RE: [ba-unrev-talk] Humble pie in academia
Wow, Henry, and I would have thought I was older than you. At 63 I am
accustomed to being the old fart in a group of computerists, even though
that is not exactly the unrev composition. You and Doug both have lots more
stripes on your sleave. (01)
I had a similar situation occur for me when I wanted to reconstruct some
mathematical reasoning, nothing particularly difficult either, that I had
first worked through 20 years ago. I got completely frazzled managing the
details of the derivation. Fortunately, I still had a copy of a letter
where I laid out the solution before, and that was enough to let me piece it
together in the new formulation I was working on. But it was very startling
to be baffled and frustrated like that. (02)
I am registered for an on-line M.Sc in IT program through the University of
Liverpool. My first course begins on November 28 and we will see how it
goes. As part of the program, I intend to take a Java course as a way to
discipline myself and upgrade some rusty skills -- I am otherwise reluctant
to learn new programming languages. You know, "Oh no, not yet another
one!". (03)
I like to think I am still sharp but not so fast. I should probably be more
attentive to concrete measures that I could apply as a way to tell how I am
actually functioning. Taking a course sounds like a good way. (04)
I am interested in how things go for you. You are my role model in this
aspect of keeping an upper compartment tuned and operating. (05)
-- orcmid (06)
------------------
Dennis E. Hamilton
http://NuovoDoc.com/
mailto:dennis.hamilton@acm.org
tel. +1-206-932-6970
cell +1-206-779-9430
The Miser Project: http://miser-theory.info/
AIIM DMware: http://DMware.info/ (07)
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ba-unrev-talk@bootstrap.org
[mailto:owner-ba-unrev-talk@bootstrap.org]On Behalf Of Henry K van Eyken
Sent: Monday, October 14, 2002 04:25
To: ba-unrev-talk@bootstrap.org
Subject: [ba-unrev-talk] Humble pie in academia (08)
In recent weeks I have been finding out what old is. [ ... ] (09)
Although I have obtained most of my academic credentials in adult life,
getting my straight-A M.Ed. when I was past 50 (and which included for
me a course in the rather heavily mathematical quantum chemistry), I now
find that the Java course is challenging me almost beyond endurance. I
can't follow the teacher and it is Marc who is helping with
"translating" her to me. Absorbing new concepts goes slower than
molasses, which puts me way behind on schedule. Astuteness in problem
solving is shot to hell. And my first exam in the UNIX course - in which
I happen to understand and know things almost perfectly - showed that
where some puzzling was involved answers came so slow as to be
upsetting; upshot is that an exam that should have produced 90+ is
probably barely getting me something like 60-65 (I haven't received it
back yet.) This goes to exemplify that society measures the quality of
people with tools not suited to measuring old farts. That's where the
process runs roughshot over one's dignity. (010)
[ ... ] From what I read, I ought to regard myself as privileged
for still performing reasonably well in the upper compartment - although
searching for clues through Java programs is a bit of a mental Mount
Everest. (011)
So, if, at 75, I am somewhat slow and erratic in my responses and with
the publishing Fleabyte, please bear with me. (012)
Henry (013)
[ ... ] (014)