Excel!

Yesterday while solving for a problem involving linear approximation and having so many decimal numbers with only an ordinary calculator (the one that is packaged in a laptop machine), I was already feeling so slow and so helpless since I am used to thinking and acting fast. I thought, if only I were a programmer, or if only I knew a programming language, things could be easier. And then I thought that maybe Excel can do the job.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not good at Excel. I owe it to the fact that I was traumatized by it when I was in grade school. At that time, it was my second to the last year in elementary when we were taught basic Excel lessons. I had a hard time catching up because I couldn't see then how I could use it in a practical way. I almost flunked my Computer subject. Almost but not quite because thank Heavens on the day of our final exams, I had an epiphany JUST IN TIME. I suddenly became aware of how Excel works. Probably one of the mysteries of the mind when under a panic attack. It saved me from being kicked out of the honor roll.

In highschool, I was praised for being one of the few who can do basic programming. That was my first time to have a taste of what it's like to work with programs. We started with HTML, then C++, and then 2 years of Visual Basic. On my senior year, I was made president of our school's Computer Club. (I actually joined the arts club but was pulled out by my Computer teacher.) It was a good thing he did so because while in the club, I was made aware of how computer hardware works and came to know many cool programs. My Computer teacher, who was also our club advisor, advised me to take up Computer Science. He's one of the few teachers who must have seen something in me though at that time, I really did not know that much about computers. In fact, I was embarrassed to be the head of a club when in fact other members, most of them younger than me, were more skilled. My only claim to fame is that I am a logical thinker so constructing formulae and using the language was fairly easy. But because computer language is not appealing to me in that one can never be poetic or express beautiful prose with it, I was not much interested.

So when I was about to take the UP Entrance Exam and choose a course, my two choices were based in the College of Arts and Letters. I really had a hard time choosing because many courses appealed to me, like Anthropology, Computer Science, Geology, Geodetic Engineering, Computer Engineering, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Mathematics, etc. etc. At that time though I was studying Japanese all on my own and I was thinking how cool it would be if I were to be a polyglot so I could read in many many languages. Before I submitted my application forms, I was able to state European Languages as my first choice and Creative Writing as my second choice. (Up until today, I still don't know whatever possessed me to select CW as my second choice...)

So pursuing my chosen course, I was limited to a maximum of two Math classes. I took Math 1, said to be the more difficult of the two. I was lucky to have a very very cool instructor who introduced me to Umberto Eco (now one of my favorite authors). His class was my most favorite class during my freshman year. We discussed the history of math, logic, systems, a bit of basic cryptography, sets, and other more abstract math concepts. Taking this was one of my best decisions since Math 2, though easy to get an A, is just about problem-solving and I don't think I need a repeat of it since I excelled in it in highschool. Math 1 was also the right course because it opened new doors for me and it was then that I realized how COOL Math really is.

So right after I finish European Languages, I took Math17, said to be the deciding factor for many engineering students if they should continue with their course or not. I knew many people who took that and who failed. I just had to see for myself how difficult it really is. I aced exams but flunked the final one because I never memorized the formulas and drawing circles and deriving formulas left me with very little time to solve the problems. It broke my heart, simply because I understood the lessons well, it's just that I couldn't memorize the formulae.

So anyway, studying Calculus now really shoved me down memory lane...

So going back to yesterday...

Yesterday while doing a problem in Calculus, I saw how foolish I was at my stubbornness in refusing to enlist the help of Excel, just the tool that can help me speed up calculations so I can devote more time in learning other things (or finishing that book I've been reading since last month).

I opened Excel, had a leap of faith that DAMN I COULD DO THIS!!! And just typed in the formulae for Newton's method of finding roots. Imagine my delight at my newfound powers! I overcame the trauma (I think)!!!!

one input, one look, and one conclusion

I'm just so happy with what I was able to do yesterday. Felt so productive. And I felt new powers flowing in my veins. The power of Math, the power to Excel! (Yes, pun intended.)

Learning by Rote

I have always thought that once I step out of school, I would be freed from learning by rote which is oftentimes the method adopted by teachers who teach WHAT to learn than HOW to learn. In high school, I disliked my Chinese class because we were asked to memorize the whole article and even essay questions for exams have fixed answers such that those with good memory can of course get good grades provided they exert an effort in memorizing the text. This despite the Chinese abhorring 死記硬背 which roughly translates to memorization without understanding. In defiance, I would always answer essay questions using my own words, and how I understood the texts. I was too busy with many things to waste time in 死記硬背 and it simply didn't make me feel good to have answers imposed on me. That was just stupid, you take out the creativity and the exercise for critical thinking.

And yet now I am pressured to pass the exam with a perfect score. Actually you commit one mistake and you fail, that's how harsh it is. I don't know what's worse, the questions never change and all you have to do to pass is to memorize every possible question and the corresponding answer, or be questioned about your skills because you've taken the test several times and yet you can't perfect the exam to pass. Again, being the stubborn type, I simply refuse to review and memorize just to pass. I take exams seriously. I see exams as one way to test what I know but I don't believe that it measures what I am capable of. And even if I fail the exams one after another, I still think that I am capable of doing greater things because I know HOW and not because I know WHAT though it cannot be denied that knowing WHAT also plays an important role in the HOW process. However, to stop at knowing WHAT is foolish; one must go beyond and explore the WHY's and the HOW's.

If true education is the goal, training must be done. Training in this regard does not mean just sitting in front of a lecturer and taking down notes, but providing hands-on practice so that learners actually get to feel what it's like to do what is needed. We always say that theory and practice must go hand in hand, but oftentimes we disregard one in favor of the other. There must be balance so that learners will understand that theories are there to serve as guides and thus are not the end-all be-all of learning, and that these are open to modifications as the situation sees fit. And also, that it doesn't matter if what you do doesn't fit any theory as long as it is logical and it works. Who knows you might have just have to create a new theory of your own. My point, in a nutshell, is that whatever knowledge we have of the world is provisional, and that there are MANY things to uncover, discover, and invent. We live in an ever-changing world where the truths of yesterday may be false today and true again in the future. And in order for this dynamism to continue, in order for the pool of human knowledge to expand, we need courageous minds which are willing to explore and conquer the status quo.