It takes a lot more than good intentions to be able to blog regularly. It takes having something worth blogging about. I guess that's why some blogs get people following them, and why others don't. Be that as it may, I blog because it clears my head a bit, and helps me to look at things with a bit of perspective. Also, its a great way to feel productive while actually procrastinating. Well, it looks like I am doing a kind of monthly "tell the world what I am doing" thing.
So, what is happening around the turn of the month? First off, that nightmare of every student's life, exams. I'm lucky this term, just three subjects to write off. Graph theory, well, I think I should have passed it. Learning proofs is not my forte, so I struggled a bit with the studying for that one. The next two will be more interesting. Expert Systems are intriguing, and doing the assignment gave me a much deeper understanding of how the systems actually work. Which means it was a good assignment. I expect that exam to be a breeze. The most interesting one though, is certain to be category theory. I could almost do a set of posts on topics in category theory, and call them my study notes, but I'm not sure that I would get through everything then, and I would likely leave the project unfinished. Which would be fine if it wasn't visible to the world.
Why is category theory the interesting exam? Simply put, because it isn't an exam. It's an oral presentation of three topics which were covered over the semester. The lecturer doesn't believe in written exams as a fair test of knowledge. This suits me just fine, it means that understanding will be tested, rather than having to memorise a bunch of proofs. Yes there will be definitions to remember, but every mathematician has to know a bunch of definitions. So, what I'm supposed to be doing now is revising my category theory (I will get there).
After exams? HOLIDAYS! Well, technically. There is still the major project, and I have scored an internship. Interning should be pretty intriguing, actually. I'll be working in a huge company for two weeks, and getting paid. Life could be worse. I don't actually know what to expect, but I'm facing it as a learning experience, hoping that afterwards I will have a better idea of whether I could handle working as a software developer. I know it would pay well, and that there are plenty of opportunities available, so it might be worth it. I'm also pretty sure though, that if I do go into industry it will only be for a few years. And then I will probably end up teaching. I think that is where my passion lies, and where God is pointing me. But I also think it would be silly to let a really good opportunity pass me by. Especially when people personally ask me to attend interview type events...
That takes us to the end of June, so I guess I'll write another post after the internship, highlighting what happened, and looking forward into July. So, now that I have rambled on about the future, I guess it is time to actually do some work.
