AcademicalNerd @academicalnerd@social.cleverlibre.org
People are more important than wires.
Joined Jan 2021
2021-06-30 #blog
I heard an interesting concept in some podcast a few days ago: transparency about your current work in social media is, essentially, a proof of work in crypto. There is a guy on youtube who streams 12-hours pomodoro sessions and occasionally makes a lifestyle video, and you know it's real, because you have that proof of work. Whenever an artist tells a story as he creates something - you know it's legit, because the creation process was unfolding before your eyes.
I'd like to turn this account into something similar. I'm not sure yet whether to work on my usual lab projects or take on something new entirely, but no matter what I decide - tomorrow will be day one. Hopefully I make something worthwhile out of these two months.
2021-06-30 #blog
Done. The semester is over with all the horrors and exams and whatnot. I have a few days to relax and plan everything, and after that the grind starts anew.
2021-06-28 #blog
Throwing a little four-person (two couples) party in late evening is a good way to patch up wrecked nerves. Although the last glass of wine is always excessive. I have to do some work today and tomorrow for reports on scientific work, and after that most of my time will be dedicated to rest and work on side project.
2021-06-26 #blog
The exam is done. I have no idea if I passed and honestly don't even care at this point. The teacher did his worst and so did I. There are two reports on 28th and 29th of June, the second one is in English. These won't be a problem, however, so I will probably start planning my summer break tomorrow. Only two months worth of time and so much to do.
2021-06-25 #blog
I desperately want to start new coding project with roughly 24 hours left until the exam. Let me clarify.
The academic education, the entire cycle from undergrad to PhD, is the ultimate form of delayed gratification. The first four years you torture yourself through numerous exams and test just to start the journey. No, sincere affection for the subject won't save you, stress and struggles persist no matter how much you like the descipline.
And coding projects are an easy way out. Build something, compile the code and see if it works. Sometimes it works as intended and it is satisfying to see things you built working. And whenever I am in the midst of exams it takes a lot of willpower to resist the urge to build things. Fortunately, I will have two months to entertain myself with these projects. once this clusterfuck of a semester is over.
2021-06-24 #blog
The exam date was moved from 27th to 26th of June, which leaves me with little time for preparation and a few time management hiccups. So here are a few tips for working "non-stop" that generally help me. Probably useless, but I need a break from semiconductor physics.
1) Realism. You can't work non-stop in a focused mode for a day. And you can't work long hours multiple days in a row without ultimately burning out and sacrificing your efficiency. It's important to keep it in mind, you need breaks and some time to sustain your body and mind.
2) Hydration. A lot of water and tea; coffee is good, but it won't provide you with enough liquid. I'd say, during intense work I drink 1.5 times more than usual.
3) Nutrition. Three protein and fiber heavy meals with a bunch of carbohydrate snacks inbetween. Healthy? No, not really. Jumpstarts the brain? Yes, very much. Make sure to not make this a habit, though.
4) Breaks. You can do more in less time if you make short breaks once every hour. I don't mention classic pomodoro here, since 25 minutes isn't enough to go deep into a complex topic.
5) Workout and walk. A walk after the lunch or a workout before release some tension and allow you to go for longer after this break.
2021-06-22 #blog
I'm surviving in 30-35 C heat in Moscow, and hot water will be cut for a week or so for maintenance. This will be terrible.
I have fixed my physical shape and even cut caffeine consumption below one cup per day, partly because there is no jezve in this place and I'm a lazy ass to buy one. There is a good cafe nearby but it's too hot to go there in the morning, and there is no way I'll drink coffee after 4 pm.
Exercise routine is sloppy because playgrounds are closed and all the pull up bars are off limits as well. I manage to get by with pushups and various legs and abs exercises. This is good enought to keep me in minimal shape.
2021-06-19 #blog
I am temporarily living with my girlfriend, away from my parents. Not in a hotel, in a proper flat for the first time. It is only for a few weeks, but I am uncovering a lot of truths about myself everyday. It was necer evident to me just how many of my habits and rituals were imposed onto me by living with parents. It is, in a way, liberating. Maybe I'll list some of these.
2021-06-16 #blog
Back to work. I need to write a ten-pages summary on thermoelectric semiconductor elements. At least the topic is interesting and I am expected to describe fairly complicated physics in there as well as some general information on how and why are these things used.
I wish I could brag about my mental stability, but this is not the case, unfortunately. The load is pretty heavy and wearing me thin. Fortunately there are less than two weeks left and one difficult exam to pass. The rest is at least feasible.
2021-06-15 #blog
The exam never happened. Professor decided to grade our work during the semester. Ones that disagree go to the exam, but I am fine with 5 (out of five). A can of dry Strongbow for celebration and tomorrow preparation for the next one starts. This time - solid state physics, interesting but complicated.
2021-06-14 #blog
The exam is tomorrow. It will happen online because Moscow went into a five days long quarantine. This helps, but not that much; at least I won't have to commute to University.
I am more or less on track with my recovery plan, except for limiting sugar consumption. Carbohydrates are addictive and kickstart brain activity fairly well, despite the price one pays later.
2021-06-12 #blog
I give up; I choose to protect my mental stability, exchanging it for worse performance on the exam. Because the exam is a one-time occasion and my brain should last as long as possible.
2021-06-12 #blog
I am walking on a thin line between mental breakdown and full on apathy. Successfully, for now.
2021-06-11 #blog
Yesterday I passed another exam. The one on continuous medium mechanics; I got an "A". The next one is on the 15th of June, on crystal chemistry. That one is a lot harder and I am studying a lot.
The recovery plan is going fine for the most part. I still tend to consume too much carbs. It should be easier to cope with now, since I have a 4 days break between stressful exams. I even got back to writing on a somewhat regular basis, that's something.
20211-06-10_2 #blog
At the moment I have cut excess coffee (3 days ago) and all alcohol (5 days). This solved the majority of immideate problems, but I still operate on like 70% of my average capacity. Today is the first day of fixing sleep schedule, woke up at 7 am. This is reasonable by my standards. Hopefully I'll stop waking up in the middle of the night once the cyrcadian rhythm stabilizes.
2021-06-10 #blog
The premise I wrote yesterday but lost due to unfortunate circumstances.
I sometimes have to give up healthy habits and rituals in order to get work done for a tight deadline. I did it a few weeks ago to deal with intense finals. Now the annoying ones are done and I can't afford this lifestyle any longer. Excess of caffeine, carbohydrates and disrupted sleep schedule are taking a toll on my body, along with high levels of anxiety.
To offset a consequence of unhealthy behaviour one generally needs at least as much time as was spent engaging in an unhealthy behaviour, or longer. I estimate a month long recovery after roughly two weeks of questionable choices.
Of course I have a plan. It includes:
* limiting coffee by one cup a day
* having a break on Saturdays
* moderate physical activity (I tend to exercise more during stressful periods, and it's not always healthy)
* decent food with high protein/carbs ratio
* no alcohol (which is default for me)
* fixing a sleep schedule
* writing rituals
This is more or less default "get back on track" sequence I have to do every once in a while.
2021-06-09 #blog
A wandering mind always comes up with ideas. And if you have a good idea and don't start working on it within the first 24 hours - it's unlikely that you ever going to do it.
So whenever a good idea comes to your wandering mind - hold tight onto it and start working, even if the time is annoyingly unsuitable for it.
So I'm now in a weird position where there is a lot to do for all the finals and not much resources left to actually make progress. I'll post here on how it's going.
Currently it's 13:30, Tuesday, I'm more or less done with lab work and starting exam prep, there is a bunch of stuff I need to read and take notes on for tensor analysis and mechanics exam.
I'm a polymath, in a bad way. There are a lot of things I know and some things I'm decent at, but there is nothing I'm obsessed with and nothing I could say I'm a specialist in, and this upsets me. Because choosing something to focus long-term on becomes a pain in the ass, and staying focused is even harder.
# Fluency in math
Fluency in language is relatively easy to measure: you can give a talk, keep up in a coversation and write jarry, more or less gramatically coherent texts. Math is trickier: most people struggle with it, some people seem to be better at it naturally. I have no idea why is that the case, but there is an interesting observation.
Math is language we describe universe with, because words aren't suited well for this purpose. There are a few major concepts that are tough to describe in plain language, like limits in calculus and tensors in algebra. And math is a weird language, mistakes are punished way more than ever, infact, one wrong symbol renders the entire "text" meaningless. This breeds frustration.
Fluency in math, in a particular parts of it, consists of two things. Firstly, the ability to derive new relations and transform existing ones effortlessly and without mistakes. No, there is no "I know this, I'm just so inattentive" when you skipped a minus sign. Mistakes show gaps in either knowledge or skill, they are a signal for you to get some more practice.
Secondly, the internalization of concepts. It boils down to the Feynman rule: you only understand it if you can explain it. The only way to internalize a concept is to link it to existing knowledge: think of the knowledge as a map, and your competence grows in a tree-like shape all over it, creating nodes and lines. As long as there are enough nodes near something new, you can learn it. If you struggle - roll back and explore the area around, maybe go slightly sideways or practice what you already know.
