Matthew Rossi - Blog

What has always irked me when doing maths is that I seem have not been able to get a proper grasp of...

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 13:52:00 +1000

What has always irked me when doing maths is that I seem have not been able to get a proper grasp of the actual visual changes of a calculus process, without explicit solving. Take this equation for example.

This differential equation when solved produces this rather nice function:

Given it is an initial value problem, solutions such as the following can be derived:

Which can then allow you to determine facts about the function, such as the expected behaviour as t tends to zero with (0,2). This is fun at all, but how do I actually do this implicitly, when such insight is absent?

"Google announces a new, faster Samsung Chromebook and Samsung Chromebox"

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:55:10 +1000

"Google announces a new, faster Samsung Chromebook and Samsung Chromebox"

Video

Thu, 31 May 2012 21:34:23 +1000

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

tripudios: Robert Voit

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:54:41 +1000

tripudios:

Robert Voit

Write in C - Let it be Cover - Piano (by schoedav)

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:08:19 +1000

Write in C - Let it be Cover - Piano (by schoedav)

iTechnology

Wed, 30 May 2012 07:55:03 +1000

I’ve always wondered how I could best integrate an iPad in my university life, in amongst my crowded technological space (I digress that a laptop and iPhone is comparatively minimal “these days”). As a past school committee member I had looked at theoretical and empirical uses of iPads and laptops within the high school space, which to me turned out as a dud. However at the time I, as an enhancement studies student, acknowledged that university would be a different ball game.

Currently, to my chagrin, my laptop is the heavy do it all machine that is used whenever I need it, or can’t be bothered traversing my bag for a pen when I have it. I have wondered how an iPad could fit in, but despite its benefits as a PDF, podcast (& recorded lectures), web browsing and news reading machine (or even as an external display with VNC derived apps), it would be unsuitable for most notes typing, word editing and programming jobs that I would envisage being done, particularly as a Colemak typist considering using a separate keyboard. Hell I wouldn’t even be able to write and execute objective C code without the intervention of XCode and a joyfully closed source SDK.

Aside from this, I could buy a general tablet (too expensive), or a Linux netbook, which could easily do the programming, lecture notes reading/viewing, and basic document writing editing, though would be finicky with lecture consumption and the like. If I could use a web based compiler compatible with iPad, type with an external keyboard with the colemak layout (some nice integrated keyboard cases exist), and limit the consumption distractions attached, it would be tempting to invest the money.

If my subjects relied less on assignment work that needed a desktop computer, it could be possible, though given I use Dropbox and Office, being restricted to Pages would make me consider using google docs again as my likely needs would suit. Then again, if I didn’t have to sporadically write C or MATLAB code next semester, an iPad as a content consumption device would be great.

To summarise, it is the main reason why I save my money instead…

I spent all of yesterday trying to finalise my Intercultural effectiveness report,which was a rather...

Mon, 28 May 2012 07:55:00 +1000

I spent all of yesterday trying to finalise my Intercultural effectiveness report,which was a rather large job in itself. As it turned out, I had written over twice the word limit in my first draft, and I managed to cut the 4000 words down to around 2550 before 11pm. That was great and all, even though it is still not finished, which means more exam time will be lost to get this assessment done, and do the necessary quality checks.

Which is great and all, however I have one small problem that reads like this: What was the point in all of this? I’m not going to say that it was a complete waste of time, as it was a nice thing to learn and research, but that was it.

What troubles me is that I can see the impacts of being stretched too wide (combined with poor academic habits, that’s for another post) from the basis of what is supposed to be my main goal. The trouble is that said goal is vague: Wanting to learn programming is one thing, but having no idea where and in what business context you intend on applying it (if at all) is another.

This can be seen in the numerous tech entrepreneurs (I won’t cite as iPhone tumblr won’t let me), where in general even the young ones (Nikki Durkin doesn’t strictly apply in this case…) have clearly mastered one particular area, with or without the fun general basis that a computer science major gives you to learn any language easier (especially when your first semester has no programming subjects). This is evident in people who partake in iPhone dev, or write websites (for example Jessica Ma (et al), the prodigy behind a rather quiet accounting startup, inDinero).

Moving back to the report, I cannot deny the benefits the writing practice has given me (even though I write rather lazily on this blog in three languages). However, I’m starting to think that a little less diversification could be helpful.

And for good measure, this could even start as soon as the end of exams. Currently I want to do some self-directed learning over the break, however I am unsure of what. I could read some linear algebra to prepare for what may pan out as a seemingly complex subject. I could instead read algorithms, and maybe teach myself a language, or both. The algorithms subject next semester uses C, which would be an interesting segue into iPhone dev, however I could continue with java again, or do something like ruby. On top of this, I need to fit in some sleep, Italian practice, driving and exercise.

Nonetheless it is 2am as I am writing, and I am hoping to wake up in a few hours to get this out of the way once and for all in some kind of polished form (repeat: I hope) I would probably be the only person seeing this relatively decent dilemma as a lovely little quagmire. What do you think?

“So the regime spent $42000 on two donkeys. How much...

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:58:14 +1000

“So the regime spent $42000 on two donkeys. How much would these donkeys be worth?”

“In Azerbaijan? 50 bucks…”

Panorama: Eurovision’s Dirty Secret (by munheb)

Well, it is fair to say that at least now my bedroom doesn’t look like as much of a dump now...

Sat, 26 May 2012 15:16:00 +1000

Well, it is fair to say that at least now my bedroom doesn’t look like as much of a dump now (with less surface dust!), which was the first main goal for the first day of SWOTVAC. With everything neatly sorted away, my overtly large desk has this space that is begging to be used, though how so is yet to be determined. While I need to work out where to put the amount of books I am likely to slowly amass over the course of my university studies, and the certificate frames I organised but never had hung up, that can wait for another day.

I’m going to briefly look at the ideas presented in the Week 2 part of Newport’s “4 weeks to a 4.0”. I digress that most of the article was hard to implement from such a late stage of the semester without spending stupid amounts of time re-writing notes that I really don’t have, the big idea presented is worth noting.

The basis of this particular note taking style presented is that, regardless of the technical level of the subject, notes should be recorded on the premise of questions presented in lectures. It notes that long questions are best for non-technical questions, short questions placed in clusters for technical subjects, and naturally, sample problems for mathematics subjects. The method of study concerned involves, unexpectedly, trying to recreate the problem, and repetitively doing so until you have memorised it, and have understood the insight behind the solution to the problem; facilitated by creating some variety of practice test.

How could this apply when you are facing a Calculus exam within a relatively short space of time? I could see this being used to gauge your level of understanding of the topics, which you can at least check with fully worked solutions, repeat until correct, then continue with the usual practice exam/consultation hour routine. I tend to think that it’s a better-than-nothing scenario, which for this particular context isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

And if all else fails, you can always write an Intercultural Effectiveness fieldwork report instead…

This picture truly makes me want to do civil/mechanical...

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:42:05 +1000

This picture truly makes me want to do civil/mechanical engineering…

Source: Engineers Australia (Facebook)

Just a thought about IT at unimelb. It still irks me that IT in itself is a BSc major, given the...

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:08:12 +1000

Just a thought about IT at unimelb. It still irks me that IT in itself is a BSc major, given the large presence of the life sciences in the degree. While I think there is value in this, particularly for (Bio)informatics people and whoever else wants to decide between a CompSys/Physics/ChemEng/whatever other major, for others I’m not sure that it is really appropriate.

I think that IT should be structured like Economics is at present (where you can take the major in a BComm or BA), however in a different way. The best scenario would be the creation of a Bachelor of Computing with majors in the BSc supplementing this, allowing for students who wish to integrate life science studies with IT to do so. I would see a BComp having an ATAR similar to the BSc, but with no VCE lab science requirement. Ideally you would take a major and minor sequence, where you can take one of the current BSc IT majors, and a minor of 6 subjects that could extend to a language, philosophy, economics, or something along those lines that could complement IT studies. Concerning mathematics, I would expect the first year requirements to be the same as the current majors, however the possibility to have a major/minor in mathematics to extend that could exist.

It’s a rough idea, however to me it seems to be a more appropriate path.

Part 2: Where could I go now

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:15:00 +1000

The basic idea in this post is something that I wish I had now. It reminded me of what I was like when I was younger, when I was able to focus my time on teaching myself computer-related things that interested me. As I divested more and more time into other co-curricular activities and whatnot thanks to high school, I found that focus had disappeared, to the point where even after high school I could not bear to even attempt to teach myself Java, something I initially wanted to try during the last summer break. This is summarised in the following quote:

If you don’t saturate your life in a single quest, you’ll dilute your focus to a point where becoming outstanding becomes out of reach.

Admittedly in the context of high school, my maths teacher recognised this as a problem, however I was too tied down in commitment at that point to back out to the extent that the both of us had wanted.

So where to from here? Given my current situation with university credits, I can afford to take one less subject next semester. Given that I would have one ‘hard’ subject in Linear Algebra, and two ‘less harder’ subjects in Algorithms and Italian, taking on another, harder or less enjoyable subjects would be superfluous.

Moreover, my own additional commitments would also need to be reviewed. As it stands, I have one involvement that has a weekly time investment, other irregular paid involvements indirectly related to that, and a couple of involvements that are fairly or completely non-obligatory. It would be very hard to decide what to touch, though I envisage that I might reduce my weekly time investment to say a fortnightly one, and stick to one non-obligatory involvement, though time will tell.

When it comes to study skills, I have started trying the ideas from the “4 weeks to a 4.0” blog posts this week (albeit rather inattentively), though given the close proximity to exams it will be difficult. However, it is something I am keen to try.

Tagged by teacup-half-full. How would you describe your sense of humour? A job reference that my...

Sun, 20 May 2012 21:28:11 +1000

Tagged by teacup-half-full.

How would you describe your sense of humour?

A job reference that my school wrote stated that I had a “dry and quiet” sense of humour, so I’ll probably run with that.
What is one thing you’d most like to change about the world?

Can I say two things? I would improve social/academic mobility and my high school grades.
Describe your ideal house.

Anywhere that isn’t full of airborne dust, does not involve a daily 45 minute from the end of the line commute, and is relatively modern/comfortable will make me happy. That, or a house with lake views in Switzerland…
What does your handwriting look like?

Some notes I took from a study skills seminar at school (ironically)…
What is something you love about yourself?

I don’t know. There isn’t anything explicit that I can think of other than my willingness to try things and work. There is a comment box at the bottom of this page if you have any suggestions.
What is something you’re very passionate about?

Sleep :D
What is your favourite word, and why?

Manifest, as it is a great debating word that isn’t really a debating word.
Who or what inspires you, and why?

Mainly the potential (more or less a hope) for success and being good at academic pursuits.
What has been your most rewarding experience, and why?

Any travel opportunity I’ve received, for the experiences gained from being in a completely different place.
List your top 5 karaoke songs.

I don’t really have a top five, however national anthems and any Esperanto folk-ish song will do…

Where do you see yourself in five years time?
What would be your dream study course/institution (other than where you are)?
Where was your last overseas trip?
What would you change politically?
Where would be your ideal location for a holiday?
What newspaper(s) do you read and why?
What would be your ideal dinner?
What made you answer this list of questions?

Tagged: all of my three followers. woot…

Part 1: What has already been

Sat, 19 May 2012 21:56:00 +1000

It’s a good thing that a Tumblr title is optional. It seems rather pointless as so far I haven’t written about anything else…

InLe prime dieci settimane d’università: La storia si repete, I wrote:

“Realizzare i obiettivi chi io vorrò fare, mi lo cambierei, e ho scriverò (in inglese invece) dalle idea sul questo blog”

While I probably won’t do everything I stated above in this series of posts, here’s another blog venting about my perpetually half-empty academic cup!

The title of the last blog contains a quote I heard from a classmate which I felt was the best way to describe my first semester of university: History repeats itself. I’ve explained quite a lot of this in that post and Pensoj de sukceso, however to summarise, most of my grievances relate to the fact that after what I felt was an average and unfulfilled final year of high school, it feels like nothing has changed this semester in terms of study habits, efficacy of learning, subject selection and workload decisions. In the words of Cal Newport, a computer scientist who writes a study related blog I am a fan of, it seems to amount to some kind of loss of control.

I am going to quote material from Newport that I feel is relevant to what has/is happening, and what could happen in the future, to provide some unbiased context.

This quote really reminded me of my attitude towards high school. This was largely because of the massive divestment of time due to high school commitments meaning that I was either doing things not related to what I believed was my main focus, or was too divested in trying to meet the commitments of a large workload.

In other words, when you go through life thinking “if I can make it through this, things will be better later,” you eventually forget what “better” means.

I also related to this post “You’re working too hard to make an impact”, as largely due to that divestment in time, I began way too occupied that led to the complete screw up of sleeping patterns, wasted time and such that largely achieved little. In saying that, one of the experiences I gained from all of that I used in winning a Lions Youth of the Year club round, however I digress.

The following quote also sounded somewhat familiar, though to be honest indirectly related as ready access to any sort of plan that works did not appear until I hired a tutor at the last minute.

The Pseudo-Striving Hypothesis
It’s significantly more pleasant to pursue a goal with a plan entirely of our own construction, then to use a plan based on a systematic study of what actually works. The former allows us to pseudo-strive, experiencing the fulfilment of busyness and complex planning while avoiding any of the uncomfortable, deliberate, often harsh difficulties that populate plans of the latter type.

The main gripe I have always had was that I was largely alone in trying to figure out the best way to study and gain good academic results. My tutor and maths teacher had some of the better advice prior to reading Newport, any advice involved a complete shift in what I was doing, which by such a late stage was tough to erase (an abysmal excuse in itself).

To be continued… on Monday…

teacup-half-full: #seems legit#Engineering Systems Design...

Sat, 19 May 2012 11:29:32 +1000

teacup-half-full:

#seems legit
#Engineering Systems Design 1

Introductory algorithm examples are always as legit as this…

"When you go through life thinking “if I can make it through this, things will be better later,” you..."

Sun, 13 May 2012 10:45:53 +1000

“When you go through life thinking “if I can make it through this, things will be better later,” you eventually forget what “better” means.”

- http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/08/27/an-open-letter-to-students-on-the-danger-of-seeing-school-as-a-trial-to-survive/

The End of Austerity in Europe? | Quadriga International Talk...

Sat, 12 May 2012 21:25:07 +1000

The End of Austerity in Europe? | Quadriga International Talk (by deutschewelleenglish)

Procrastination: a student's worst enemy?

Thu, 10 May 2012 23:19:00 +1000

Procrastination: a student's worst enemy?:

Some ideas to consider in the future, though it would be interesting to see how I could work it when I live at home with one study space with a computer that gets used for everything. It would be nice to scrap Facebook altogether though…

“First, get rid of temptation. Define a space for “work” and don’t mix that with where you “play”. A friend has perfected this approach, associating her desk with work so strongly that she has to leave her room to unwind. “It’s hard to switch to relax mode when you’re in the same environment,” she explained.”

“Secondly, work with restrictions. Make a mental contract with yourself to work for 30 minutes without interruption. You’ll be amazed at how efficient you can be, knowing you only need to power through a short space of time before you can take a break.”

“Finally, don’t be hard on yourself! A recent study from the University of Carleton found that if you forgive yourself for procrastinating, chances are you will procrastinate less on the next task at hand.”

Le prime dieci settimane d'università: La storia si ripete

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:02:33 +1000

Ho imparato dal un citare due o tre settimane scorse, chi ha detto: “La storia si ripete”. La prima semestre era interessante, però credo che i problemi ha sofferto nel anno scorso si ripete ancora, tranne oggi ho facevo le attività che mi trova essere più interessante e divertente. Era una filosofia che ho usata quando ho scelto le mie materie per il ultimo anno della scuola, chi non lavorato molto bene, però si aiuti giocare il gioco vincere i voti entrare alla mia università (dove ho studiato due materie dure della matematica, la fisica e materie all’università di Monash nel un anno).

Leggere più…

Penso che nel questo semestre, ho preso tante materie che mi trova essere un po’ difficile, mentre mi è piacevano, particolarmente la matematica e l’italiano. I miei voti nelle queste materie non erano molto eccellente, però le hanno molto interessante, e aiutarmi, particolarmente l’italiano, dove le mie capacità scrivere e parlare in italiano è molto meglio oggi.

Anche, ho preso l’ingegnere, dove non mi lo piaceva. La materia ricordarmi dalla fisica nella scuola, dove il lavoro stato difficile e noioso, e ho imparato niente per tre anni. Spero che io possa passare la questa materia, però sarà molto difficile. Per la mia altra materia, gli studi di colti, non credo che lo sia una cattiva idea studiare, e era meglio che lo fatta per le mie capacità scrivere i temi…

Per me, è chiaro che si la ripeta. Come la scuola, le mie materie, e le mie attività (quest’anno, con i club di partito Labor, la società per discutere, e la società per gli studenti greco-australiani, però si aiutarmi tanto per gli studi di colti) hanno molto l’ampiezza, però non hanno un focus chiaro, a scapito (to the detriment) dei miei obiettivi (in cui non li so esattamente, però l’ha il viaggio, lo studio nelle buone università, trovare buoni lavori nell’informatica per esempio). Il questo focus per il futuro (ho spero), sarà sull’informatica, perché sarà importantissimo avere i buoni voti con l’informatica e la matematica aiutare con i miei obiettivi, in cui non penso che l’ampiezza sarà molto importante come il focus.

Credo che nella semestre prossima, ho troverei le nuove idee, e una nuova filosofia per lo studio, le attività chi farò, perché credo che ora lo non funziona correttamente. Realizzare i obiettivi chi io vorrò fare, mi lo cambierei, e ho scriverò (in inglese invece) dalle idea sul questo blog. La semestre prossima, credo che io possa cambiarlo, studiare più dell’informatica, ridurre le altre attività (particolarmente la società per discutere, ma non lo vorrò tanto con il club del partito), e troverò (o comincerò) le nuove attività chi hanno aiutarmi con i miei obiettivi dell’informatica.

Mentre, ho imparato oggi (HIO) che l’Università di Bologna ha un professore famosa per l’informatica, Özalp Babaoğlu, chi ha scritto il primo programma per il BSD Linux, e aiutato cominciare il colto di “Open Source” nel questo industrio. Forse l’ho troverò una buona opportunità per un semestre di studi in italiano a Bologna?

Top apps for life and study | CPA Passport | News & media

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:35:59 +1000

Top apps for life and study | CPA Passport | News & media:

A rather interesting list of iPhone apps from the CPA of all people…