The graduating thesis is really a minor matter; after all, writing papers has already merged into daily life. The key point is that, for various reasons, this semester I must take 10 credits of natural science courses, and I must also launch a decisive campaign against English. This means that my way of life this semester will definitely no longer be “ordinary”; I’ll have to live in a way I never have before.
At first I wanted to take biology as my science course. On the one hand, it might be of some use for my future specialization; on the other hand, it might be a bit easier to get through. But when I saw that every specialized course on the life sciences schedule came with an accompanying lab, I backed out. Although doing experiments is also the “experience of life” necessary for research in philosophy of science, I more or less already experienced that in high school, and I really don’t want to do any more experiments. Besides, biology might involve more memorization, and English is already enough of a burden for me; I don’t want to add to my troubles. After thinking it over and over, it still seemed most reassuring to choose my old line of work.
Originally, choosing a course in mathematical analysis or advanced algebra would have given me 5 credits, which would have been convenient. But because when I went to sign up for mathematical analysis last year I forgot to write my name on the course selection sheet, I ended up not getting into the class, and the entire 10-credit requirement has been pushed into this final semester. If I go back to sign up for mathematical analysis, I can only take the “second half” of it—in other words, this semester I would have to start in the middle, which is not very comfortable—so I didn’t choose it either.
In the end, what I decided to take (though I may still change it within the first two weeks) was: Mathematical Modeling (3 credits), Probability Theory (3 credits), and General Physics (4 credits), which adds up to exactly 10 credits.
“Mathematical Modeling” is precisely a shortcut to grasping the place of mathematics in all the sciences. In a certain sense, one could even say that, aside from “pure mathematics,” all modern natural sciences are “mathematical models.” Moreover, as far as this course itself is concerned, it is relatively close to mathematics competitions, so it feels rather familiar to me. The problem, however, is that mathematical modeling covers many fields and requires a great deal of mathematical technique. Legend has it that this course used to require only one project; in that case, one would only need to master part of the techniques and complete one topic in order to pass. Yet starting this year, for some reason, they have added a 50% exam component, supposedly because of severe plagiarism and the like, which is truly depressing.
As for “Probability Theory,” it is an essential foundation for understanding certain important issues in philosophy of science, such as Bayesianism. Studying it won’t be wasted, and it may perhaps even help me with mathematical modeling. These two courses were originally offered by the School of Mathematical Sciences to students of the same year (apparently sophomores), so I just signed up for them as well. But in any case, although I had a little exposure to calculus and linear algebra in high school, I’ve long since grown rusty. Besides, the calculus and linear algebra I encountered were really far inferior to mathematical analysis and advanced algebra. So I will certainly still need to relearn them on my own before I can possibly keep up.
As for General Physics (also offered for the School of Mathematical Sciences), I was hoping to find a course that would be relatively less effort. In fact, the university general physics textbook was already something I had encountered in high school, and I felt the difficulty wasn’t high. The problem is that physics was set aside for a full four or five years, and I’ve long since forgotten almost everything, so I’m probably going to have to start from scratch again. In the first semester of General Physics, one studies mechanics and electromagnetism—two thick volumes.
These 10 credits of natural science are truly terrifying. But is there an easier way to muddle through? There always is. It seems there is even a rumor that even Advanced Mathematics (C) can count toward the credits. Another possible method would be to take General Physics in different departments at the same time (the School of Mathematical Sciences has it, the School of Environment has it, and the life sciences and chemistry schools also have it); of course, the course numbers are all different, so it would be easy to piece together 10 credits. Or, as I once heard from a senior, some biology courses can be discussed with the instructor, and maybe you can simply hand in a paper and get a passing grade. But I always feel uneasy about that; it isn’t my style. After thinking it over and over, I decided to face the difficulty head-on, and dig out once again the enthusiasm I had when choosing my major in high school—I like mathematics first, physics second, and the departments that are more closely related to mathematical physics, the more I like them! This semester, I’ll just pretend that I really did get into the School of Mathematical Sciences as I had hoped.
As for the general elective courses, I still need one in psychology and one in the arts and literature. The room for psychology is very narrow (because courses in the philosophy department do not count as credits toward the general elective categories of philosophy and psychology), and basically only two courses are available: Introduction to Psychology and Social Psychology. The timing of these two courses is the same as well. I spent 97 preference points to get into the very popular Introduction to Psychology. After attending the first class, I indeed found it a bit vulgar. The teacher’s thinking is rather “default configuration,” the gimmicks are rather contrived, but the classroom effect was still pretty good, so I put up with it (what else could I do?). Professor He Huaihong’s Literature and Ethics conflicted in time, so I didn’t go audit it.
As for the arts and literature elective, I’ll probably choose Professor Zhu Qingsheng’s “History of Art,” a Friday 11th-12th period class that I haven’t attended yet. I hope it won’t be too troublesome. But in any case, compared with those 10 credits, the general electives shouldn’t amount to much.
As for auditing, Hu Ge’s Intuitionist Logic may not be something I’ll keep attending. I was originally still deciding between Teacher Xian Gang’s Introduction to German Classical Philosophy and the (legendary) Professor Chen Lai’s Pre-Qin Philosophy, but then I found that their times happened to coincide with General Physics, so that was that. Although I could go switch to the General Physics class in the School of Environment, on the one hand that would be troublesome in terms of course selection; on the other hand, considering that I still have to wrestle with mathematics, it would be better not to spread myself too thin.
Originally, I ought to go listen to Professor Wu’s legendary once-every-three-years philosophy original-text course, which this semester is reading the four difficult books Timaeus, Republic, Physics, and Metaphysics. But on the one hand, it conflicts with the “Mathematical Modeling” course I’ve already enrolled in (Professor Wu’s class was originally in the morning, but was later moved to the afternoon); on the other hand, this kind of original-text course is completely different from an introductory course, and only if one devotes a great deal of energy to grinding through the books can one reap any reward. Otherwise, no matter how well the teacher speaks, it is just a waste of time. And the key issue is: do I have the time this semester? Of course, time may always exist, because I always have many extracurricular idle activities, and if I squeeze, there is always something to squeeze out. But the real issue is mental pressure, and I have always only been able to read when I am in a free and easy atmosphere. So probably I still won’t attend it…
Teacher Liu’s long-gestating “Introduction to Natural History,” a course that Chinese universities have not offered for fifty years, has finally been opened. And the timing is perfect too—right after Mathematical Modeling and before General Physics. It won’t consume energy; on the contrary, it may even cultivate the spirit and mind, so I will continue to audit it. Teacher Liu’s first class was also extremely wonderful, making one feel that it is a pity that this course is limited to only 10 students.
Teacher Su’s philosophy of science, at first, I planned to attend only the first class to see what the teaching method was like. In any case, today I had to go listen to probability theory, which I had missed yesterday, so I couldn’t go to Professor Wu’s class anyway; after probability theory I’d just go wander over to Teacher Su’s. Now that Professor Wu’s class has changed time and I’ve given it up, there is no conflict. So I may still go to Teacher Su’s class from time to time. Besides just listening casually, the main purpose is to try to produce a graduating thesis. Since Teacher Su is the “advisor” I have as an undergraduate, and since I can no longer work with Teacher Su again when I become a graduate student, and since Teacher Su is so kind and lovable, there is no reason to find someone else for the thesis.
As for other courses, there were originally quite a few I wanted to hear, but after thinking about it, I decided to forget it and focus on learning mathematics and English.
English, of course, has long since reached the point where the eyebrows are on fire. If I cannot achieve a decisive improvement before formally entering the graduate stage, then I won’t have the face to go meet the teachers. In short, this semester will definitely have to be lived in a way never before experienced; as a transitional period from undergraduate to graduate study, it is really a bit drastic. But one must change somehow. Perhaps a severe shock could switch things into place more quickly? In any case, I’ve already been driven to the wall…
February 21, 2008
Latest comments
- Suíyuán
2008-02-21 23:17:45 Anonymous 124.17.18.213
OMG, mathematics, physics, 10 credits of natural science—poor, yet admirable, junior fellow apprentice! In my view, your tasks this semester amount almost to “torturing” yourself! And there are general electives, and English… Are you kidding? You do know what you are talking about?
Hehe, I’m having a terrible semester too; we’re fellow sufferers! Let’s encourage each other! - mist
2008-02-24 00:50:38 Anonymous 124.17.16.240
The number of slots has changed from 10 to 20
- Gu
2008-02-29 13:17:13 Anonymous 125.34.48.239
A correction:
After struggling and weighing things over for the first two weeks, I dropped Probability Theory and Mathematical Modeling, and changed to Mechanics and Animal Biology. After asking around, I learned that the psychology general elective also does not have to be taken (Introduction to Environmental Ethics can count), so I dropped Introduction to Psychology as well. This semester I only have four courses: General Physics I, Mechanics, Animal Biology.
Among them, Animal Biology conflicts with Enlightenment Philosophy, which I originally planned to audit, and on odd-numbered weeks it also conflicts with the Keke Forum, which is really unavoidable. The key is that this semester the life sciences school has almost no suitable required courses; things like botany aren’t being offered, and there is one course in genetics that seems quite difficult, so Animal Biology is the only required course for freshmen in the life sciences school, so I had no choice.
Although it is still annoying, in that case this semester’s affairs don’t seem so terrible after all~ - …
2008-03-06 13:58:06 Anonymous 124.227.251.124
Kidding.
- Chu Jing
2008-03-20 15:48:26
Just passing by!
Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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