Getting Better All the Time 3.18

It’s like an addiction.

Here’s the thing….I heart math. I really do. I see the beauty and poetry of it, it seems like magic, but anyone can join the world of math. I’m just not very good at it. Now I suspect I’m not very good at it because either a) I’m not smart enough, or b) I don’t put the work in.

Work is important. For example, Ichiro, one of the best hitters in baseball I hear puts in hours of practice in batting practice.

I don’t want to accept that I’m not smart enough to do math. Cuz, for better or worse, when I was a kid, someone told me I was smart. And being a foolish kid, thinking that adults actually are truthful and/or know things, I believed them. Since then I’ve had a few tiny examples where I actually think it is proof that I am smart. But I have lots more examples of being dumb. For instance my scars from crossing the street. But maybe that is lack of wisdom, or lack of street smarts.

And remember, I believe anyone can enter the world of mathematics.

Wanting to be smart, I want to prove to myself that I can accomplish something that is intellectually challenging. Like math. So, my college transcripts are littered with Fails and Withdrawls and NoCredits from various calculus classes. One of my life goals is to finish the first year calculus series. (I already have “written” a novel, and “run” a marathon.) So I keep signing up for math classes.

Now, a few years ago, I took a pre-calc class. I did pretty decently. I followed with 1st quarter of calculus, and I think I learned a thing or two, and I actually got like a B out of it for a grade. (Not that I trust grades automatically mean anything.) But, I relaxed, and had a month off, and bought a house, then signed up for 2nd quarter, and was moving and stuff and not studying, and after the first exam, realized, “wow, I need to study, I don’t remember much from 3 months ago.” Had to drop it. But hey sportsfans…I was doing OK in math for like two quarters. There is a glimmer of hope for me.

Last year…cuz people at my work do biology stuff, I took an Anatomy/Physiology class. It was fun, I like the prof, I got a B-. So then I took part 2, same prof, same great time, this time I got B. The prof taught an ecology class in the spring, hey I like bugs, I got a either a B+ or A-. Notice, grades going up. It was fun, I was learning. Biology is cool. To keep in mental shape I took “tough” Microbiology course in the summer. I got an A-, and remember my thought on grades, well, here’s proof, the teacher was horrible, I didn’t learn much, (not really proud of myself for that, heck, I knew what I should be doing even if the exams were like pieces of candy).

I am trying to learn how to focus. But a lifetime of letting my mind wander don’t really help the old memorize the stages of photosynthesis.

Which leads us to today. Well, this quarter. Since I’m an old man, I got to get a move on, I foolishly decided to take chemistry & Biology. Idiot. I have friends that have done more, I don’t know how, maybe they’re super-heroes. But I have to stick with my plan, because a) push myself/learn discipline/carpe diem b) time’s a wastin’, I need a Bachelors degree at least to pad my resume, especially in the town I live in, and c) most importantly, I bought the books, and can’t return them, and am getting a little tired of having to buy a new edition every couple of years. Sometime I should show you my collection of first year calculus books.

Today, sadly, not dressed up as a tie-rack at work for Halloween. I am vacationing to study for my Bio exam tonight.

Here’s the problem.
NaNoWriMo starts in less than 12 hours.
My friends are doing it. I wanna do it (again) too.

Let’s see this entry is 729 words, I wrote it in 23 minutes. So I would need 50+ minutes a day of writing.

Only a fool would try.

Posted by joncim at October 31, 2006 12:47 PM