So Spring Break is finally over. My week away from academics actually proved to be quite relaxing. It allowed me to catch up with friends I hadn't talked to in a while, read books that I wanted to, sleep in (which was honestly the best part), and just relax after four grueling (but super fun) weeks of my senior research project.
Spring Break was also why I did not have a blog post up last week, since I was obviously taking time off. As for this week, a couple of things happened. The MathCounts team I had been coaching did amazingly at the state competition. We had the overall winner and a 3rd place contestant, both who will be moving on to an all expense paid trip to National MathCounts. I'm really excited to see them do well at the next level and even next year, when I'm not there.
And back to my senior research project again. Differential Geometry has been incredibly difficult for me. Not only does it require a solid understanding for both Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus, but it also requires rigorous proofs. A lot of differential geometry proofs have been simple to state, even in layman terms, but have incredibly technical proofs. My textbook, de Carmo's Differential Geometry on Curves and Surfaces, has started to get very hard for me, so I've looked at a few other books to learn from.
I might try to read Needham's Visual Differential Geometry and Beltrami's Hyperbolic Plane in order to catch up with what I've been struggling with.
The class has been very analysis-like, so I also thought about reading more complex and real analysis. A few textbooks I've wanted to read are Baby Rudin, Visual Complex Analysis, and Pugh's Real Mathematical Analysis.
I'll start reading some of these books and maybe introduce them and my opinions on them next week. Differential Geometry, despite being so very incredibly horribly terribly difficult has been super rewarding for me. Seeing a college level class six months before I head out has me aware of how difficult college will be.
My senior research project has been a mix of both nim research and differential geometry (more differential geometry recently), but I really have learned a lot from it. I've learned what undergrad research is like and what taking undergraduate classes is like. Getting the whole experience as a hopeful math major has been eye opening.
Thats all for now~
Bye
Spring Break was also why I did not have a blog post up last week, since I was obviously taking time off. As for this week, a couple of things happened. The MathCounts team I had been coaching did amazingly at the state competition. We had the overall winner and a 3rd place contestant, both who will be moving on to an all expense paid trip to National MathCounts. I'm really excited to see them do well at the next level and even next year, when I'm not there.
And back to my senior research project again. Differential Geometry has been incredibly difficult for me. Not only does it require a solid understanding for both Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus, but it also requires rigorous proofs. A lot of differential geometry proofs have been simple to state, even in layman terms, but have incredibly technical proofs. My textbook, de Carmo's Differential Geometry on Curves and Surfaces, has started to get very hard for me, so I've looked at a few other books to learn from.
I might try to read Needham's Visual Differential Geometry and Beltrami's Hyperbolic Plane in order to catch up with what I've been struggling with.
The class has been very analysis-like, so I also thought about reading more complex and real analysis. A few textbooks I've wanted to read are Baby Rudin, Visual Complex Analysis, and Pugh's Real Mathematical Analysis.
I'll start reading some of these books and maybe introduce them and my opinions on them next week. Differential Geometry, despite being so very incredibly horribly terribly difficult has been super rewarding for me. Seeing a college level class six months before I head out has me aware of how difficult college will be.
My senior research project has been a mix of both nim research and differential geometry (more differential geometry recently), but I really have learned a lot from it. I've learned what undergrad research is like and what taking undergraduate classes is like. Getting the whole experience as a hopeful math major has been eye opening.
Thats all for now~
Bye
Has taking ASU classes solidified your math major aspirations or changed them at all? Do you have any idea what kind of math in particular you want to study? Good luck with all those textbooks
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your MathCounts team. How much longer is your class going to be going on for?
ReplyDeleteIt's good that you are trying to augment your learning with new books, and I hope that the difficult math doesn't discourage you too much. Congrats to your mathcounts team and I wish you luck with your research.
ReplyDeleteWhat direction has your research taken? Do you feel that you are any closer to solving your question, or do you expect you will be able to answer it within the next month?
ReplyDeleteNice to see you finally be challenged by something for once, even though it seems like youre struggling and thats kinda sad :D Good luck to you on finding the answers you need and congrats on the MathCounts team!
ReplyDelete