Adventures in Education: New Beginnings at UVic

A degree wasn't enough. My week now consists of commuting back and forth to Victoria to take undergraduate math and computer science courses. If all goes well, next September I'll be in a Masters program. If not, I get to spend eight months learning undergraduate mathematics from geniuses. Win-win.

I learned very quickly that VIU (my home institution) and UVic (my new school) have slightly different approaches to teaching math. At VIU, in-class solutions are often quite detailed. By contrast, yesterday a prof wrote a solution as follows: "Proof: Induction." This is analogous a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that reads "Method: Bake." The student is still expected to understand all of the details of the proof. A benefit to this method: I must keep up with the reading. The drawback: I must keep up with the reading. Independent study skills? Yes, I think I'll need those. This semester presents an opportunity for substantial personal growth.



When I arrived in my first Abstract Algebra II* class, the front row was full and the desks had been pushed forward as far as they could possibly go. Strange, I thought, since there were only seven students in the class. The keeners in the front knew something I didn't. The prof came in with a few notes scrawled on the back of a receipt and a used letter envelope, and then plunged into an amazing lecture. At least, the parts I could hear were amazing. He was quiet. Mental note: get a seat at the front for every lecture from this point forward. Anyways, this guy knew every detail about the theory he was describing, as if it was his first language. Amazing.

As I adjust to the expectations of a new department, my emotions transition between excitement, intimidation, fear, and hope. I remind myself of  these words of wisdom from a VIU math instructor (very, very paraphrased):

In math, it's not about smart you are. Success is the result of being able to keep your head in the game. Get immersed in a problem. Do your best. Sometimes you don't get results quickly. It happens to everyone. It's not your intelligence that will define you; it is far more important to be able to find your way back into a groove when you are lost. We do this because we love it. You have to love it to be good at it, because you have to have the patience to stick with a tricky problem, even if you aren't getting anywhere quickly. If you really want to, and if you are persistent, you will do well.

I'll try my best.



*Abstract algebra is a subject about algebra of objects that may or may not be numbers. These objects could be all of the numbers, certain types of numbers, remainders, symmetries, systems of equations, the arrangements of sets of objects, or something else entirely. It's easier than it sounds.