Posts on Frustrated
October 17, 2005
'The solution is trivial' ; '(why?)' ; at my wits end.
When you're deeply engrossed in some fundamentally earth-shattering reading, there are moments that make you want to jump off a bridge in frustrated anger against the learned members of the academic community. Look, I have nothing against them personally... but their communal behaviour (as revealed by their uncanny habbit of trivialising portions of their magnificent books) leaves me wanting.
Let me explain - it's great to see learned (wo)men write such beautiful books. We'd be nowhere without them... and for that I am eternally grateful. At the end of the day... good textbooks help contribute to the mass effort of aiding (torturing) graduate students in their quest for general proficiency. What strikes me as odd, is when they leave portions of their masterpieces unfinished, and expect the poor graduate student to finish the task.
Example: "Blah blah blah, therefore it must be trivial that blah = blooh".
My head screams: "NO! ITS NOT TRIVIAL. Tell me HOW! TELL ME HOW! T E L L M E H O W!"
Example: "Blah = blooh (why?)"
My head screams: "Why??? WHY??? I DONT KNOW! I JUST SPENT 50000 minutes trying and it just doesn't figure!"
Ok... so there is a definite positive probability that the poor graduate student using these profound books is of low mental capacity (okay, so that probability is high... but still...) but certainly the authors of these grand treatises would surely wish to help improve that capacity by fully unravelling their earth-shattering discoveries!
My trivial conclusion: Textbook authors should stop trivialising their masterpieces... and attempt to explain everything they set out to. Perhaps load up the problem sets with hundreds of (why?)s - that ought to be more fun for sure!
(why?)
June 17, 2005
After the exams... the damage assessment.
I'm still recovering from the whole exam ordeal, in a way, its like the day after your haircut - I swear you can feel the hair still on you! I'm nervously pacing around the house, thinking about what to do next! I figured I might as well take the time to write out my exam experience.
Micro:
For both my Micro and Macro exams, I had the benefit of studying with my soulnerds Janak and Kevin. In a way that eased the pain of the experience. We REALLY crammed it up for Micro. I swear (and I believe I have said this before), if I see another General Equilibrium question in the next year, I might consider jumping out the window.
The exam was a different story. It was incredibly difficult. I know it's normal for every batch to scream and shout about how the previous year was easy. Somehow I really felt that this exam was marginally (by a long margin... calclulus might not help) tougher. There were a lot of new types of questions that I think I was unprepared for. I know I have a lot to complain about, but as always, I never like getting personal or putrid on my blog. Micro was a tough exam, but I have no regrets on the whole with the course, and had a good time learning a subject I often detest. I will write more about this in my year end review of the MSc.
Econometrics:
In my humble opinion, a good course is tough on the inside, but puts up exams that a prepared student can really ace. Too many courses are difficult and then put up an impenetrable exam, leaving students highly disillusioned. Econometrics easily comes under the former classification. The exam was a joy. Now I'm not sure whether I did well on it or not, but the hard work that I put into it paid far higher dividends than Micro did. I really appreciate the fact that there is almost NO informational asymmetry in this course. Exams, along with their solutions are available and date back to 1997. The exam this year was predictable enough to favour a prepared test taker, and had just the right amount of tough questions to annoy the hell out of you. On the whole, I think this was my best paper.
Macro:
I must admit I had very little time and inclination to study hard on the two days before my macro exam. This was because my ordeal with a really tough Micro exam, followed by the Econometrics exam had taken its toll on me. Half of this exam was once again heavily tilted towards a prepared test taker. Looking back, someone who was REALLY prepared should have gotten a full score on those questions. The other half was a nude walk in the Himalayas. Once again, I'm sure I can whine, but there were exams that were far worse in my life. I don't think I really mind that much that half the exam was tough, because the other half was really really really doable. I would safely say that Macro was my second best exam.
Monetary:
This was by leaps and bounds THE toughest exam I have EVER taken in my ENTIRE life. I am not sure how the exam went, and which side of the curve I will end up on, so that leaves me a worried man for the next two weeks. I'll write more on this when I start writing my end of year review.
On the whole - two good exams, one almost good exam, one utter and complete disaster.
The upside: I'm FREE!
Posted by vinayak at 7:52 PM
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