A Flunkee's Journey into Higher Math
Computer Programming is my childhood dream. But what is stopping me is Math. I got discouraged in college when I could not even make the quota. In the end, I settled on Sociology and...well, it's not my passion. And I never had a career in that field. I thought I never had what it takes to become a programmer. I took short courses but I gave up too soon. I thought I am not logical enough or smart enough to handle the inner workings of computers.
I pursued literature, music, and culinary arts. But nothing came into fruition. I did work for a short while in a Persian restaurant. I love the teamwork, the humor, but reality bites. The pay was too low, and my father needs me in his business. So I left after eight months. But before I left, I remembered my sous chef saying this, "If I know computers, I'd be able to do anything!"
A few weeks later after I resigned, my grandmother has received an IPad and she loved it so much that she didn't know what to do with the laptop. I asked her if I could have it instead. And she obliged. And so, I looked up into self-studying Computer Science. With luck, I found it here:
https://github.com/ossu/computer-science
I took up Harvard's CS50, MIT6.00.1x and MIT6.00.2x. But what really changed my life was Barbara Oakley's online course, "Learning How to Learn" and her book "Mind for Numbers". The basic idea is how to excel in Science and Math even though I failed high school Algebra. Something clicked inside me. And I started believing in myself. I am still confused with the idea of chunking but I kept going on. I am also very grateful for Coursera and edX because I could enjoy good, practical education without having to break the bank, especially MIT. Ugh, MIT. I love the organization of the topics, the platform, and the Midterms and Finals are tough as nails.
This blog is all about my struggles and my journey into exploring Math and Computer Science. This is not a tutorial, but I will do my best to explain as much as I could to ease up difficult topics. Come join me and we'll take up a long soak into the wonderful world of Computation....
I pursued literature, music, and culinary arts. But nothing came into fruition. I did work for a short while in a Persian restaurant. I love the teamwork, the humor, but reality bites. The pay was too low, and my father needs me in his business. So I left after eight months. But before I left, I remembered my sous chef saying this, "If I know computers, I'd be able to do anything!"
A few weeks later after I resigned, my grandmother has received an IPad and she loved it so much that she didn't know what to do with the laptop. I asked her if I could have it instead. And she obliged. And so, I looked up into self-studying Computer Science. With luck, I found it here:
https://github.com/ossu/computer-science
I took up Harvard's CS50, MIT6.00.1x and MIT6.00.2x. But what really changed my life was Barbara Oakley's online course, "Learning How to Learn" and her book "Mind for Numbers". The basic idea is how to excel in Science and Math even though I failed high school Algebra. Something clicked inside me. And I started believing in myself. I am still confused with the idea of chunking but I kept going on. I am also very grateful for Coursera and edX because I could enjoy good, practical education without having to break the bank, especially MIT. Ugh, MIT. I love the organization of the topics, the platform, and the Midterms and Finals are tough as nails.
This blog is all about my struggles and my journey into exploring Math and Computer Science. This is not a tutorial, but I will do my best to explain as much as I could to ease up difficult topics. Come join me and we'll take up a long soak into the wonderful world of Computation....
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