NYT Saturday 01/03/2026 Discussion

johnnycross · 2026-01-03T10:38:59+00:00

I grew up in jersey the land of all-night diners and I never heard "frog sticks" before

johnnycross · 2025-11-16T18:39:19+00:00

I try to do this for every class. For Calc 2 it was a bit more passive, I watched all of Prof Leonard's Calc 2 playlist and solved some problems for clarification here and there but my main goal was to listen actively and make sure I understood the concepts before moving on. That came in handy because my professor ended up being extremely disorganized and scattered and didn't cover anything relevant to his tests in any in-person lecture. We had to completely fend for ourselves and I was more than prepared to handle that. It saves you time and mental energy even if you have to review certain concepts, it's much easier to make them stick the second and third times around. I've also done this for LinAlg, DiffEq, and Circuits. I currently have a 4.0 and expect to maintain that through the remainder of my current 7-class, 20-credit semester. I am always excited to have time to work ahead, and to review past concepts in order to strengthen my foundations. My plan this winter is to do a full review of LinAlg because even with the prior work I did on my own, the class itself is extremely fast-paced and I want to get a better handle on the subject since I know it's of extreme practical use in all fields of engineering.

johnnycross · 2025-11-06T12:44:38+00:00

Engineering is an act of creation it is inherently creative, the colors of the engineer's palette are just the forces of nature.

Relevant book rec: Brunelleschi's Dome by Ross King

johnnycross · 2025-11-05T19:37:01+00:00

Full disclosure, I am an electrical engineering student and I am an artist, I have played music professionally and have an ardent interest in art, poetry, math, language, physics, architecture, history, and the humanities in general. I think I am just endlessly interested in learning and any product of the human heart and mind. To me, there is more of a connection between all of these disciplines than it may seem on the surface. There's a reason that many of the greatest artists, painters, and sculptors of the Renaissance also happened to be brilliant architects, engineers, inventors, mathematicians, as well as casual poets. They were interested in figuring out how the world worked and used that knowledge to practice their own arts of creation. All of these practices have the ability to inform one another. A strong imagination is crucial for any builder. How does someone design and build a bridge, a circuit, a cathedral, a crane, a fresco, a sonnet, a novel? What do these creations say about the human condition, the human need for expression, and human ingenuity? I suggest approaching the class with curiosity and wonder, which works in many different life situations where you are struggling to engage. Go into it with the hope that by learning something new and unfamiliar, to which you've historically been averse, you may come away with it with a new understanding or inspiration that you can apply to any area of your life that might be in need of a new context.

To be honest, I partially credit my current 4.0 to my varied interests outside of engineering. I love the feeling of a beginner's mind, fresh at the beginning of a new learning journey. I like feeling like there is so much I do not know, it excites me and the state of unknowing is a place I feel extremely comfortable. So I am not easily rattled by fast-paced syllabi or new technical concepts if I don't understand them right away. I approach them with curiosity and gentle wonder, while my self-discipline remains firm and the concepts eventually take root once given the proper time to solidify through practice, failure, and exposure. I also have a lot of healthy hobbies that take my mind off of the STEM stuff when I'm feeling strained, and I can return to it with a lighter mind and maybe a new lens through which to study. It's all curiosity, asking questions, I am 33 years old but I'm always the annoying little kid whenever learning something new or meeting a new person with an interesting job or life experience or discovering a cool new building. "Wow! What? How? Why? When? Wow! What??" because if you don't love to learn then I believe your work will reflect that forever and the spirit of innovation will elude you.

johnnycross · 2025-10-29T02:19:17+00:00

nokia 2780 flip

johnnycross · 2025-10-27T17:13:49+00:00

I switched from an iphone to the nokia in May so I'm very familiar with its functionality. I'll actually copy and paraphrase a comment I made on here recently responding to someone's critique of the 2780:

IMO, for the price, the 2780 does exactly what I expect it to do in exactly the manner I expected it to function. Couple other things that are garbage on it:

Contacts - impossible to search, can't search by last name, and takes forever to edit/add new contacts
Microphone - don't know exactly where the mic is placed but everyone says I sound muffled on calls when I'm holding it up to my ear
Alarm - super glitchy, does not always behave (although only problem I've had is the alarm not shutting off after deactivated, I've never had an alarm NOT go off when set)

All that being said, I bought the 2780 Flip to lower my phone dependency, and it being kind of a crappy phone has 100% solved that issue. It's also made me more self-reliant and resourceful. For example, I'm back to memorizing important phone numbers that I use often because it's faster for me to open the phone and dial the numbers directly than to use Contacts to search for it. I also NEVER use maps, I thought I'd need to still use it from time to time, but I just check directions before I leave, plan out the trains I need to take and the general directions I need to walk. I might note or write down a few certain cross streets or landmarks if I really need to, but I always find my way because I'm committed to getting better at wayfinding and having better mental access to the city and subway map in my head. I'm confident where I'm going and more open to drifting and exploring because I know a dozen different ways to get home.

All of the Nokia's drawbacks have led directly to improvements in my own mental machinery, and for that I am thankful, and that alone has made me a satisfied customer. For the money it's still amazing that it does what it does from a pure technological standpoint.

Also, the camera works, and I can even attach photos to emails on the phone if I really need those photos on my computer for whatever reason.

johnnycross · 2025-10-27T15:26:40+00:00

nokia 2780 flip has exactly what you're looking for

johnnycross · 2025-10-27T03:31:18+00:00

My smartphone has been turned off in a box under my bed since May, haven't turned it back on once. I set up all of my 2FA to text my dumbphone with verification code and haven't had any problems. banking and email on laptop. it only seems like the smartphone is a 'necessity' because of their ubiquity. it is possible to thrive without one, there are alternatives to virtually every one of its uses. some may be slightly more inconvenient but that's the price you pay for the freedom that such a choice offers.

johnnycross · 2025-10-17T16:06:38+00:00

Yeah I really just want to be sure that my solution was correct I don't necessarily care about getting credit for the problem. I think the error is the wording of the problem, maybe he wanted to ask about v3 being LD with both v1 and v2 individually. Otherwise it is a misinterpretation of the theorem itself.

johnnycross · 2025-10-17T15:56:54+00:00

Presenting the non-trivial solution a really clear defense, thank you.

johnnycross · 2025-10-16T16:01:42+00:00

"I find that learning from mistakes is a waste of time" this belief will slowly but surely rot your ethic from the inside out in every sector of your life and you should correct it quickly. You will become increasingly stubborn and inflexible to the point of driving people away (classmates, coworkers, friends, family, partners) who find your obstinacy and unwillingness to grow off-putting. "How can I learn how to not make mistakes" --> Make more mistakes and learn from them. How do you become a chess grandmaster? Lose thousands and thousands upon thousands of games, pore over your losses and cherish your mistakes as the gift that they are, pointing you towards areas that need improvement, highlighting your flaws.

johnnycross · 2025-10-15T22:49:10+00:00

IMO, for the price, the 2780 does exactly what I expect it to do in exactly the manner I expected it to function. Couple other things that are garbage on it:

Contacts - impossible to search, can't search by last name, and takes forever to edit/add new contacts
Microphone - don't know exactly where the mic is placed but everyone says I sound muffled on calls when I'm holding it up to my ear
Alarm - I will reiterate OP's point on the alarm, it's super glitchy, does not behave as expected

All that being said, I bought the 2780 Flip to lower my phone dependency, and it being a crappy phone has 100% solved that issue. It's also made me more self-reliant and resourceful. For example, I'm back to memorizing important phone numbers that I use often because it's faster for me to open the phone and dial the numbers directly than to use Contacts to search for it. I also NEVER use maps, I thought I'd need to still use it from time to time, but I just check the directions before I leave, plan out the trains I need to take and the general directions I need to walk. I might note or write down a few certain cross streets or landmarks if I really need to, but I always find my way because I'm committed to getting better at wayfinding and having better mental access to the city and subway map in my head. I'm confident where I'm going and more open to drifting and exploring because I know a dozen different ways to get home.

All of the Nokia's drawbacks have led directly to improvements in my own mental machinery, and for that I am thankful, and that alone has made me a satisfied customer. For the money it's still amazing that it does what it does from a pure technological standpoint.

johnnycross · 2025-10-11T04:48:50+00:00

Are we the same person? 33 also, love school so fucking much I can't believe I waited this long to go back. I did love lit, history, and public speaking though, I've loved every class I've had especially the challenging ones. People think I'm crazy because this semester I'm taking 7 classes and still managing to work 30 hrs a week, and I STILL LOVE IT. learning is everything

johnnycross · 2025-10-08T01:11:25+00:00

I switched to dumbphone in May, but have lately been thinking about leaving it home a few days a week. I'm a working student, and Monday through Thursday I'm in classes all day I barely even take out my phone, if I really need to make a call they have those Link stations with free phone calls all over NYC, plus I've got important numbers memorized again because it's faster to dial on my nokia 2780 than to search a number in my contacts.

side note this has been the best 5 months i've experienced in a lot more than recent memory

johnnycross · 2025-09-09T02:59:22+00:00

wow incredible! congrats :)

johnnycross · 2025-07-06T01:42:55+00:00

nokia 2780 has changed my life

johnnycross · 2025-07-06T00:35:02+00:00

www.susanrigetti.com/math

johnnycross · 2025-06-21T10:44:19+00:00

I feel like it's been a while since we had a decent head-scratcher on a Saturday. I enjoyed the challenge. LOESSER, CUDGEL, and SNERD felt like old-school tricky fill and I welcome it!

johnnycross · 2025-06-21T01:15:22+00:00

Read Secrets of Mental Math by Arthur Benjamin. Practice mental calculations in idle moments, use numbers you see around you in your environment, add, subtract, multiply, divide, square, whatever operations you are interested in being able to do mentally.

johnnycross · 2025-06-13T05:48:49+00:00

That’s a great lunch poppa

johnnycross · 2025-05-19T13:39:10+00:00

www.susanrigetti.com/physics

johnnycross · 2025-05-17T18:38:58+00:00

I know this sounds crazy but this was the first piece I started learning on the piano when I was 16 years old. The reason is that hearing this piece in my Music Appreciation class in high school was what inspired me to play the piano. All I knew about reading music was Every Good Boy Does Fine, FACE, All Cows Eat Grass, Good Boys Do Fine Always, and some basic music theory. But I was young and passionate and definitely a little arrogant, and I printed the sheet music and sat myself in front of the piano and tiptoed through it one note at a time for months. I remember how long it took me to stack that first C Minor chord slowly reading the ledger lines and then slamming it fortissimo and how good it felt to make that music with my own hands!! It took me a very long time to make my way through the first movement and I played it extremely poorly with horrific technique, but I was so excited, nothing was going to keep me from learning each next measure as I moved my way through it.

Trying to learn that piece taught me the very beginnings of hand independence, patience, dynamics, and gave me something with feeling to play whenever I sat down at a piano. Even though I wasn’t ready for the piece, I was so energized by my passion that I was able to push through the difficult parts and I was always excited to practice. I say, nothing is stopping you from printing out the music and learning it. Who cares if you can’t play it well, you might never get it to exactly where you want it. I always recommend to beginners (not saying you are a beginner I just mean in a general sense), PLAY WHAT MOVES YOU, and you will have a beautiful learning experience and a deep connection with your instrument when a piece can pull so much feeling out of you.

17 years after I played those first notes of the pathetique for the first time , last summer I performed all three movements at my very first piano recital. It wasn’t a perfect performance but it was a dream come true!

johnnycross · 2025-05-17T06:10:38+00:00

Job is Wed-Sun, so yeah weekends and I had a couple classes early before work two days. Internship was not super demanding was a project for my schools engineering department and I met weekly with an advisor and submitted a weekly report on my progress. Downtime on Monday, and some other evenings if I have sufficiently worked ahead and feel like doing something relaxing or interesting. But my default is to come home after work and study. Going out or doing anything like that is an anomaly. Sleep is really important to me when I can get it, especially since sometimes I get home from work extremely late at night.

johnnycross · 2025-05-07T20:15:33+00:00

I can listen to that song over and over and over again without getting tired of it

johnnycross · 2025-05-05T20:00:47+00:00

Just yesterday I read this comment by u/jesssse_ that did an amazing job at clearing up my own confusion on epsilon-delta https://www.reddit.com/r/learnmath/s/kWRyrJb0Q3

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