extra spatial dimension
"Our approach differs from previous work by combining 3D and spectral super-resolution simultaneously with readily available fluorochromes as well as operating in a wavelength range where biological autofluorescence is minimised."
Pretty much most senior level/grad algorithm classes are like this. They introduce a framework for solution and then give you about 2-3 example lecture problems that they walk you through. 2-3 weeks after being introduced to 5/6 frameworks its Exam day. You are given unique word problems that, in the eyes of someone experienced like a prof or PhD student, is trivial. But you are struggling with 1 week of homework exp…
Imagine trying to learn a spoken language with very little input or speaking practice.
That takes me back to third year applied mathematics in the 1980s. Small class, seriously smart hard working ederly professor notorious for setting conjectures from whatever areas of interest he currently had as exam questions. Failure was not even trying to answer, grading was scaled on how many you had a shot at and what kind of dent you made on them in the hour. Fun times.
Reminds me of my number theory professor. Open book take home exam, 20 problems and you choose 4 of them to answer. He graded us on how much we were able to do, and not just the answer itself. 6 of the problems were equivalent to the Riemann Hypothesis (unbeknownst to the class). Fun times.
Pretty much most senior level/grad algorithm classes are like this. They introduce a framework for solution and then give you about 2-3 example lecture problems that they walk you through. 2-3 weeks after being introduced to 5/6 frameworks its Exam day. You are given unique word problems that, in the eyes of someone experienced like a prof or PhD student, is trivial. But you are struggling with 1 week of homework exp…
I believe you meant to say "(studying)"
My favorite history professor in college gave open book essay exams. He asked your opinion on topics, "what were the motivations of the leaders of the US revolution?" Even better were the questions that ended in "why or why not?" There were no right or wrong answers, if you could justify your answer in a reasonable manner, you got full points. Some students hated his tests, some students loved his tests. The students…
You can ask harder questions! But when I know the technique I should be allowed to look up the formula.
(Except I graduated years ago...)
That takes me back to third year applied mathematics in the 1980s. Small class, seriously smart hard working ederly professor notorious for setting conjectures from whatever areas of interest he currently had as exam questions. Failure was not even trying to answer, grading was scaled on how many you had a shot at and what kind of dent you made on them in the hour. Fun times.
I have fond memories of nights at a local bar, working through a problem.