Skipped 4.4-3

I still don't know how to resolve the issue of "constant within the bracket".  So I will go ahead to work on 4.4-4 first.

I lost patience and I have to come back!

It's just a matter of persistence - I remind myself.

Of course, life has so many unexpected term.

Still not in my full speed

This is still a moment I am going slow because anyone of the mathematical problem could be tough to solve.

At this kind of situation, I tend to go with the flow.  It's not particularly helpful if you try to push the progress by thinking a problem for long hours.  In my case, I just like to push it whenever my brain wants to take one more problem. 

Things are getting better, one of my deadlines is cancelled.  I can more focused.  Of course, there is always a fight if you want to be persistent and continue with something difficult like algorithms.

Some thought after my stuckness

I am not certainly not in full speed in my algorithmic study.  There are two other priorities in my life which are competing. 

One is work.   Though I don't perfectly happy with the work environment, I still consider a must to do a good job in work. 

The other is languages.  I spent some of my time in Spanish, some of time in French.   My original intention of learning them is to open my mind.   In fact, I always find learning a language do some special magic in my mind.   I seem to be ...... smarter.  I also feel I realize something I don't usually do.  

What does language learning teach me?   To me, the biggest lesson is that not everyone is learning correctly.  They put stress on something unimportant.   For example, if you are bad in Spanish subjunctives, what should you do?   In concrete, if you do an grammar exercise which you got them wrong all the time for the first time.  what should you do? 

This is the moment many people would think that they are "not good enough" or "smart enough".   Some would even decide to give up.   Here is a correct thing to do : treat it like a sport exercises, do it again and again until you come to perfection.   The thing is you might not be talented in Spanish, but you might be talented in learning.

You might say if I am not learning this fast enough.  Doesn't that mean I am not talented enough? Doesn't that mean I should just work on something else which my talents are better used?  Again, I think this is a wrong mindset. 

Why? Here is the reason.  If you have the tendency to give up learning one thing, so why not give up another one?   why not give up the third thing? why not give up the forth, ...... or the N-th thing? 


Why not? Once you admit that there can be something beyond you.  I think you need to admit many things else to be beyond you.   It's true scientifically that you can't be No.1 in everything.   But it's also true that your potential is way more than what you have now.   So a better Why-not here :

Why not go for it? Why not keep it on? Why not I try harder? Why not changing my strategy to solve this problem?

That's why when I decide to do something or solve a problem, I usually wrestle with it until the problem succumb to me.   It's a problem that takes a long time to think about?  I wrote it down to a notebook.   If it's a problem that has been solved, I wouldn't waste it, I will try to think of another solution.  How come one should feel happy with an existing and old solution?  Why not come up with someone simpler? Faster? Generalize the solution to something more interesting?

Admittedly, my learning in last week or so has been slowed down.  Also, there starts to be some topics which are tougher than what can I understand.   But I won't give up.  Because I know,  there is nothing so difficult that I can't thoroughly understand in algorithm.   There are only the wrong method to learn, the wrong explanation,  the over-complicated thinking.    And those issues can be resolved.   (Hell, they can be) .   Wrong method to learn can be corrected.  A correct explanation can always be looked up and you can always ask an expert.   You can always simplify your thought.  

There is nothing related to whether one person is smart or not.   He/she can just learn.   So I am not going to be deterred by the thousands of discouragement I got.   I am just going to learn.

Tiredness

I just feel tired.  Of all the things I have been doing.  Recently I just can't find I got any of them to have some progress.  Or the feeling of progress is just so slow or close to nothing. 

This is the moment I should just start to cut something in my todo and focus on what is important.   At the end of the day, I will say Data structure and Spanish are probably the most important things in my life right now.   French barge in from time-to-time.

But I subscribe to the theory that if you feel tired, you should simply take some rest before you move on.   Working on something all the time doesn't make you more efficient or better.

On my Data structure study: I am thinking may be I should skip 4-3.2 for a while.  Ah, that's probably the way it is.   Sometimes I could underestimate the difficulty of a problem.  So even I thought it is a problem solved, it can take time to work out the detail.

My recent stuckness 20110716

I am stuck in 4.3-2.  It's a stupid inequality but my head just couldn't work it out. 

I start to have this feeling again.  After some good work done in my job, I start to feel less momentum to move  on.  

But this is a gumption trap.  I know for sure that I won't work in my place forever.  It is just the way it is.  Am I just overloaded?  Probably.  Work, Data Structure, Spanish, French and Jogging.  (Turns out I just finished running 5km and I can certainly do more.) 

But I don't want to give up.  I am going deeper on all these aspects of my life.  I am tired but generally elated.   At least I am not wasting time on something nonsensical (like games, poker etc.)

I need some good rest though.   Sometimes I just want to sit down and do nothing.

How do I want to deal with this stuckness?  I will follow my usual strategy - divide the task to be smaller.  Try to conquer them and gain more momentum.   So let's start the process slowly.

When you feel stuck

• hunker.  Try to focus on several simple issues.  Attack them first and build up confidence. 
• do something else (but not too long).   For me, I usually spend time to work on foreign languages or just write down answers I worked out in the past in other books. 
• Think of a simple plan to implement for your problem.  Implement it and learn something about the plan and the solutions
• For the simple things you know, can you think of new variations of them?

Remove my stuckness

Ok.  What I did is to first work out something simple in Spanish.  My head is so stuck in algorithm that I need to do something else.

It does make me feel better.  Let's do this step by step then.

Stuckness

I start to feel stuck when I tried to repeat binary insertion sort.  Certain something I wrote but it is also so complicated when I can't recall how I made it worked.

I need to think how to avoid it.  This stuckness is unnecessary.  I probably prefer just work out bubble sort.  Then move on.

My recent stuckness.

For the first time, I have come to a point I feel stuck when I try to proceed in CLRS.   In my case, that means the three threads (browse read, exercise read and deep read) I have been working on are not moving.

Naturally, I am thinking about why.  For each read, there are different reasons and I also figure out their solutions. 

• For my browse read, my understanding of tree, or generally my understanding in discrete mathematics, need to be improved quickly.   Many of the questions require some intuitive understanding of trees.   I will not open the daunting Rosen's Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications.   Because I am fully aware of the damage of studying two text books at the same time.   I will feel too burn out and feeling not learning anything.  What I will do is to study Appendix B of CLRS and perhaps read the whole Chapter 2 of TAOCP.  Then reread, chapter 12 and 13. This should prepare me better on the next reread. 
• For my exercise read, as I mention before, I am beaten up by the exercises.   My solution is to go to sleep and take some mental break from Algorithms   In fact, I already line up couple of things to do while I am taking the mental break from algorithm.  That includes memorizing 80 Kanjis and also read El Alquimista in Spanish.   Both are within reach and fun to do. 
• For my deep read, I just need to work on it one item by item.  It is meant to be a deep connecting study to try to combine everything I know.   This is a phase which takes time.   I am just going to take my time and enjoy the process. 

And yes, enjoy!  Enjoy algorithms.  Indeed, there are many material reasons why I want to study programming.  But at the end of the day, it is fun!  It is also something which makes me tick the most in Computer Science.