After 5 weeks of summer school, despite the toughness, discipline, and the not so fun homework with low score in tests/exams, I finally see the improvement "within" the students. Not only academically, but also personally. However, they are still kids!
Seeing them getting more focus and more discipline is nothing you can buy, it's just so precious. From cheating during the tests until able to control and be honest on their scores (Imagine that the temptation of cheating is very high since they just sit very close together).
Nothing is more important than the "right" attitude and behavior... academic is just something add-on on top of the quality of a human being.
I believe that these kids will be so strong in the future, they can face any tough situation and be able to handle them well. This is just great!
2009年8月12日星期三
2009年8月3日星期一
How to Count Without Counting
When I first saw the subtitle, I was so amazed there is a book in Math does sound like Philosophy! It's true that people have been spending time in a lot of unnecessary activities and decision making. A lot of people just spend too much time on doing something that could be done in a lot less time. That's the problem! People don't understand why we should save time! Most of us think that we can take our time to do things, well, it's just depend... (Another decision making moment).
The title of this book is "Mathematics of Choice". It's indeed very true that we have a choice, not only in Math. God has given us choices in life for many things. We make our own choices... Do we make a good choice? Or we has been spending time to make wrong choices all the time (there are a lot of people spending too much time making wrong decision...).
However, a lot of people don't want to save their time... people are generally stubborn.. haha... They want to stay at their own status instead of change (even though they always say that they wanna change) - I think this matches Newton's First Law! Or may be we are just too "Solid", where all molecules in solid state can't really move around, and can only have very limited movement unless some external "heat" or "forces" acted upon it. Wow! Our life is just so Mathematical and Scientific!
Well, our life has so many Combinations, Permutations and Distributions...
The title of this book is "Mathematics of Choice". It's indeed very true that we have a choice, not only in Math. God has given us choices in life for many things. We make our own choices... Do we make a good choice? Or we has been spending time to make wrong choices all the time (there are a lot of people spending too much time making wrong decision...).
However, a lot of people don't want to save their time... people are generally stubborn.. haha... They want to stay at their own status instead of change (even though they always say that they wanna change) - I think this matches Newton's First Law! Or may be we are just too "Solid", where all molecules in solid state can't really move around, and can only have very limited movement unless some external "heat" or "forces" acted upon it. Wow! Our life is just so Mathematical and Scientific!
Well, our life has so many Combinations, Permutations and Distributions...
I Remember...
To Honor Our Father...
I remember it was you, who always bought me something whenever you came back from a trip when I was a kid.
I remember it was you, who gave me a surprise birtday at my nursery school when I was 4.
I remember it was you, who prepared two movies for me everyday before I went to bed.
I remember it was you, who beat me up and then helped me to put on medicine when I was out of control.
I remember it was you, who always remembered what I like and bought me books even though you believe "book" would bring bad luck (in terms of gambling).
I remember it was you, who built up "whole room" of bookshelves in our study room.
I remember it was you, who always wanted to be the chef cooking for my guests whenever there was a chance.
I remember it was you, who always took us out for dim sum during the weekend, and spent the day with us.
I remember...
I remember it was you, who always bought me something whenever you came back from a trip when I was a kid.
I remember it was you, who gave me a surprise birtday at my nursery school when I was 4.
I remember it was you, who prepared two movies for me everyday before I went to bed.
I remember it was you, who beat me up and then helped me to put on medicine when I was out of control.
I remember it was you, who always remembered what I like and bought me books even though you believe "book" would bring bad luck (in terms of gambling).
I remember it was you, who built up "whole room" of bookshelves in our study room.
I remember it was you, who always wanted to be the chef cooking for my guests whenever there was a chance.
I remember it was you, who always took us out for dim sum during the weekend, and spent the day with us.
I remember...
2009年7月28日星期二
Something about Math - Career or/and Entrepreneur
Found these 2 articles, may help to explain the wonder of why Math? There are still a lot of articles out there, and of course the debate between the bright and dark sides of it.
Too much math will not be good, and knowing too little of it will not help either. We all need to know "adequate" - enough to function! How much is adequate? Technically, you don't WASTE time, resources, energy - yours or/and others... to do anything (well, don't take me wrong, we all still have to relax - therefore, we must be able to separate ourselves from working and relaxing - clear line between them!)
online.wsj.com/article/SB123119236117055127.htm
(This link may not work from here, copy and paste will work)
www.gaebler.com/Entrepreneurship-and-Math.htm
Too much math will not be good, and knowing too little of it will not help either. We all need to know "adequate" - enough to function! How much is adequate? Technically, you don't WASTE time, resources, energy - yours or/and others... to do anything (well, don't take me wrong, we all still have to relax - therefore, we must be able to separate ourselves from working and relaxing - clear line between them!)
online.wsj.com/article/SB123119236117055127.htm
(This link may not work from here, copy and paste will work)
www.gaebler.com/Entrepreneurship-and-Math.htm
2009年5月27日星期三
Smart Vs. Wisdom
It just strikes me when I was listening to a talk few days ago. I think we all actually aware that both smartness and wisdom are two totally different phenomena.
A smart person doesn't mean that he/she has wisdom. However, the reverse is true! A person with wisdom must be smart! Perhaps, I can say that the smart person without (much) wisdom is not that smart actually, and he/she is only on a lower level of smartness... just like myself... it's not easy to reach that level, and perhaps we need to spend our life to acheive it, which need a lot of discipline.
Smart people can solve problem, and can be very successful. On the other hand, people with wisdom, may not seem that successful, but they are happier.
This may be just my opinion, this world has put us into a tiny and narrow view to judge a person's success: in terms of materialistics, fame, power... Human is losing the power of judgement with wisdom...
A smart person doesn't mean that he/she has wisdom. However, the reverse is true! A person with wisdom must be smart! Perhaps, I can say that the smart person without (much) wisdom is not that smart actually, and he/she is only on a lower level of smartness... just like myself... it's not easy to reach that level, and perhaps we need to spend our life to acheive it, which need a lot of discipline.
Smart people can solve problem, and can be very successful. On the other hand, people with wisdom, may not seem that successful, but they are happier.
This may be just my opinion, this world has put us into a tiny and narrow view to judge a person's success: in terms of materialistics, fame, power... Human is losing the power of judgement with wisdom...
2009年5月6日星期三
Knowledge Vs. Morality
As someone who teaches, nurturing our new generation is the main mission. However, are we just nurturing "the knowledge"? How about the other side of being a "right" person for the society. Especially the Asian community, parents emphasis too much on studies and getting good jobs for the future, which leads to good grades in school. Is it about being a good students depends on how good the grades are?
There is no doubt that as students, the only focus is study and learn, but what is good if a person is good for knowledge and doesn't have a "heart"? Being in the "world" just for the materiality, without the "heart" of knowing the needs of others?
Perhaps being a "good person" is boring, but is that true? Well, yes or no, but we don't want to be just a good person, we want to be a "right" person! And define "good" and "right"... I think I'll let you to define them.
Here is something that I want to share:
Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve.
You don't have to have a college degree to serve,
you don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.
by - Somebody
There is no doubt that as students, the only focus is study and learn, but what is good if a person is good for knowledge and doesn't have a "heart"? Being in the "world" just for the materiality, without the "heart" of knowing the needs of others?
Perhaps being a "good person" is boring, but is that true? Well, yes or no, but we don't want to be just a good person, we want to be a "right" person! And define "good" and "right"... I think I'll let you to define them.
Here is something that I want to share:
Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve.
You don't have to have a college degree to serve,
you don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.
by - Somebody
2009年4月3日星期五
Who wants to be a Millionare?
Well, I have this book a while ago, and just found it again while I'm moving... Of course there is no free lunch, and you must work on it :D
The book title is "The Millennium Problems" - The 7 Greatest Unsolved Mathematical Puzzles of Our Time.
In May 2000, the CMI announced seven $1 Million prizes for the solution to each seven unsolved problems of Mathematics in Paris. There is a promotional site: www.claymath.org
Somehow, the problems are pretty interesting, and if someone would like to work on them, then you should check out the site...These are the topics:
1. The Music of Primes: The Riemann Hypothesis
2. The Fields We Are Made Of: Yang - Mills Theory and the Mass Gap Hypothesis
3. When Computers Fail: The P vs. NP Problem
4. Making Waves: The Navier-Stokes Equations
5. The Mathematics of Smooth Behavior: The Poincare Conjecture
6. Knowing When Equation Can't Be Solved: The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture
7. Geometry Without Pictures: The Hodge Conjecture
I have seen some of these when I was in college, back then... it's always complicated stuffs. Of course, I wish there were some books that can explain complicated items in a very simple way... but in order to understand complicated stuffs, and make it simple, we should go through a process of learning of complicated things, then we will understand what and how is simple.
People nowadays don't like to think, that's the problem why a lot of us actually take life for granted. Brains are not being used often... make me worry if human will be like those in Wall-E!
Anyway, hope some of you will enjoy the problems...
The book title is "The Millennium Problems" - The 7 Greatest Unsolved Mathematical Puzzles of Our Time.
In May 2000, the CMI announced seven $1 Million prizes for the solution to each seven unsolved problems of Mathematics in Paris. There is a promotional site: www.claymath.org
Somehow, the problems are pretty interesting, and if someone would like to work on them, then you should check out the site...These are the topics:
1. The Music of Primes: The Riemann Hypothesis
2. The Fields We Are Made Of: Yang - Mills Theory and the Mass Gap Hypothesis
3. When Computers Fail: The P vs. NP Problem
4. Making Waves: The Navier-Stokes Equations
5. The Mathematics of Smooth Behavior: The Poincare Conjecture
6. Knowing When Equation Can't Be Solved: The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture
7. Geometry Without Pictures: The Hodge Conjecture
I have seen some of these when I was in college, back then... it's always complicated stuffs. Of course, I wish there were some books that can explain complicated items in a very simple way... but in order to understand complicated stuffs, and make it simple, we should go through a process of learning of complicated things, then we will understand what and how is simple.
People nowadays don't like to think, that's the problem why a lot of us actually take life for granted. Brains are not being used often... make me worry if human will be like those in Wall-E!
Anyway, hope some of you will enjoy the problems...
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