/sci/ - Science & Math

>>4183916

Also, I didn't post this to seek sympathy. I posted it because, well ... I guess I just feel shitty. I feel shitty because I know I could've, and should've done better. However, I didn't; I've no one to blame but myself.

I don't want to be the loser mathematician, or the one that says, 'yeah i understand real analysis BUT i just got a shitty grade in it.' Now, I'll have to do extra work -- more work -- to redeem that grade. It's shitty that it has to be like this, but oh well. I suppose everyone comes to some harsh conclusion every once in a while.

Fuck.

I can maintain that coolguy persona. People are constantly jealous of how "smart" I am.

I get straight a's and completely understand the material. I also spend lots of time studying and previewing the material. I guarantee I go into class knowing much more than others and leave with a better understanding.

I have a schedule and I make it work. The effort I put in is shown in the grades I get. While it seems like people just waltz in and get good grades fuck off. I am studying for complex analysis over break. Course starts in the spring. All I have over you is an uncanny interest in the subject.

Let that be a lesson to you OP, the math and science gods do not smile upon socialites.

>>4183926
>I also spend lots of time studying and previewing the material. I guarantee I go into class knowing much more than others and leave with a better understanding.

>While it seems like people just waltz in and get good grades fuck off. I am studying for complex analysis over break.

I think that's the problem. I used to speak with my friend and he told me shit throughout the semester that he never studied, but scored A's on all the exams. He just looked over his notes an hour before the exams and bam, instant 90s/100s. I made the mistake of actually believing him; therefore, I thought I could try that trick myself. Turns out, it doesn't ... work as well. In fact, I doubt it works at all.

I saw him studying all night in the library for two straight days, but he didn't see me. I was there studying for the same course, but sitting elsewhere. When I asked him what he was doing about an hr before the exam, he said he smoked weed and partied for five days straight before the test and didn't study one lick of the work.

Fuck.

>>4183930

Yeah. I mean, I still have a decent GPA and everything, so that's fine.

It's just that it hurts my pride more so than anything else. I tried to always uphold the idea that my math classes were always, ALWAYS, reserved for A's. I can't say that anymore.

>>4183935
yeah I fucking hate kids that say they barely study when in reality they probably study their ass off

fucking kids trying to act like they\re super geniuses

>>4183950
Yeah.

I mean, whatever; if you want to do that, that's fine. It's just a bit misleading because I suppose certain people(like me) are gullible to believe that type of shit and figure, ''hey, maybe I can do it too!''

>>4183950
fuck those kids.
>have friend
>can destroy him in any debate on any subject, display more overall intelligence than him
>"you study for X?"
>him: "nah haha I got an A but I never study"

FUCK YOU YOU ARE NOT WILL HUNTING OR SOME SHiT FAGGOT

>>4183965
yeah those kids are fucking faggots. "Oh yeah bro I didn't even need to study for that exam it was so fucking easy" - ends up getting a B; fucking retard.

>>4183965
Could be true, memory has nothing to do with intelligence, in fact most people that have had literally perfect memories (only a few documented cases) do nothing special in their lives.

I used to be able to just coast by on my natural ability to pick shit up in class - never really studied. 3.2 GPA through highschool.
Then I went to college, 3.5 GPA, learned I really did have to study. Started applying myself. Grades improve. After living with depression since forever, massive depressive attack out of nowhere, missed finals, dropped out after a wasted semester - three classes failed. GPA 2.9.
Switching to a new college in disgrace, after a year off to try to get my shit together.

Life lessons: eat well so your body chemistry doesn't fuck you over. Go to class and do your homework. Don't fap 24/7 to relieve stress, and then suddenly get a roommate.

This is why I hate how people use the word "talent" OP. I do something amazing, and everyone says that i'm talented. No, fuck off faggots, talent is just a bullshit word to make yourself feel better about being a lazy fuck.

Someone who's said to be "talented" in something, or the "next child prodigy," isn't really talented. They may have a predisposition which gives them a slight edge in what they're doing (guitar - longer fingers, benching - shorter arms) or some other shit like that. That's all though, it's not going to make such a big difference that they should be called "talented."

When you see that 12-year old piano player who plays like a fucking god, he's not talented. He had to of put in a shit load of practice and hard work to get where he is. People like to ignore that part though, the hard work part. There is nobody out there who was considered "talented" that didn't put in a shit ton of hard work for what they are doing.

Look at newton, you can say that he was just born a genius, but that completely ignores the fact that he dedicated his life to understanding physics. Maybe newton was born with some predisposition that helped him, but he didn't invent calculus from a slight predisposition.

I guarantee that if anyone worked on something since the time they were 3, they could make a groundbreaking discovery in their field too.

>>4183994
>Switching to a new college in disgrace, after a year off to try to get my shit together.

I'm the OP of this thread, but man ... Don't ever call it disgrace.

You're on the road to discovery again, bro. I know you went through a harsh time, but I'm glad you're right back on track.

Life Lessons thread, guys. Anyone who wants to contribute is welcome. Help other /sci/ducks out.

What the fuck, OP? you're complaining about getting a B-? Unless you're at a community college, B- isn't THAT bad.

>>4184005

huh, b- is pretty fucking bad.

>>4184009
Assuming you're graded on a curve and C+ is the average, you still beat the average. Chances are that you'd get a B- in at least one college course. Where the fuck are you at school? People live and die by the "Cs get degrees" rule in my department.

>>4184011
who cares if you beat the average. If you're beating the average and only getting B's you're still fucking doing bad.

>>4184005
>>4184011

In Mathematics, a B- or a B is considered 'bad.' A B+ is considered redeemable, but a B- or B is just considered absolutely atrocious.

I don't know why that is, but that's how it is. Although it means you had an 80-86 avg, it still means that you're not doing the best you possibly can. Furthermore, when you apply to Grad schools, they're going to look at that and weigh their options.

>Should I pick the student who scored an A in Real Analysis or the student who scored a B-?

That shit comes into play.

>>4184009
>>4184012

>b- is pretty fucking bad.
>pretty fucking bad.

Damn man, it isn't a C or D. It's not wonderful, but you don't have to throw me under the bus. :/

>>4183994
Are you me?

>>4184025
I doubt it - but there's a certain phrase I've memorized just in case there was any confusion. If you share that phrase, we'll know for sure.

>>4183998
>Don't ever call it disgrace.
No, the way I've been living is pretty fucking disgraceful. Not the depression, but the fact I've never put forth an extended effort that wasn't just a token action. I've let down so many friends and professors who actually cared - just by not trying.

>>4184024
You got B's??? Good luck trying to find a job to pay back your student loans. You might as well drop out and pitch a tent at your local Occupy protest. I hear that there's a sale on pickle jars at Wal-mart.

>>4184024
>In Mathematics, a B- or a B is considered 'bad.' A B+ is considered redeemable, but a B- or B is just considered absolutely atrocious.
>B is just considered absolutely atrocious.
>Damn man, it isn't a C or D. It's not wonderful, but you don't have to throw me under the bus. :/
>It's not wonderful, but...
I don't know what the fuck you're smoking but I'll take one.

>>4184039
Is it "I don't remember suck that dick."?

For lower division courses, a B is fine if your upper division courses (the ones in which you do actual math) are all As

For upper division courses, a B pretty much puts you out of the competition for top 20 schools unless you have amazing research. You will still get into a top 30-60 school if you have As and Bs and 1 or 2 Cs, though, which is average for a math student.

You can probably make up the B if you score an A in real analysis II and have good letter of recs showing you're capable of doing math.

>mfw I'm an engineer and can get hired even with a shitty GPA.

>>4184047
Even after I typed it, I felt lulzy about it.

Really though, I suppose it just feels bad when other people call me out on how bad it is. I know it's terrible, but it just feels 20x worse when someone says it.

>>4184052
No. Sorry, you are probably not me. Also, if that was your confirmation code, you should probably think of a new one. It's against the rues to write down or say your confirmation code.

>>4184053

I'm going to be taking Real Analysis II and Complex Analysis in the Spring. I plan on doing exceptionally well in them which is why I'm studying now.

>>4184024
what the hell? At my university the course average for my physics midterm was in the 50s, the engineering physics midterm is traditionally in the 30-40 region. Calculus 1 was low 70s.

This is U of Waterloo btw, pretty well known for its mathematics department.

If you're getting Bs without doing shit then study slightly and you should easily hop up to As. You don't need to go asian-hardcore study mode. Just employ basic study shit.

I get the same feel but not that bad. "Below 90? Better try harder next time". Then I do whatever work I didn't do and get proper grades

>>4184079
I seriosly doubt that they dont scale that shit up like crazy though.

UofT EE here. That's basically how it works for us; you get like 50% on the exam and you get 80% or whatever

>>4184101
as far as I know they dont. They say its to motivate us for the finals...

>>4184110
lol what the fuck. class averages hare are all 67-70%. god damn, whoc ares if you go to waterloo; 60% average sucks dick regardless

>>4183994
God it's like this post was meant for me, I know that feel so hard

>>4184115
idk man, especially seeing as waterloo is also well known for its fucking overwhelming population of asians. As much as it seems like I'm just defending shitty marks, I honestly doubt hundreds of asians are all doing shitty for lack of effort.

Honestly OP I feel you.

>Be in highschool
>Be constantly barraged by compliments from peers calling me a brainiac due to me never taking notes, seemingly disregarding school yet getting high marks
>One friend goes so far as to not shut up about me being an "apathetic genius!"
>actually start to take pride in this reputation while trying my best to remain outwardly humble in order to not be a faggot (not a total autist)
>get to university and fail first year static mechanics
>Realize im nothing special, im a diamond dozen.

Honestly aint even mad, im going to retake that course next year and kick its ass, so it feels good to shake this persona. May not be as smart as I once was, but I now feel more driven. Cant wait to tell everyone from High school I failed at uni and give them raging boners. Wish me luck.

>>4183997
Fuck I agree with this so much. I remember being a kid and having adults say that "everyone has a talent!". Hell if any of you are a canadian kid who grew up in the 90's you'd probably remember those PSA commercials full of kids saying that "Nobody is good is everything! but everybody is good at something!" I remember my 6 or 7 year old self hearing that and going, "well thats not true.."

Your success is determined by your discipline. Nothing else.

>>4184157
> diamond dozen
> dime in a dozen

Yeah you ARE retarded, if people said you weren't, they were worse.

Dunning Kruger?
Dunning Kruger!

>>4184174
probably an auto-correct because he was typing too fast and spelled dime a dozen wrong

>>4184174
Yeah if you think I was being serious with that I actually think that YOU sir are the retard. Fuck I knew there were autists on /sci/ but really? Besides im pretty sure im not the first person on here to say 'diamond dozen' as a joke. Get out of here faggot.

>dropped the ball
>As and Bs

I hope you die in a grease fire

>>4184174
>>4184180
>not realizing that saying shit like diamond dozen and doggy doggy world hasnt been a meme for quite some time now. Honestly I'm surprised reddit hasnt started doing it, or they could have i dont know

>>4184174
>dime in a dozen
>dime a dozen

Ladies and gentleman, behold the pot calling the kettle black.

>>4184178

>this

>>4184181
>>4184183
>Unintelligent losers embarrassed at their unfortunate selves trying to save face

Go cry somewhere else

Went into your situation OP, I managed to get out of it by swallowing my pride. For whatever reason, I used to be TERRIFIED of asking questions to profs/TA's, I was afraid of asking people if they understood the material. Don't go through college with the lone wolf mentality guys, it doesn't work, and you just make yourself work too damn hard. I'm also a terrible student, managing to only get a high of 3.7 GPA for a semester at a time.

One final thing: Never listen to the person that says you can't study for math finals and/or mid-terms. I made that mistake once. Never again.

>dat feel when all my friends do what OP did and all ended up with 3.0-3.6's while I end up with a 4.0
Still had a great time in college regardless.

People do that to me. Say I am really smart for picking up things really quickly and doing well on exams (Distinctions and High Distinctions) with little effort. I didn't put a lot of effort into my assignments and got only Credits and Distinctions overall. But I realized that while I might be a little smarter then the average person, I needed to put in more effort to get the grades I want.