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2006, Feb 17
Mathematics, Logic and More
Nothing new, but once again, I’ve been reminded how hopeless I’m when it comes to hardcore mathematics, algorithms and numerical logic. And over time, I’ve come to accept that I almost completely suck at it.
Oh well, I can scrape through, most of the times. And I am competent enough to use it when required, but it simply isn’t my forte.
The question, therefore, is: Is being proficient in it really important?
For those who are thinking that I’m shooting words in the air, here’s a concrete example: We had a Programming and Debugging in Space 2006, and while I comfortably cleared the eliminations, the finals were a different story altogether. And here’s why: The finals had problem statements from TopCoder, which lays a great deal of emphasis on algorithmic programming, logic and maths. And, as we all know by now, I’m not good with it. Some people are great in it… Nishant, Nadeem (props to you guys
Sure, I can improve a lot. But it’s not something I love… So, unless the situation demands that, I’m not going to take it up.
Here’s what I’m good at: I’m excellent when it comes to top level views. I can design reasonably good application programs, but when it comes to something that uses maths, you’d be safe with the next guy. I’m good at overviews… I can show you a possibility, but I can’t necessarily do the implementation. Which does not mean, that I won’t be able to do it (unlike some other people I know, who’d claim they can do everything, even if it’s clear it’s not feasible). It’s just that I don’t particularly like doing it. And consequently, lack faculty.
That brings me to an interesting conclusion, something which I’ve known since quite some time now: I’m good with systems. If that is what they mean by systems. Then again, they might not, so the conclusion does not necessarily hold.
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Ankur Shukla
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Nadeem Mohsin
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Varun Rajkumar