Due Wednesday, 23 January.
Thomas Edison was working on his idea for an electric light bulb, when he was queried by a NY Times reporter about the seemingly incredible difficulties associate with his work rebutted, “I have not failed 700 times. I’ve succeeded in proving 700 ways how not to build a lightbulb.”
My question for you is this: what have you decided NOT to major in at university and why have you eliminated this (or these - but no more than 2, please) subject?
“A ray of light is incident on a boundary between vacuum and material that has dielectric constant ε=-1 and magnetic permeability μ=-1. The incidence angle is θ. What can you say about the direction of the reflected and the transmitted rays?”
ReplyDeleteHUH??? Well, let’s just say that, that was complete jibberish to me. Physics. This is a major that I will never, I repeat, NEVER pursue. I have taken physics once in my life and I vowed never to take it again. Don’t get me wrong, I got a good grade in the class, but the content just didn’t interest me. I researched a little bit on the courses that a physics major student is required to take at MIT and I felt like shutting down my computer. Differential Equations, Relativity, Physics III (Vibrations and waves), Classical Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics I, Quantum Mechanics II, Quantum Mechanics III, Statistical Physics I, Experimental Physics I, Experimental Physics II, and more. As soon as I read this, I thought to myself “There’s just no way I’m going to sit through any of these classes. They’re all math!” First of all, although I like math, I’m still picky about the math that I prefer to do. Once it starts getting complicated such as Quantum Mechanics, I tend to not show much interest anymore and I zone out. Secondly, I’m all about the science! Science is definitely my forte. To be more specific, Biology is the branch that I am wishing to pursue. You see, it makes complete sense to me. In Biology you learn about life, you learn about evolution, you learn about why our bodies function the way they do. That is my true passion. I’m not really interested in measuring how fast a ball hits the ground or all the other components that make up a physics course. All I’m trying to say is that physics is not a major for me but for those who are really interested in it, best of luck!
I completely sympathize with you. I have never taken Physics at all, but for the last two years I've been next door to a Physicist who was forced to teach math and he hated it. He had left the professional field to teach and he reminded us all, at least once each day, that he was a scientist not a mathematician. So when you take Bio, beware that the Physics students you meet will also call themselves scientists. I prefer to call them designers of roller coasters.:)
ReplyDeleteI have decided not to major in music, for the moment. Music is a very hard career to pursue, there is so much competition and the only way I could actually make a living doing it would be if I got lucky. There are so many songs being sold on ITunes these days, the popular stuff is attacked and reaches a million downloads in the first week, while the new questionable music that isn’t popular gets hidden and no one cares to see if it’s actually worth getting. So even if I were able to become skillful in music and able to produce decent albums the chances of it making me a solid profit would still be small.
ReplyDeleteI know that I really need to get a good job after I graduate from College, so that I will be able to live, but music isn’t a sure money maker. So for the moment, while my main need for the future is a steady income from a good job, I must look elsewhere for an occupation. This is why I picked Computer Science; it is a much more stable career.
However, music is one of my favorite things and I will never eliminate it from my life. I still plan to take music classes along with my Computer Science classes. I also hope to major in Music Composition after I have a stable income from my Computer Science career. I am just going to focus a little more on Computer Science for a while, but music will never totally being set aside.
It's been the last few things you've written concerning music that point to your love for it. I know you play brass, but just recently discovered your thirst for composition. You can choose to major in anything you want, but it's heartening to know that the music in your soul will always hold a strong place in your heart. Don't forget that there is a whole field of electronic music that incorporates computers! I'm not clear what you mean by major in music after you have a stable job in computer science - are you already planning to return to school? Or are you considering a double major the first time around?
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ReplyDelete“Acceleration due to gravity outside the Earth- It can be shown that the acceleration due to gravity outside of a spherical shell of uniform density is the same as it would be if the entire mass of the shell were to be concentrated at its center. Using this we can express the acceleration due to gravity (g') at a radius (r) outside the earth in terms of the Earth's radius (re) and the acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface (g) g' = (re2 / r2) g. Acceleration due to gravity inside the Earth- Here let r represent the radius of the point inside the earth. The formula for finding out the acceleration due to gravity at this point becomes: g' = ( r / re )g In both the above formulas, as expected, g' becomes equal to g when r = re.” Does this sound appealing to you? Just reading it and trying to make sense out of it stresses me out. It’s mind-boggling!
ReplyDeleteEver since grade school, I’ve never been keen on anything in the field of science. Anatomy, physics, chemistry, biology, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, etc it’s just not my thing. There’s too much information along with confusing formulas that have to be memorized and applied to experiments, which I clearly can’t process. I’m not the type of person who has the patience to sit in a lab and observe the effects and outcome of chemicals being mixed together, bisection of animals, or making incisions on a human heart! At least I know for a fact that I can eliminate all the courses that have to do with science. Although I utterly dislike science and will not study it in college, everything in this world is somehow linked to it. I’m also rather thankful for the many scientists out there who are creating innovations simultaneously enriching my world!
Okay, Alina, both of us can be thankful for Shreya who thinks science is a heartfelt journey into creativity. I'm with you, though. I should probably warn you that most US unis will require you to take some sort of breadth classes in science, so I suggest you find a field that you can tolerate - at least for a semester or two.
ReplyDeleteScience. No doubt. I don’t even need to take time to process that question. I detest science, and there is no way I would willingly choose to take a class that has to do with science. Over the years, my hatred for subjects in the field of science has grown. I’m not sure whether it’s because I’ve gotten lazy or simply because it’s too difficult for me to comprehend. Honestly, I was indifferent towards studying science when I was younger. In fact, I absolutely loved biology with Ms.Baranowsky in the 10th grade, but then, I got to chemistry. Oh boy, chemistry. “Could it get any more difficult?” I thought to myself. Truth is, it did. “This is just the beginning,” Ms.Rana told me every time I complained about how confusing and difficult each chapter was. This is when I decided that I would never, ever, major in a field that required a science credit.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of it, science is like a magician’s hat. Judging by its appearance, you could only fit a few objects inside, but after sitting through a magicians show, you realize that the magician was able to fit numerous items, both big and small, in his little, black hat. This is the image science has engraved in my mind. When I was young, I had no idea that other branches of science existed. I didn’t know that biology, chemistry, physics, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, or anatomy even existed. I guess it’s because I never looked at the big picture, never dug deep enough to realize that science was just the basis of a huge spider web diagram. To me, there was only one subject in science that existed, and that was ‘science’. Who knew that one day I would reach a point where science would require using math, as well as numerous complex problems and equations that in the end, leave you brain dead. Luckily, I found out that we only needed 3 science credits in order to graduate from TASOK, which is why I didn’t even bother taking science this year. “Why take it if it’s not compulsory?” I told my parents and walked off laughing before they could even answer.
Depending on which school you enter next fall, you will most likely need general education credits - probably a couple in some science. But you like Bio, so it's all good. I like your analogy to the magician's hat. Shreya should, too since she thinks science is the manifestation of magic!
ReplyDeleteBusiness, business is one thing I would never pursue a major in. I am literally, literally suffering I should say dying doing Economics this year. PPF graphs, demand and supply, money, banks, etc they are just out of my league, I can’t stand it. I completely dislike business and everything to do with it. The only thing that grabs my attention is the money part and the rest is bizarre. I am never going to plan to do anything regarding business. The funny part is, in my family everyone has something to do with business and then there’s me. I have told them, doing business is not my thing, its time consuming, and the amount of stress, it’s too much. Then, there are some major decisions that you have to make; some people’s lives are dependent on that one decision. People say business men/ women take decisions with the help of their brain rather their heart. Sorry, am a person that makes decisions with my heart rather then my brain. So you see we don’t go along. It impossible no matter how hard I try, I just can’t. I swear if I would ever became a business women believe me I’d be the worst business women you've ever seen or known.
ReplyDeleteMake sure you hire a business manager you can trust so they don't take advantage. But I'm with you on this - I actually worked as an independent contractor for a while. I LOVED the work - had a blast everyday. But I never managed to submit all the correct paperwork for payment and never got paid for any of it. Good thing it only lasted a couple of months. My brain just doesn' t work that way...either.
ReplyDeletePhysics, chemistry, biology, physical science and whatever science is a big NO for me. Science is a subject which I couldn’t get through in school so university is just way too far. I just hate science for the depth of my heart. As science was an obligatory for the first 3 years of the high school, I had no choice but this year I was like I AM NEVER GOING TO TAKE SCIENCE EVER AGAIN. I was so happy that I had no science class this year but i just found out that I need to pursue at least one science class in university, which just doubled my hatred for science. All those formulas, intestines, systems, sicknesses just go right above my head. Honestly, I believe that the only reason I dislike science is the disability to understand science. I am really good at memorizing so i never had a problem at memorizing definitions, formulas, or equations but I just never had that passion of learning anything about science. When I was in first grade I always thought I’d be a scientist and learn about every aspect of science, since science is linked to mostly everything. But WOAH who knew science was so complicated and unclear. I feel like I don’t have the patience to learn about each and every formula and evaluate it in daily life. For all those people who are majoring in science “You’re strong enough” because that isn’t something I’d ever want to major in.
ReplyDeleteI majored in Bio - for one semester. Sitting in the dark lab building at 5pm on Friday, looking out over the campus - people playing frisbee, walking around, being free - and I was stuck hooking a frog up to electrodes to torture him - made me sad, mad and desperate to drop Bio. I feel your pain, but for a gen ed class you will probably have many choices and find a fun class.
ReplyDeleteEvery time Shreya suggest me to major in mathematics or science, I say, “I am not good at maths. I am just being Korean.” Maths? I personally do not like maths. Just because I do really well in mathematical subjects does not mean that I would like to study maths after high school education. Also, in reality, majoring in maths and science in Korea is very hard. Majoring in science fields requires higher scores and usually the universities select less students for maths and science fields then they select for language and social studies. If I had to study Korean maths right now, I would have F grade: I studied Korean maths for six months in South Africa (thinking that I would go back to Korea not Congo.) For every tests I did, I had 40%. Knowing that would people suggest me to major in maths in Korea? Majoring in maths or science, realistically it is not possible.
ReplyDeleteSecond thing that I would not like to major in is art or music. For me, art and music are hobbies. Honestly, I think I did not need to do AP art this year- I am just doing it for fun. My drawings? They are horrible (compared to those who really prepare AP art in Unites States.) Yes, I know how to play a piano and flute. I studied music theory for four years and some people suggested me to major in music too. However, piano is something that everyone in Korea can play and unless I am super talented, it is hard to make a living with music. To major art or music in Korea? No, I don’t think that sounds favorable to my dad, my mom and me. Except for art or music teacher, art field does not offer variety of jobs. I am going to leave some things as hobbies and move on with some things that I really want to study.
Interesting angle - the idea that in Korea the choice is not entirely up to you, but dependent upon a test score & the fact that some things are in your life to enrich it - like art & music.
ReplyDeleteWhile I could easily name off the tope of my head more then two majors I do not plan to pursue. There are two forms of majors I decided not to major in. One group of majors, are the majors that are interesting, but will make it hard for me to find a job. The second group of majors are the majors that I know for a fact would be more then a little challenging, and would probably result in me dropping out, if I did not have the option of switching majors.
ReplyDeleteThe first type of major I do not want to major in, are majors I personally think would be more realistic as a minor. An example would be majoring in Philosophy. Though I find Philosophy interesting and that it could be advantageous for every part of our lives. I do not think it’s a major you can easily take into the workforce, unless it is accompanied with another major (double major).
The second type of major I rather not major in, are the majors that I realistically can’t do. Those would be majors such as Engineering and Biochemistry. Math and Sciences have never been my strong point, and though I will be required to take them in college, I would not commit scholarly suicide by majoring in them.
So I’ve picked an area of study that is both suitable to my skills, and challenging. I also picked majors (every college has a different version of a major) according to my future career interests. As though it is possible I might take some classes to satisfy my curiosity, I think it is important to think realistically. There is a life outside college, and I won’t be the only one looking for a job.
I love your phrase "scholarly suicide," and can completely understand it - especially as it relates to Engineering and Biochemistry. While I understand your desire to be "marketable," remember that in the US (I cannot speak for any other country) only 5% of college grads work in their major field, and the average American changes careers (not jobs, careers) 5 times over her working lifetime.
ReplyDelete“No, no, no, no urghhh! I have another English essay to write and urghhh! I also have to read that Shakespeare play again.” No offence, but English is one thing I would never major in. I do not have problems with the English language but when it comes down to writing English or even reading English literature, I just have a nervous breakdown. Writing is something I never liked maybe it is because I am not very good at expressing what I feel through words. Reading though is something I do not mind; in fact, I do read books time to time.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that contributes to me not wanting to major in English is writing. I am also aware that once I go into the medical field I would have to write many research papers. I do not really have problem writing papers on a topic that I have a passion for and enjoy. Taking English as a major would mean me having to write a lot and analyzing those big literature stories. Obviously, if one is an English major writing to impress has to be one of the qualities and that is the one quality I don’t have. I accept that I am not a very good writer or analyzer and these are two of the very most essential qualities of an English writer. Therefore, I strongly believe that English is something I do not want to major in.
Okay, after all the science bashing that's gone on here, this is a fair statement. But, as I reminded the non-science majors, the subject is not useless to you. In the medical field, or any science field, you will be constantly asked to analyze things. Granted, not things like "Why is Moby Dick's tail white?" but analysis, all the same. It's all about cause and effect, looking for clues and connecting them to create meaning: math, science, writing reading, ...it's all the same process. So it can help you think more clearly.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I draw, people ask me « Doris what is this? » and I am just like “euh cant you see it? It’s dog.” Never in my life will take art again!!!I just can’t draw to save my life. My friends were helping me to draw for me to pass the class. I just hate everything about drawing the only think I can draw properly are geometric forms and graphs. I just can’t major in ENGLISH. The way I just feel like sleeping when I’m reading a book and the way I don’t like writing makes me hate that course.
ReplyDelete“Law of Gravity, acceleration, blah blah blah, ish, ish, ish” that is what I hear in a physics class. All those formulas, equations and laws it’s just a big NOOOOOO for me. Just like Jennifer said, physics was also jibberish for me. I can’t even picture me opening or even touching a physics book. I like mathematics but the math in physics was just something else. The only way for me to pass that class was to cheat and I am not proud about that. I am happy because I am done with that class and I will never take it again.
Wow. You've got several here you don't want. I'm really curious now what you do want. No art, no English (or, I'm guessing other languages?), no Physics ( what about other math?). The more you can eliminate, the closer you are to finding what you do want.:)
ReplyDeleteSometimes I force myself to try reading a book, magazine, article, or news I just end getting tired and closing the book and go for a nap that will last for a long time. I can not say that I hate English because nowadays without English you will just end up being completely screwed. Although English is known to be as one of the language that t can be thought and understood easily, but the main thing that is hard about it grammar and personally I can say that I hate grammar because you may think that you spelled a word correctly or you have put it in the correct tense then suddenly you get to deal with the grammar issue, and English is not the only language where we get encounter these type of problems, and that is why I cannot major in English.
ReplyDeleteJust like Jennifer, said physics is like mission impossible f or me because you have all the formulas, equations, and laws that needs to be followed and all that for me is really not understandable because how can a human being manage to remember all that, that’s just too crazy for me, but although I took the class once in grade 10 I did not have any idea on how I ended up passing the class, so physic life is to short t o back down and I shall over come your challenges.
I agree with you about language learning. I have the same struggles you encounter in English when I work on Chinese and French. And don't even get me started on French spelling! How do you guys remember all those xes, us, and ses? I don't understand your comment about physic life being short, though.
ReplyDeleteCalculus… one of the things I am excited about going to college, is that I will finally be able to pick my major. When picking my major, I will make sure not to take any math class or anything of that kind. Math has always been my nightmare at school and one of my weaknesses too. I never wish to take a math class in college because I struggled to get a decent grade in class. In my senior year, I am taking two math classes, just as hard as it sounds. I am taking both algebra and precalculus. All the wok problems and equations make me sick every time I have to solve them, which makes me hate the subject even more. When I talk to a person whose brilliant in math, they tell me if I want to understand the subject, I have to start by loving it. Thus, I try to force myself to love math and to keep making huge efforts to pass my classes, but I still can call math one of my strengths at school. I work hard though and I am not giving up until I am given the choice to drop it. As a result, when I I was deciding about what I want to major in, I focused on my strengths, which are mostly language and other courses such as history, and psychology. I wish to be done with math later on, as I already know the basic concepts from all the classes I took. Although, I will end up taking another math class in my first year, I will be upset but I will not give up then either. Instead, I will be happy to move on to my second year with relief and I will get the chance to enjoy learning new subjects.
ReplyDeleteSeems odd that you can understand precalc when you haven't had Alg II, but maybe that's why they are so hard?
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ReplyDeleteI like science but only on TV: I like watching documentaries about astronomy, biology, anatomy, physics or any kind of science as long as it is not a course. Some of the science classes I took in school were quite understandable but the worst subject I have ever had will always be Chemistry, or should I say “Chinese”.
ReplyDeleteAt the French school, chemistry was a mandatory course from seventh grade to tenth grade. My first year of chemistry was awesome, thanks to my favorite chemistry teacher, Mr. Ranou. Sadly, in my second year Mr. Ranou was replaced by another teacher. That is when I began hating chemistry more than anything else. Chemistry class became one of the classes I started to enjoy sleeping in, and I I did too for three consecutive years. There was no way I would understand a single lesson. Every formula was getting harder and harder.
I will never take a chemistry course in my life, I mean I don’t see the point of doing that, it will be a total suicide for my grades… I do not understand the formulas, I do not remember their names, and I do not see how each lesson makes sense together, it is complete gibberish to me. But it is funny because I actually understand better when I watch it on TV, in documentaries. It is very interesting how the scientists came up with their solutions and how it surrounds us every day.
What was different between the two teachers?
DeleteIn what battle did Napoleon Bonaparte die? Now that you have read the question, think about it. I hate history to such an extreme that if I were asked this question on a test my answer would simply be: He died during his last battle. Humor aside, the truth is that the answer to this, and every question, is readily available at our fingertips. Thanks to GOOGLE we know the correct answer is the Battle of Waterloo.
ReplyDeleteSeveral quotes on the net define people who do not care about the past or their history as ignorant. And I’m not saying I do not care at all; I am saying I would never register for any program along the lines of history. History is one subject in which I struggled to succeed. I did end up having great scores, a reward for all the time sacrificed to the subject, but I would have much rather have spent that time doing things that are useful or things that will benefit me in the future.
One thing I detest about history “makers” is that it is always about being number one. Who is the fastest runner in the world? Easy: Usain Bolt. Well, now the question is who is the 2nd fastest person in the world? I did a survey of 6 friends to prove my theory and all 6 knew Usain Bolt was the fastest, and yet not one of them knew the name of the second fastest.
There is so much happening in this world that what you did yesterday is considered history. But the actual history that is in our books is what occurred centuries and centuries ago. 2000 years later, I can almost guarantee History classes will start with how humans were monkeys, followed by how they evolved and made the IPhone. Historic events just don’t interest me, and studying the past again in college is pointless as I intend to purse a degree in Business.
I'll bet Business involves some case study that in turn involve History of Businesses and how they work (or don't).
Delete“No I am not going to be a doctor!” I probably repeated this sentence a thousand times to my grand-parents. We already have three generations of doctors in my family, so it was not even a question for my grand-parents when people asked me what I wanted to do when I will be older. They would directly answer for me: “She is going to be a doctor just like her grand-father, aunts and uncles.” When I decided to be a lawyer my grand-father and my mother did not understand me, according to them science is in our genes. Well maybe I did not catch that gene, but all I know is that I am going to study law. Science is a major I did not even look at while I was doing college search. After several talk with my grand-father and my mum, they understood that science was not what I was going to do in college. They were for instead glad to know that my little sister was interested in studying pharmacy, and are encouraging her with different ways every day to keep this envy.
ReplyDeleteWhy law? What do you find attractive about it? Where do you see yourself living and practicing? In English or French?
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