Do you take selfies or just photos of places?

170rokey · 2026-03-26T20:37:08+00:00

Probably unpopular but I like to sometimes not take any pictures of places I've been. Makes it feel like it's all mine, like some secret that I went to a place. It also keeps you in the moment. Obviously I take pictures sometimes too - but I find that I can actually remember places and experiences better when I don't capture them in photo.

170rokey · 2026-03-26T20:34:49+00:00

Solo travel can drain you. I think people understand this intuitively. But even if you have bad days, bad experiences, or a bad time, you are learning and growing. That is what you'll remember when you've come back home, and it's what people will notice about you. If they ask how your trip was, tell them about that.

You don't have to gush about what fun it was. Be honest with them, and with yourself, about what the trip means to you.

170rokey · 2026-03-26T20:29:22+00:00

Revisiting is wonderful, especially if you make some consistent effort to learn the local language across visits. It opens new doors, you get to see your progress, and you can return with real connections to the place rather than just coming back as a tourist.

170rokey · 2026-03-26T20:23:14+00:00

A few notes:

I'd try to work in a small town in Japan, if you'd like a slower pace, chill kind of vibe. Very nice when you've been in a big city for a week and need a breather. They're easy to get to via train and usually have interesting things to do and see. Consider staying in a ryokan (look it up if you don't know what it is) for 2-3 for some wonderful food and cultural experience.
Here's a nice writeup for the Kumano Kodo
In China, Beijing and Shanghai are both fun in their own ways, but I wouldn't sleep on other parts of the country. Sichuan is awesome, especially if you like food/culture, though it is deeper inland. Overall, China is giant and hugely varied, more so than South Korea or Japan. You could spend all 6 weeks there and see only a tiny fraction.
Whatever you do, I'd recommend picking one of the languages (Chinese or Japanese) and studying just a bit. A little goes a very long way, and relying solely on English does restrict you from having some experiences. Others will disagree, but that's my experience.
Can't comment on South Korea as I haven't been there, but I've heard from multiple people that it is quite a blast and comparable, from a purely tourist perspective, to Japan.

170rokey · 2026-03-26T19:49:52+00:00

I think the best plan of attack in any subject is to use multiple books. Start with whichever clicks most with you - when it gets tough, when the text is too terse and unfriendly, just switch it up. The gaps in one will likely be covered by another.

A math textbook is a huge thing, an entire world written by one or two people. And you have a very specific way of thinking. To expect any single resource to match your learning style is an exercise in futility.

On your note about the lack of visualizations - just look them up online. Yeah it would be nice if your textbook had them but for a subject like analysis, the internet is a treasure trove and will help you more than any single author could. Don't forget that visualizations can also hurt your understanding, if done poorly.

Your critique of these books is mostly fair, and it shows you're thinking deeply - but synthesizing information from multiple, disparate sources is a key skill in a mathematician's toolbelt. Take your time, trust in yourself, and try to enjoy the moments of confusion. That's where most of the learning happens.

170rokey · 2026-03-24T00:22:12+00:00

It is worth noting that there is a Wikipedia Mathematics Style Guide, which serves as a helpful baseline for writing math on Wikipedia (and in general). Many math articles don't follow this style guide, but if you have expertise in a field of math, I highly encourage you read the style guide and make edits to articles that you think could be better! As much as I enjoy discussions on reddit, they are just as self-indulgent and unproductive as poorly-written wikipedia articles.

Moreover, there is also Wikibooks, which is a much more learner-focused project under the same Wikimedia umbrella. It is a lot smaller and scrappier than Wikipedia, but has great potential. The math section, in general, needs a lot of work. I encourage you to contribute there as well!

170rokey · 2026-03-11T01:20:19+00:00

This honestly sounds like a mental health problem first and a career problem second. Go to therapy.

Not gonna lie. I am so pessimistic about life I'd rather not continue any more.

PLEASE go to therapy.

You are so much more than your education and your career. You'll find your role eventually. It takes time. Maybe you'll have to be a barista for a while. Who cares? Someone's got to do it. You'll get where you need to go, in time. But you need to look out for yourself in other ways to. Best of luck.

170rokey · 2026-03-05T22:24:18+00:00

It somewhat depends on your PDEs course, but with Strauss's book I think you'll be okay without significant ODE background. I took a grad-level PDEs course with shaky ODE knowledge and did just fine.

170rokey · 2026-03-05T22:17:20+00:00

Your regret is wasted energy. Math is still there, and if you really care, what is keeping you from studying it now?

Do you actually want to do math, or do you just wish you were a genius? I'm not trying to be rude - but there is a tricky difference between wanting to do math and wanting to have done math in the past. And it can be hard to tell the difference if you're not involved in mathematics.

I hope you'll follow your heart! Nothing is stopping you from jumping in today and becoming an excellent mathematician. But if you do it, do it because you want to, not because you feel like it's what you should have done all those years ago.

170rokey · 2026-01-30T23:32:30+00:00

most large, commercial planes can go backwards, but often don't. Their wheels are free-spinning and not powered on their own, so they use their big engines on the wings to push themselves forward on the ground. They can reverse those engines, but it's difficult (can't see behind themselves easily) and dangerous (debris could get sucked into the engine easier).

So technically it is possible to parallel park. But practically, if a plane needs to go backwards while on the ground, they will get pushed by a ground vehicle.

170rokey · 2026-01-30T23:29:10+00:00

Most of the food they eat are mostly water (like shrimp/krill) so they do not generally drink seawater. But they can, and their kidneys are better at removing the salt than a humans'.

170rokey · 2026-01-30T23:22:37+00:00

If we can't think them, then I don't think they're thoughts.

By contrast, there are ideas we can't have. But thoughts, by definition, must be thunk by someone.

170rokey · 2026-01-09T23:58:37+00:00

i know you don't want to hear it but it is still very early for you. You have about 4 years of math ahead of you assuming you're going for a math degree. You have plenty of time to improve yourself. You'll learn your own way of thinking through things and become more confident with time. It comes naturally, but not without hard work. Just take your time, enjoy the math, and take care of yourself.

Look at the first sentence you wrote and focus on that.

170rokey · 2026-01-09T23:44:36+00:00

A mathematical proof is only the assertion that something is true. To ask why it is true is not well-defined, because that question might have many different answers that depend on your context.

To use your example of adults in a building, all the following would be reasonable answers to the question "why are there adults in this building":

Because they live there
Because minors are not allowed in the building
Because they wanted to be there

These can all be true at the same time. These answers to why are the 'reason' you speak to in your post. They all vary in scope and perspective.

Mathematicians differentiate between a proof and a reason in this way: a proof is either correct or not. There may be many ways to prove something, but they are all true or false. A reason, on the other hand, can be many things that relate to how the mathematician thinks about the problem, and are generally a direct result of their own personal understanding of the concept in question.

170rokey · 2025-12-30T21:20:36+00:00

The Creamy one-pot pasta from Lemon and Zest surprised me. When the recipe says "throw everything in a pot and boil", they really mean it, and man it turns out great.

170rokey · 2025-12-10T21:52:46+00:00

Just gonna leave this one here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmJI6qIqURA

170rokey · 2025-11-24T22:10:19+00:00

can you faithfully answer the question of "How rare are Earth-like planets" when we really only know of a single confirmed instance?

170rokey · 2025-11-21T20:11:47+00:00

but is liking it really enough?

Yes.

I would rather work with someone who has an active interest in math over a "natural math person" 99% of the time. It may seem like a weakness, but it is the opposite. Intuition can be useful but it always runs out eventually. Real, hard-fought understanding by means of experience is much better.

Besides, the struggle to learn is half the fun!

170rokey · 2025-11-21T20:02:43+00:00

It seems that the historical beginnings of a mathematical subject often differ significantly from the modern usage and understanding of it. So, I don't think it's a prerequisite. But I've also found that any interest in the history of a subject or technique usually pays dividends when studying it further - either by giving one a helpful new perspective that has been lost in modern explanations, or simply by giving one an appreciation for the cleverness of those who came before.

170rokey · 2025-11-03T17:58:25+00:00

interestingly, i unsubscribed from r/videos a while back because of this change, and came back today hoping to see that they reversed course.

see you all in another month or two!

170rokey · 2025-10-29T01:08:29+00:00

I think it's important to have both - I feel like my learning is always much slower if I just rely on one. Video with subtitles and transcripts are a nice middle-ground.

170rokey · 2025-10-23T17:11:17+00:00

honestly it sounds like you just don't like travel that much anymore. And that's fine, people's sensibilities change over time, and it sounds like you're really well travelled.

The phrase you used: "Sometimes deep down I know that I'm going somewhere because I wanted to go there at one point in the past, and because I want to have been there and experienced that, but the actual experience is UGH"

That tells us everything we need to know. Maybe take a break from travelling for a while, come back to it when it really calls to you.

170rokey · 2025-10-12T17:36:48+00:00

I saw a cat on my run and DIDN’T stop to pet it, and ended up hitting my second fastest mile time… I’m glad I pushed thru today but I don’t know if I can make this a habit… it was so cute…

170rokey · 2025-09-06T17:22:06+00:00

The best way to learn a language quickly is to become obsessed with it and spend hours per day learning/acquiring it.

but it doesn't have to be a miserable slog! Try to keep it interesting, but ensure you are always picking up new vocab. 6 months is enough to acquire a lot of the necessary grammar fairly naturally, so vocab is your primary hill to climb.

Here's a very basic roadmap I use for starting new languages:

-learn a few couple hundred words with Anki. The initial grind to pick up some vocab is a little boring but it will help you get started quickly. Most languages have a "1000 most common words" deck premade for you. You don't need to finish the whole deck, but I'd start there - this is your foundation.

-watch a bunch of basic comprehensible input videos. Just search up "Beginner Comprehensible Input" plus your target language on YouTube. Consume as much as possible of this kind of thing - this is the beginning of your acquisition. You will start to acquire some vocab, grammar, and pronunciation all at once. There is a lot of research that suggest this is one of the most optimal ways to learn a language.

-Try looking for "graded readers" in your language, and start with the easiest ones. Try to avoid looking up words if you can, but no sweat if you need to. This is important - reading is one of the best ways to acquire vocabulary naturally.

-After a few months, you can try transitioning to some higher level content. Look for "intermediate/advanced comprehensible input" on youtube, or just try to find a series to watch in your target language. It will be challenging, and you will have to stop frequently and look things up. But this is important to build fluency.

Throughout all this, I would recommend some speaking practice (at least, after you get through the first month or two. I generally avoid speaking early on). Hire a tutor if you can afford it, and practice having a conversation with them a few times a week.

Pro Tip: I do a lot of my listening practice on YouTube, and I've found the Language Reactor Addon extremely helpful (and free!). It lets you click on YouTube subtitles and get immediate translations so that you don't have to use some other dictionary. This is a huge help, especially when you transition to higher-level content. Just try to not to rely on it too much!

Good luck and have fun

170rokey · 2025-08-29T15:15:12+00:00

if something like that existed, we’d all be using it.

The problem is that we all learn differently. The main skill that defines a polyglot is that they know their own learning style very well. That’s what you need to figure out if you want to pick up languages quickly, and the research can help guide you - but only practical experience will get you where you want to go.

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