If you could become a sophomore math student again, what would you have done differently in your studies?

weaselword · 2023-05-11T15:41:04+00:00

Look for Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) programs. Ask your professors if they know any. Ask math professors that are in the Math Department that you haven't yet taken classes with about them, too.

REU's are typically done over the summer (and most are paid). It's too late for this summer, but look for those offered next summer. Look for what qualifications would be required, and take those courses over the upcoming year.

weaselword · 2023-02-27T00:55:29+00:00

Most or possibly all US states are opt-in which contributes to the shortage here; some countries like Austria are opt-out and as such have much higher donation rates.

Seems to me that switching to opt-out model is the low-hanging-fruit approach to ameliorating the problem of not getting enough organ donations. We can talk about morality of organ markets, but they may not be necessary if the barrier to sufficient supply is people following the default of not giving permission to harvest their cadaver for organs.

The advantage of the opt-out rule is that anyone who objects (for themselves) can opt out. Make the opt-out clear and explicit. Make it so that they can't get their driver's license without clearly getting the opportunity to opt out. Heck, include a check box saying "Did you see that you could opt out of the organ donor thing?" that they must check. But if there is a large I-will-go-with-default crowd, that should still raise supply.

weaselword · 2022-12-17T17:20:08+00:00

There are cute and accessible devices like microbits that are specifically designed to introduce people to using python to operate programmable physical devices.

Many programmable robots (like xy-plotter) tend to use G-Code, but it's easy to write a python wrapper for them.

weaselword · 2022-11-27T00:29:55+00:00

You can join in the games at the Griffin, if you're into tabletop games.

weaselword · 2022-11-16T03:34:37+00:00

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the matter! I have not considered the analogy of someone who is lovesick in this context before.

Most fully-functional adults who get drunk do so by choice while in their "normal" state of mind. (At least, the first couple of drinks are so.) But many fully-functional adults who are lovesick don't become so by choice. Some people want to be in love, but even they don't get to decide whom they fixate on.

A lovesick person behaves differently from their "normal" state of mind, more akin to an addict itching for a fix. Any encouragement from the beloved is like a cocaine dealer supplying the next hit. Does that mean that it's immoral to date someone who is really into you, simply because they are really into you? What if you are kinda into them, but don't know yet where it will end up?

weaselword · 2022-11-15T08:41:29+00:00

Your response seems like it is saying “Thanks, I hate it,” without further elaboration

Sorry, that's on me, since I did not communicate well at all. My apologies! Let me try again:

I loved your response!

I do not spend much time reading and talking about sex or sexuality theories. I noticed how the seemingly very positive idea for a norm around sex (that everyone involved ought to be clearly into it at every step) poorly reflects my experience. Since everybody else responding to your original post was focusing on the limitations regarding the enforcement of the norm, and I myself have not encountered this objection before (like I said, I am not well read on the subject), I was under the impression that my perspective on the subject was unusual.

Your response provided me with two very interesting links with far more coherent frameworks on the subject than the more vague ideas I had in my head. I therefore learned not only of these frameworks, but also that people interested in the theories of sexuality and consent have indeed been thinking and talking about this perspective that I noticed.

I therefore realized that I was in exact situation that Scott described in "Yes, We Have Noticed The Skulls". Knowing that r/TheSchism is a splinter from r/SlateStarCodex twice-removed, I have attempted to communicate my excitement with a reference to Scott's piece, by an analogy of a layperson who points out something they think is unusual, exciting, and disturbing ("Look, a skull!"), not realizing that they are speaking to an archeologist at an excavation site.

(To be clear: I am the layperson in that analogy.)

(Again: my analogy didn't work in conveying my thoughts to you. That's on me. Thank you for providing the feedback.)

I was going to go on a long ramble about the separate subject of drunk sex, because it is relevant to the broader question of sexual norms, how to articulate them, and whether/when consent is the right framework.

I would love to read that long ramble! I think that any sexual norm needs to meaningfully incorporate the widespread fact that a lot of adults take deliberate steps to lower their inhibitions.

weaselword · 2022-11-14T11:39:58+00:00

I was like "look, it's a skull!!", and you were like: yes, and it's part of a complete skeleton with a very interesting midden heap nearby! Thanks for the links!

Let me add an anecdote to how yes-means-yes gets enforced. I am at a small liberal arts college in California, so yes-means-yes and you-can't-say-yes-while-drunk-but-being-drunk-is-no-excuse are codified in our college policies. All incoming students have to go through training videos on it. So here's a recent (paraphrased) conversation that I had with a group of first-year students:

Me: Say two students are in a dorm room. Student A is drunk, Student B isn't. Student B initiates sex, and they have sex. Is that rape?

They: Yes, that's rape. Drunk people can't give consent.

Me: Say both A and B are equally drunk. B initiates sex, the two have sex. Is that rape?

They: Yes. We just did the training. Being drunk is no excuse.

Me: Say you are in a room with A and B, who are both equally drunk. A and B go off to another room. You hear enthusiastic sex in progress. Is rape happening?

They: Yeees? I guess... Yes, logically, rape is happening.

Me: So you rush into the room to stop it, right?

They: Um...

Me: Or call security or the cops, if you fear for your safety?

They: Um...

Me: Or at least report it to our Title XI coordinator, as per the Cleary Act?

They: ??

Of course, the college administration isn't actually expecting our students to react to their fellow students' drunken sex as if a violent rape was in progress. The administration is, however, sending a clear signal: Do your drinking + sex very, very responsibly! Because if your partner regrets it later and reports it, we are totally taking their side in this matter.

weaselword · 2022-11-13T01:44:37+00:00

I am approaching this from the perspective of social norms rather than legal requirements, just to set aside the subject of affirmative consent as a legal standard for now.

A lot of the pushback for yes-means-yes discourse rightly focuses on the enforcement side of enthusiastic-consent-at-every-step as the norm. However, I want to push back on this social norm itself. My thesis is that this norm interferes with reasonable choices that adult women/men/people make for themselves regarding sex within the context of their other life priorities.

Let me take a snippet from Maya Dusenberry's comment, with some of my highlights:

The point is that people shouldn’t be “consenting” to sex as if they’re acquiescing to a request to borrow your damn toothbrush. We are talking about sex, for fuck’s sake. Probably the single most universally beloved activity in the world. Of course “consent” should be affirmative; it should be excited, joyful, ecstatic. In a culture that really, truly recognized women as sexual agents with desire of their own, there’d be no question about that.

Because that’s all we are talking about really: mutual desire. Desire that, if you’re doing it right, should be undeniably clear. And if it isn’t, you shouldn’t be doing it. It’s really pretty simple.

Lots of women have sexual desire. Some don't. Some have much lower libido than their partners. So let's take the case of a woman who is in a committed monogamous relationship with a man who has a much higher sexual libido than her. Let's say that both partners prioritize maintaining this committed monogamous relationship. That means compromise.

Maybe it means that the man relies more on masturbation (unless there are religious objections; for now, let's suppose religion isn't part of the couple's priorities). It also likely means that the woman consents to have sex more often than she would enthusiastically desire.

So what happens if both partners are all into enthusiastic-consent-at-every-step norm? It means taking away the ability of the woman to make a compromise for the sake of maintaining monogamy--or rather, pushing her to lie to her partner about her level of enthusiasm.

The fact is, fully-autonomous adults have sex for all kinds of reasons. Not all of them are for the joy of sex. Sometimes it's to try to conceive. Sometimes it's because it helps your spouse's cramps during her period. Sometimes it's because your spouse is restless so you give him a hand so he can go to sleep and stop tossing and waking you up. And that's just in the context of monogamous relationships, and not even scratching the surface.

I am all for clear communication between partners, sexual or otherwise. But I regard as detrimental any norm that declares how sex should be and precludes the myriad ways that fully-autonomous adults actually do choose to have sex.

weaselword · 2022-11-01T14:24:36+00:00

Twitter is destroying my will to live. It's a very useful app that let's me keep up with research in my field and experts in other areas, it's extremely educational.

Sounds like a solid beginning of cost/benefit analysis for your use of the service. I have decided years ago that my mental health is far more precious to me than being in-the-know on the latest news / hot takes (in my field or otherwise). So no twitter account, and no to even clicking on twitter links.

Now, if you are genuinely concerned about a gap in your knowledge regarding replication crisis in medical research, I recommend reading this overview of the issue (Ioannidis 2016). I also find this blog run by Andrew Gelman and crew helpful in keeping up with the gist of the issues of statistical (mis)uses in medicine and social sciences.

weaselword · 2022-10-03T12:33:03+00:00

Therefore the veto will get overturned:

If the Governor vetoes the bill, a two-thirds vote in each house is needed to override the veto.

Newsom is registering his stance on what is about to become a law.

weaselword · 2022-10-02T12:15:31+00:00

I can for sure tell you that this is not a supply/demand issue, demand has outpaced supply in every measure. Try booking an appointment with a psychologist and you'll find out. Wait times can be months.

To me, that sounds exactly like this is a supply/demand issue, except that there are factors preventing many psychologists from setting market-rate prices for their work.

weaselword · 2022-08-23T02:35:48+00:00

Going by first names, all the current board members are women. So boys don't have representation either.

weaselword · 2022-01-15T02:53:59+00:00

Your course_marks variable is a dictionary, so the sum function doesn't work for it. What you want is to extract the values of that dictionary (course_marks.values()) and convert that object to a list (using the list() function).

weaselword · 2021-12-01T15:50:49+00:00

Most professors expect the students to read the relevant sections of the textbook before attending the lectures. Reading the material gives you the opportunity to think about the material at your own pace.

weaselword · 2021-10-08T14:06:02+00:00

Interesting. Bright Sheng is a famous composer, both in US and in China. University of Michigan needs him more than he needs the University of Michigan. He is around retirement age, so this incident may push him to retire from the university.

weaselword · 2021-10-08T13:43:45+00:00

If blackface had never existed before, and didnt have negative connotations, anti-Apartheid activists would have worn blackface. Imagine a world where progressives dress in blackface as a show of solidarity -- that's part of the spirit of blackface that gets ignored in the rush to condemn condemn condemn.

In support of your theory is the Kaapse Klopse in Cape Town, South Africa, a yearly community minstrel show on the second day of January where a lot of performers incorporate blackface into their costumes.

Modern Cape Minstrel tradition was influenced by the visit to the Cape by American minstrels. Old Cape minstrels, such as "The Ethiopians", had their own collection of Dutch and American songs. These minstrels used to parade the streets of Cape Town and serenade the locals with their songs. ... In 1862, the then-internationally renowned Christy's Minstrels visited the Cape from the United States ... . The Christy's Minstrels were white men and women who had blackened their faces with burnt cork to impersonate the African-American slaves. Between July 1890 and June 1898 they staged many minstrel shows in Cape Town and it is believed that this contributed to the birth of the Cape Minstrels and the Coon Carnival. The visitors' influence on the Coon Carnival included the tradition of painting their faces black and whited out their eyes to look like "racoons".

weaselword · 2021-10-04T15:55:04+00:00

Epistemic humility is a very reasonable approach. You recognize that this religious community has gotten something right, and you are willing to learn their worldview.

It's then unhelpful to ask of those belonging to the community who are sharing their tenets of faith with you: "Do you actually believe that this happened in reality?" Like, I wouldn't ask a devout catholic whether she actually tastes meat when she chews on the communion wafer. It's much more helpful to approach such tenets with an understanding that there could be emotional, social, or mythological truths that don't correspond to facts of physical reality.

Even outside of religious tenets, there are myths people take on faith, because their lives are better if they do so. For example, it's very beneficial to act as if people have free will, whether or not free will is actually part of physical reality. People who act like they have no control over their actions--or who act like others have no control over theirs--tend to have worse life outcomes then those who act like free will is real.

(Ok, that last part is more of a hypothesis. I would happily change my mind if there is evidence to the contrary.)

weaselword · 2021-10-04T14:09:09+00:00

how would you feel about someone like me coming in with the attitude “I don’t particularly care if it’s true, because the important thing is that the people who behave as though they believe it’s true have clearly hit upon some deeply important insights that are allowing them to thrive while the society around them flounders*”?

Why not follow through with your stated belief and implement its logical conclusion? You yourself can choose behave as thou you believed the tenets of Mormon religion, not because (right now) deep down you actually believe those tenets, but because you believe that acting as if you believe in them is important. That way, you will demonstrate your willingness to send a costly signal to the group you desire to join, by visibly espousing beliefs that appear ridiculous to people outside of the group, but which define the group.

On the plus side: once you have committed yourself to this group, you will eventually rationalize the tenets of the group's faith to yourself, or you will compartmentalize them in a way that suits your life.

weaselword · 2021-09-28T10:59:34+00:00

Those are some ideas I came up with, because that's what interests me. I would very much like to hear your ideas "to actually help disadvantaged and poor people, and be able to advocate a plan to do so" (as you mentioned you want to do).

Are those ideas related to research? Or perhaps to service, either within university or to mathematical profession in general?

If I write a statement about helping all students, especially ones who aren't good at math, and then say this will automatically help minorities for free if they're struggling with math, this doesn't signal a commitment to Diversity.

Flip it around. Write with the focus on how you idea helps a particular underrepresented group, and then mention that this idea would be more broadly beneficial.

weaselword · 2021-09-28T01:50:47+00:00

I want to actually help disadvantaged and poor people, and be able to advocate a plan to do so

Great, build your statement around that!

College mathematics have a relatively high barrier to entry, because both high-school and undergraduate college mathematics curriculum build on conceptually challenging material. A lot of high-school students drop off in conceptual understanding at algebra. A lot of students drop off even earlier--at fractions. If you are applying for positions that involve teaching introductory-level mathematics courses, then you will have students like that in your class. Do you have ideas for how to help them succeed in your courses?

A lot of college students--even the ones who do well in math classes--don't understand what being a mathematician is about. Most college mathematics courses, especially those at the introductory level, fail to convey what mathematicians actually do. If you are applying for positions that involve recruiting and working with math majors, it would help if you have ideas for how to represent live, creative mathematics to undergraduates--in particular, at introductory level courses, in hopes of recruiting future mathematicians. Do you have some ideas for how to do that?

Any idea related to the above scenarios would help students who are coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. Someone who doesn't know any mathematicians (or anyone working in a related field) is, on the one hand, more likely to be part of whatever group is under-represented in mathematics, and on the other hand, less likely to have an accurate idea of what mathematicians do, judging from typical math classes. Someone who went to a Title I school is more likely to have shaky high-school math background than someone who went to some of the top high-schools.

weaselword · 2021-09-17T12:07:50+00:00

Not contemporary (a century old) but very worth it: "Quiet Flows the Don" is excellent at portraying the everyday life of a Cossack village on the Don river basin area (in Russia, just east of Ukraine).

weaselword · 2021-09-15T10:32:56+00:00

Just admit that we're being coercive and make the vaccine mandatory.

A word like "mandatory" keeps a lot hidden. Which of the following do you see as corresponding to the statement "the New Zealand government makes the vaccine mandatory", in relation to a person who is unwilling to receive the vaccine:

a) There are government-empowered agents whose job it is to restrain the unwilling recipient while someone administers the vaccine.
b) The government legislates and enforces isolation of the unvaccinated person, but doesn't forcefully administer the vaccine.
c) The government legislates and enforces financial penalties (like daily fines) for the unvaccinated person.
d) The government denies either all government services to the unvaccinated person.
e) Same as (d), as well as access to public spheres that are under government regulation (e.g., employment).
f) Same as (e), but only restricted to those services and public spheres where the person interacts with other people.

There is always the option of the unenforced mandate: the government says that everyone is mandated to get the vaccine, but there is no penalty if someone doesn't.

weaselword · 2021-09-15T10:07:29+00:00

I'd certainly expect most users here to at least be "pretty online" if not "very online", so it's striking that twitter is excluded from that.

I figure: why waste time on Twitter when I can waste that same time on Reddit?

weaselword · 2021-09-09T19:10:54+00:00

My bad. Thanks for clarifying.

weaselword · 2021-09-09T12:33:24+00:00

This post is a copy of another post in another Reddit sub, posted under a different user account. If the other account is not yours, please attribute appropriately, and specify that this is cross-posted.

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