In the past, I've had students call my problem sets “emotionally trying”

Post by overgrownzygote » Wed, Jan 18, 2023, 12:55 AM UTC

abdullahkhalids wrote: post #39

cge wrote: post #12

Part of the difficulty with emotional views of problem sets and tests at universities is not so much that these sorts of problem sets are emotionally trying themselves, but that from the student perspective, going between institutions and class levels, the style, grading and expectations for problem sets and tests can change quite quickly. While I strongly prefer the sorts of problem sets being described, and preferr…

I can give you prof perspective on this. Going between different stages of education, you can't really double or triple the amount of time you study, but you need to change your study and thinking techniques to learn 2x or 3x more [1]. The problem is that if the teachers try to set up too easy a ramp at the start of a new stage, many students refuse to upgrade their study/thinking techniques. They continue to use sub…

Post by marmetio » Wed, Jan 18, 2023, 1:03 AM UTC

themitigating wrote: post #48

deskamess wrote: post #42

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…

"But there are smart people who get all this stuff "easily" (previous practice, exposure)." I believe you meant to say "(studying)"

Post by jcranmer » Wed, Jan 18, 2023, 1:05 AM UTC

philwelch wrote: post #31

lumb63 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A similar phenomenon I’ve found, is if I know something can be done, I will work at it until it is done. For example, I’ve come up with solutions in interviews that I thought were the best, and then the interviewer says, “can it be done in O(n) time?” At that point, something clicks in my brain that says, “oh, of course it can!” If only I could find a way to tap into that in advance.

There is a possibly apocryphal story of Heisenberg and the other German a-bomb scientists basically doing this in captivity upon learning of the success of the Manhattan Project (not building a working bomb, but reasoning out how it was done!)

Post by Tostino » Wed, Jan 18, 2023, 1:11 AM UTC

LudwigNagasena wrote: post #30

PuppyTailWags wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would hate open-ended questions like that if I didn't know the professor and I didn't know the grading, because it relies on the professor's ability to evaluate what is reasonable justification. I'm sure if the professor was great, this strategy is wonderful, but it also relies on a leap of faith in terms of the student. For example, if I was a black man and the teacher was white, my essays about slavery would be n…

> For example, if I was a black man and the teacher was white, my essays about slavery would be not about if I learned the material but my trying to work around determining how racist a teacher might be. That would be a valid concern regardless or your or professor’s race. And even if we take into account that people are more biased towards opinions that elevate them, we should also take into account what an average…

Post by LarryMullins » Wed, Jan 18, 2023, 1:18 AM UTC

marmetio wrote: post #53

themitigating wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"But there are smart people who get all this stuff "easily" (previous practice, exposure)." I believe you meant to say "(studying)"

I doubt that. If the materials are limited, then by definition there's less to study. You can choose other things to study, but it's a gamble whether it will be useful.