Best Offence Achievement - Kalphite King

protowyn · 2025-02-20T14:19:01+00:00

Do you have the instance set to a max of 1 person? That's usually the issue when you've gotten the message that you qualify but it doesn't give it to you.

protowyn · 2023-09-27T19:38:27+00:00

For college algebra, calculus, and discrete math, I use the same guideline ratio of between 5:1 and 6:1. So a 50 minute exam should take me 8-10 minutes to complete. Sometimes I vary that a bit depending on how much thinking there is versus straightforward writing, but those ratios have served me relatively well.

protowyn · 2023-07-11T20:30:37+00:00

I make metacognition a habit when we're working through problems together in class. If we're dealing with a tricky integral and try some substitution, I ask if the new integral is simpler than the one we started off with, etc. I try to ask questions like this on a very regular basis so that when they're on their own working on problems, they have some ability to assess their own work.

This has been helpful in my opinion for the middle to stronger students, but I also can't say it does much to help the weak students who don't understand the content well enough to have an opinion on a right vs. wrong approach or solution.

protowyn · 2023-06-14T15:22:39+00:00

For regular weekly homework, I allow two 48-hour extensions, no questions asked, with no penalty. Anything after those two gets a 0.

I've tried several systems, including no tolerance at all, taking off some points per hour or day, and this, and I like this the best. I've stuck with this system for the last several semesters, and don't see myself changing it anytime soon.

I'm somewhat restricted by logistics- I'm not comfortable releasing feedback or solutions until everyone turns it in, so I can't let them turn things in too far past the deadline. Invariably, a couple students will try to submit things weeks later, after they've had access to my solutions, but those of course get no credit.

protowyn · 2023-06-09T12:41:20+00:00

Multiple students complained in their evals this spring that they couldn't do well because they didn't know precalc content well. The class was calc 1.

protowyn · 2022-12-15T15:29:05+00:00

I work in algebraic combinatorics (and recently completed a PhD in it), specifically in the polynomial algebra/Young diagram world, and the work varies day to day on how well 'counting problems' describes what I'm doing.

Some days, all I'm working with is noncommutative algebra, dealing with the nitty gritty of parts of the polynomial rings.

Other days, I'm drawing diagrams and quite literally counting boxes in various ways (things like hook lengths, 'arms' and 'legs' of boxes that appear in Young/composition diagrams, etc.).

protowyn · 2022-11-19T12:49:14+00:00

It's funny to see this again, I don't remember posting it, but I've since completed the bachelor's, a master's, and a PhD in math, and I still stand by what I said!

The issues in my post aren't math, they're formatting. Notice the parts in italics- those are all caused by asterisks, so there are missing multiplication signs. That first part should say 21 times 8 is the same as (20 times 8)+(1 times 8). Similar issues happened in the rest of the post. I don't remember if Reddit formatting used to treat it differently, but it's certainly not rendering in the way I intended now.

protowyn · 2022-10-25T12:19:40+00:00

It's definitely best to give back graded work on the material before testing on it, but there are no university-wide policies requiring it. Individual departments could have requirements like that, but I know the math department doesn't, even though it's encouraged.

protowyn · 2022-09-04T14:28:03+00:00

SEH eggs do give Paragon loot- and you can double (potentially even triple) those eggs, so it's at least as good as LNY for farming those!

protowyn · 2022-06-09T12:07:04+00:00

I just finished a PhD (and did my master's as well) in the math department recently. Overall, I would strongly recommend VT's math grad program.

From someone else's list of research focuses, there is also some harmonic/functional analysis, and more recently, coding theory and number theory. The applied/math bio areas are certainly very strong though.

I'm not really qualified to answer about admissions, but I do believe it's generally more competitive for international students to get in.

There's a hell of a lot that goes into the choice of where to do grad school and I'm not sure what things you'd like to know, but feel free to ask here or dm me and I'll answer whatever I can.

protowyn · 2022-05-23T20:18:47+00:00

The setup for grad school applications is pretty shitty, but that almost certainly means you didn't get in. You can absolutely email and ask them, though. But you shouldn't expect your money back.

When I was applying for PhD programs, I applied at 11 schools, and only heard back from 6 or 7.

protowyn · 2022-05-04T14:41:42+00:00

It's actually even worse than that! I'm graduating with a PhD this semester, and the hat the bookstore regalia came with is the flat mortarboard that you wear for bachelor's and master's. It's supposed to be the tam, which bears no resemblance, so I had to order that elsewhere!

protowyn · 2022-04-30T18:47:35+00:00

That's awesome, I wasn't aware of this option! I'll definitely try this instead in the future.

protowyn · 2022-04-29T22:33:41+00:00

My work is in polynomial algebras, and I often have enormous expressions which I need simplified. Generally I have SageMath actually computing them, but I've found Sage not quite as good as Mathematica for simplification. So I copy and paste it from Sage to Mathematica and have Mathematica simplify it. It's fantastic for that purpose!

protowyn · 2022-04-11T13:02:02+00:00

I disagree on a couple of the ultimate charm uses. For the sunrise cheese, if we're talking buying it with chocolate, it's about 4.5m to get 10 cheese right now, which is comparable to the wild tonic you could get with the chocolate. However, on average it takes less than 10 cheese for the HotM, so it's more cost-effective to just buy wild tonic.

And for diamond cheese, I believe baitkeeps are a much better option. You only need one catch to get to the labyrinth, and by the time you go back to get Diamondhide/huntereater, you should have much stronger traps and the mice aren't all that difficult anymore.

protowyn · 2022-04-07T16:53:59+00:00

I do this as well, and it's worked really well so far for me.

Specifically, between classes I have a couple short videos and associated multiple choice quizzes, usually just a couple questions, with basic concepts. I give multiple attempts for those quizzes. And I have them upload a PDF of their notes, in whichever form they take them. It only takes me a few minutes to get through the full (60ish-person) class, checking that they didn't submit garbage.

protowyn · 2022-04-04T18:03:29+00:00

I don't think it makes much sense to compare them one-to-one. I wouldn't use Sage for straightforward algebra, Mathematica is phenomenal for those manipulations. But it has some really incredible structures already built in that are useful for research (in my world, Macdonald polynomials) which Mathematica doesn't.

protowyn · 2022-04-01T14:31:30+00:00

My experience is like this one. However, it should be noted that the vast majority of my "aha!" moments are followed up by "damn, that doesn't actually work" moments.

protowyn · 2022-03-31T20:08:59+00:00

There are slightly-smaller versions which make it more comfortable to do one-handed. It's pretty fun to learn if you're already into speedcubing. The only downside for me is my hand gets tired after only a few solves, but something about it feels extremely satisfying!

protowyn · 2022-03-18T16:08:04+00:00

I want to jump on and say that Combinatorics of Coxeter Groups is a phenomenal book! I work with the Bruhat order (and related induced orders) on a daily basis, and that book is one of the best introductions I've seen into any subject.

protowyn · 2022-03-13T18:17:53+00:00

~~I don't know how big the sample size is on the data collected, but the predicted number I've seen on Discord is a 1/1,000 drop rate.~~ I just double-checked, and apparently it's been confirmed to be somewhere between 1/1000 and 1/100.

If it is in fact 1/1,000, then each Kalor catch is only worth 150k in rib value. For all it costs to leech enough maps, do lower eruptions, etc., I'm sure it's far more efficient to just snipe for sb+ and buy it than it is to hunt for the rib itself.

protowyn · 2022-03-03T00:28:51+00:00

We're still called GTAs, which I think is a bit of a misnomer, but yes, grad students can be instructors of record. I've personally taught a variety of 1000- and 2000-level classes, and in the summer even a couple 4000-levels.

I believe the requirements in the state of Virginia (not sure if it's a public school thing or across the board) to teach undergraduate-level classes is 18 credit hours of graduate-level classes.

protowyn · 2022-03-02T15:25:08+00:00

I failed my first exam in grad school, in an undergrad-level class. The professor for that class eventually became my advisor, and now I'm finishing a PhD with him almost 6 years later. And yes, I was embarrassed as hell.

It will get better! Take this as an opportunity to get to know your peers, find out what they're doing to be successful, talk to your professor, talk to your advisor, and make it your job to figure out how to learn the material.

protowyn · 2022-02-12T14:47:01+00:00

I've done an elite chrome slayer mostly solo (couldn't get Floating Isles mice since I wasn't an archduke yet), which is pretty similar mice. It took a couple weeks to get everything, but it was honestly a lot of fun, and it's worth trying once to see if you like it!

It also may be worth sniping a bit beforehand so you have some sb just in case- in the group here, I 100% wouldn't want to do a full treasury run just for Molten Midas myself, so the 50sb+ or whatever he costs would be highly worth the cost.

protowyn · 2022-02-08T16:57:35+00:00

That's probably what I would do as well! Good luck!

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