CS371p Week 4

What did you do this past week?

This past week was much the same as last week. I finished many Chinese assignments, finally completed the first project of this class, and did another Algorithms' problem set that I had quite a bit of difficulty with. I started studying for my next Chinese test already since I have one almost every other week.

What's in your way?

As it seems it will always be, Algorithms is still my most difficult class and the one I have the most trouble with even though it has the fewest assignments of all my classes. It is just very difficult to wrap my head around how to do proofs of any kind, and even though I understand their purpose and procedure, I always struggle anew with each problem I attempt.

What will you do next week?

Next week I will start looking for a partner to do the next project with, and I am very curious to see the details of it. I will do another problem set for Algorithms, though this week might be slightly easier since the topic of last week was less focused on proofs than previous weeks. I also have my second Chinese test of the semester I will be studying for so hopefully I do well.

What was your experience of Project 1?

Project 1 was an interesting experience. It took quite a bit less time to do than I approximated, though my first guess was just that, a wild guess. As hinted at in class, most of my time on the project was spent on the requirements for submission rather than the actual algorithm itself. Although the algorithm was enjoyable enough to implement and optimize. I don't believe it was overkill though because those requirements taught me a lot more about how tools like git, docker, and formatting tools function.

What's your pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?

My tip of the week is when studying for a test, study a little bit, every day, for many days in advance rather than many hours at a time just a day or two before the test. In my experience, you will definitely thank yourself when it comes time for the test. You will be less stressed leading up to the test, and you will do better since you will have been absorbing the material for much longer.