Phase #1: Upgrade Your Skill of Presentation

Last week I missed my usual weekly appointment with my advisor. The truth is I don't have enough material to show him plus I haven't work out any significant ideas for our regular discussion. There's time when you hardly succeed any progress for which when your brain don't produce any solid or interesting idea. You will find that you need to fight against time as you have to read more and dig more ideas from literatures before your next appointment.

I tried to make a reasonable outline of possible materials to be presented during the discussion. Also at the same time I divide the hours of days accordingly so that I can cover every methods or formula and doesn't missed a thing. In my previous presentation, there's always few things which I lacked in terms of presenting ideas. One, I still need to refer to a notes or working problem when I presenting. Next, whenever I detect what kind of question my advisor will asked, it never went out smoothly. It always go wrong. Also I always stumble on few things (try my best not to stumble on basic things).

The good thing here is everyone love to talk, passionate about presentation and happy if they can speak out lout for their ideas. I have experienced most of the students are capable of presenting their materials without even referring to any notes or paper at hand for which I envied most. And this week I give a shot.

I'm happy that it is more or less work out find. My advisor give his satisfaction and I received my next task. Which is a good thing. Thank god that I have finally upgrade my skill of giving a presentation.

Beggar/Homeless in Montreal

Type ??
They can be categorized to be a very talented person on earth. Most of them can play music very well. Some might prefer to call them a buskers or street performers. Not just singing and playing instruments but they can do other things as well. They perform so well which sometime they collected quite amount of tips for a single day. I can safely said that this type do not fall into the beggar/homeless category.

Type 1
This people standing at the side of the escalator at the exit (entrance) of metro (subways train) stations holding a board that reads, "I've served my country as an army during the Vietnam war. Please spare me some coins". Or some just shouting loud saying, "anyone, change please. Change...". Others are not saying much but just show off their buckets or hats for some to drop a coin.

Type 2
They don't even bother to ask for anything but just lying down at the stairs sleeping and some are even smelly. This type don't even care if anyone felt sorry for him. And even interesting when I found out that this people have a very high pride. One day I saw a couple of policewomen who trying to help a homeless guy who used to sleep at the side walks. I've heard one of the policewoman said that "come on, we just wanna help. Its not like we're gonna give you a ticket or something. You're interrupting people who used this route". Then this guy reply with, "owh..yeah I don't need help. Like I care". Hehehe... despite he was so much indeed need of help.

Type 3
They don't need money they just need a cigarette.

Type 4
I just came across this type number 4 this morning. He sat at the pedestrian side walk and at the same time reading a book. In front of him was his hat for coins. OK, to me its look like budaya membaca is everywhere. Maybe because of he showing off his effort to read, some might considered him to be worth it to drop at least 10 cents.

I haven't yet found any particular people with disabilities begging for money or anything. I just met a type of healthy and lazy people trying to do so little work with so minimum energy to survive for live.

Do and Learns

Honestly, I don't really bother to stay all day at my place in my office. I also don't mind to sit at the same place with the same environment all day or even months. Just maybe and maybe it is because of the things we do (a theoretical work) we tend to accept that there will be no term of 'boring' when it comes to work place environment. I am not talking about myself alone, but it also happen to the rest of my office mate. They all sit at their place very quiet, reads, and there's one person I saw him thinking. He stared at the ceiling for quite sometimes. Woww...

However, recently I went to the library to do works and some readings. Just to have an another feeling from my routine. It helps also since books and reference are near, it was very easy to make an instant referent. And yesterday I found a book titled "Groups:A Path to Geometry" which contain full of exercises plus complete answers on the fundamental concepts of groups.

At the very beginning of books, the author says

Mathematics is something we do, not something we learn.

And he mentioned that most of mathematics lecturer tends to do the opposite.

I try to figure out what he really means and I know it of cause that we can never learn maths unless we do them. We won't understand the rules or the important properties until we work on all the possible solutions. Only than that the rules make sense and acceptable.

So, lets do and learn.

Research Has Begun

Today I gave another presentation with my advisor together with his visiting scientist on a recent paper which I studies named "the group representation related to the Stockwell transform". After one year of registering into the program I am now working on my (advisor) topic of interest. This kind of transform is a new study in time-frequency analysis which are greatly important in areas like geophysics, biomedicine or engineering. I have started this work like three weeks now eventhough I haven't completed my maths comprehensive part.

Remember on previous post, I've been preparing for the Ph.D qualifying exams. Well, I just managed to perform in the physics parts, which it is natural for me to do so since I was graduated from physics background. But I sense that I somehow could not tolerate with this kind of situation (fail for the maths part, since I like maths a lot). Ouuh...may my likeness isn't enough. But the truth is I spend like 3 whole months preparing for the maths part ONLY. And it didn't work out.

I went to see the person who giving the grades for the exam and she showed me how I'm doing. She mentioned that I have no problem to use all the mathematical tools yet I having problem in terms of proving and analyzing mathematical statement. But she said that, it is OK since any physicist will not interested to know how functions behave accurately. Only mathematician do. But since I do mathematical physics, it is also natural for me to know both parts. I remember when my former supervisor told me quite a few times (for a theoretical physicist), about how he committed to physics more than maths. Maths is just a tool to solve physics problem. If you get stucked with the maths perhaps go back to the significant of the physical explaination on how one should tackle such problems. If oneself get 'carried away' with the maths part perhaps he or she should be working on the maths problem.

However, during the year I've learned that maths is just not for solving, it is philosophically a logic thinking. And I admit that I was so weak in that sense. Need to stay in the field long enough to get the feeling. Later on my advisor told me that it was just the past, and lets work on for the future. Some of the stuffs I've learned may not even used later on. For example physicist don't need to know measure theory (which happened to be the subject for the comprehensive). This told me that I still had a chance. If I get lucky I can still be continuing to this program. Or else I am preparing myself home for my country. My advisor is positive due to my continuing but I don't know how the university system works. Lets just hope for a positive outcomes.

I take it as it is and now started to spend time on research and Ph.D works. I don't get discouraged for what has happened and still carry one with what is in front of me now. Take every opportunities that I can get until it is been told to my face that 'it is the end of the world'.

p\s-Apart from the stuffs I've been studying for the maths comprehensive, I found that it really helps a lot while reading any mathematical physics journal. Especially in terms of notations and terminology.