Two Weeks in One

I have finally created my SLog, hurray!

So now to catch up.

Week 1:
I was unable to attend lecture this week due to a work conflict; however. Upon reading the notes from the lectures I came upon the conclusion that I really like Prof Heap's new laptop and the fact that notes are available online and not written in chalk. This not only helps me when I miss a lecture (like this one) but allows me to pay closer attention in class instead of worrying about what to write down. Although last year (CSC165) had all the course notes in the online textbook, I find it easier to follow along with the exact order and examples with which it was taught originally.

Now the content: The course seems very similar in flavor to CSC165, simple induction is obviously a review and I have no problems with it. The problem set was very straightforward and since I am writing this in hindsight, I know now to make sure I am including the smallest possible base case i.e. look a little harder for it.

Week 2:
Seeing the notes being written in class makes me appreciate them much more. Also, the night lecture for this course is much less crowded than the day lecture for CSC165 last year, which I feel really suits the courses style. The frequent, do it yourself, type questions Prof Heap gives us does help, rather than us staring blindly while he works it out for the class.

The content: Complete induction is very simple and straightforward, partly because I was introduced to it last year at the end of a lecture when asking about a different solution for a question. To me it feels as if simple and complete induction are the same thing. The principle of well ordering, on the other hand, seems very strange. Every non-empty set has a smallest element? Obviously this is true but I don't quite see how it can be applied. I guess this is something I will have to pay extra attention to. The problem set this week was very straightforward, I will have to wait for the results to find out why (hopefully because I knew what I was doing and not because I did it very wrong). I looked at the assignment this week and it does not seem too problematic aside from the last question, which it seems like we don't need to do anymore. Phew!

I would like to work on the third problem set and finish the assignment before I post my third weeks blog so stay tuned.