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>>>> As I understand it, this is considered one of the "seminal texts" on
>>>> relational databases.
>>>
>>> It was some 25 years ago too. :-)
>>
>> OK, so the book I'm worshiping is a little out of date.
>
> No. That's my point. It's so seminal that it hasn't needed to be
> replaced in 25 years either.
The mark of a Special title. ;-)
> My understanding is that the calculus describes "this is the result I
> want", while the algebra is "follow these steps". Of course, the steps
> don't have to be followed in order in the algebra (associative,
> commutitive, etc), so that's OK.
I wandered into lots of terms like "universal quantification" and got
horribly lost...
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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Mike Raiford wrote:
> Invisible wrote:
>> 3 years evaluating the intelligence of a half-mouldy cup of yogurt
> That could be your dissertation. :-D
Or dessert-tation?
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
"Ouch ouch ouch!"
"What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
"No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."
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Invisible wrote:
> I guess I'm still smarting from that guy yelling at me because I keep
> asking how rank-2 types work and I still can't get my head around it.
You need to sit down interactively with someone. There were a handful of
things I just couldn't grok until I got someone more expert to give me a
clue, then it all fell into place. (LISP being one of those, for example.)
> Actually, I'm still not really comprehending why double-entry book
> keeping is really relevant to a computer science degree, but still...
It's as relevant as anything else. Computer science (such as it is) doesn't
solve any problems on its own. :-)
>> Aren't there lots of options for getting funding?
> *shrugs*
Yes. They will pay you to get a PhD.
> is another qualification going to be different?
Because in getting that qualification, you get introduced to all the people
working in the fields that interest you.
>> and will have many more employment options once you are done.
> I currently doubt this one.
OK, put it this way... So what? You're not finding any good jobs now.
After, if you still don't find any good jobs, what did you lose?
> I'm thinking I might make a list of cool stuff just for the hell of it,
> actually. :-D
You definitely should.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
"Ouch ouch ouch!"
"What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
"No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."
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>> 1. I am insufficiently intelligent to actually acheive a PhD. (I
>> nearly failed my BSc as it is!)
>
> You think you're failing at what you're doing now anyway, yes? So fail
> at something bigger.
LOL. Riiiight...
> It's like saying you're not going to take a job
> just because some day you might get fired.
Mmm, whatever.
> Plus, you'll meet girls. :-)
Oh. My. GOD! >_<
You cannot *possibly* expect me to take anything else you say seriously
now, can you? :-P
>> 3. I don't think I can spare the time. (I have a job to do, sucky as
>> it is.)
>
> Go where they'll pay for you. You can't reasonably do a PhD while
> you're holding down a full-time job, IMO.
Agreed.
>> 4. It is *highly* unlikely that having a PhD will make any kind of
>> positive change to my employment situation. Nobody is impressed by a
>> BSc, and I doubt a PhD will be any different. Everybody wants
>> "experience" and/or "people skills".
>
> Experience and people skills is what you get with a PhD. You meet
> bunches of people doing exciting stuff you enjoy while you're doing a
> PhD. Do you think, for example, that if you're doing a PhD having to do
> with (say) optimizing functional languages that you're not going to have
> dinner with the guys at Microsoft Research working on GHC?
Heh. Actually, a few weeks back I did look at MSRC. But I couldn't
figure out what they were talking about. I surmised this probably means
I'm too stupid to be there. :-}
Much as it would be fun to meet the legendary Simon PJ, I rather doubt
they have any PhD openings to do with Haskell right about now. Sure,
lots of people are working hard on GHC, but most of it is not "new" in
any way, it's just getting around to applying techniques known from
other compilers. It takes a while to alter a codebase that huge.
> All but one job I had since I got my PhD was through knowing people I
> met while I got my PhD. I had a couple of job offers guaranteed by the
> time I finished, because I was doing just what they wanted and they knew
> I could do it.
That's pretty impressive, right there.
Other than my lecturers, I didn't meet *anybody* during my degree. And
now I'm trying to track down some of my old lecturers just so I can
maybe get some references out of them...
> And yes, people actually do get impressed by PhDs.
I guess it depends who you're asking...
>> 6. I rather doubt that you can get a PhD in "doing cool stuff".
>> Presumably it must be something rather more specific than that.
>
> You have to pick what you want to do, then find the place that's doing
> that sort of stuff, then go there.
>
> Here's how you do it: decide what kind of thing you want to research.
> Functional languages? OK, find research papers about functional
> languages. Look to see if they're funded by grants (usually mentioned in
> the ack's on the front page). See what university got the grant. Surf
> that university's web site, and look over the professors. Call them up
> and ask them what their interests are because you want to get a PhD.
Hmm, time to track down all those Haskell papers which I carefully
linked from our Haskell group for safe keeping. 8^D
(And if you believe *that*, you'll believe anything...)
> 4) Profit!
Anybody know the origins of this curios meme?
> Find people who have written papers in things you're interested in who
> have PhDs. Ask them who they recommend you go to. Note that *where* you
> go is less important than with *whom* you go.
Mmm, OK.
>> I seem to vaguely recall somebody (I forget who) claiming to know who
>> to go to for this kind of thing, and offering to help me arrange it.
>
> I've done it in the USA. Apparently the UK is much different. But don't
> limit yourself to the UK. Lots of people travel abroad to do schooling
> like that.
Taking a PhD for no apparent reason is slightly crazy, but I'm gradually
coming around to the idea. Leaving the UK is an absurd idea. :-P
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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>> I guess I'm still smarting from that guy yelling at me because I keep
>> asking how rank-2 types work and I still can't get my head around it.
>
> You need to sit down interactively with someone. There were a handful of
> things I just couldn't grok until I got someone more expert to give me a
> clue, then it all fell into place. (LISP being one of those, for example.)
Yeah, well... not much danger of that. ;-)
>> Actually, I'm still not really comprehending why double-entry book
>> keeping is really relevant to a computer science degree, but still...
>
> It's as relevant as anything else. Computer science (such as it is)
> doesn't solve any problems on its own. :-)
See, I don't give a **** about solving real-world problems. I only care
about solving "interesting" problems. ;-)
This is possibly why I'm so unemployable... :-/
>> is another qualification going to be different?
>
> Because in getting that qualification, you get introduced to all the
> people working in the fields that interest you.
I don't think anybody is "working" with Haskell. (As in, getting paid
money to use it.) I could be wrong, but it seems pretty rare.
>>> and will have many more employment options once you are done.
>> I currently doubt this one.
>
> OK, put it this way... So what? You're not finding any good jobs now.
> After, if you still don't find any good jobs, what did you lose?
Several thousand pounds in debts? Several years of my life? Possibly my
sanity? :-} (Did you *see* the links I posted?)
>> I'm thinking I might make a list of cool stuff just for the hell of
>> it, actually. :-D
>
> You definitely should.
Meh. I tried making a list of cool things, and it ended up having
entries like "complex numbers. Because you can calculate stuff with
them!" Pretty retarded, eh?
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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Invisible wrote:
> Well, I guess it depends on finding a good subject.
First decide what subjects you'd be interested in working on.
Then find someone working on those subjects.
Then go to the school where that person is.
4 - Profit!
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
"Ouch ouch ouch!"
"What's wrong? Noodles too hot?"
"No, I have Chopstick Tunnel Syndrome."
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> First decide what subjects you'd be interested in working on.
>
> Then find someone working on those subjects.
>
> Then go to the school where that person is.
>
> 4 - Profit!
I'd settle for break-even, BTH.
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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On 20-2-2009 23:06, Darren New wrote:
> andrel wrote:
>> The number of atoms in a given volume of gas at standard pressure is
>> constant, hence the weight of a volume of N2 is 7 times that of H2 and
>> O2 8 times. So why did you expect a few percent?
>
> You studied physics and you're confusing atomic number with atomic mass?
yip, not paying attention and writing mail while trying to concentrate
on sets of cubic coordinate transformations. Not a good Idea.
Reconstruction: N2 is about 7x2x2 times as heavy as one H. I know I
corrected one factor 2 for H2, but I don't know which any more.
> <insert asshole PhD comment here>
ok: Thanks for pointing out.
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On Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:54:57 -0800, Darren New wrote:
>> 3. I don't think I can spare the time. (I have a job to do, sucky as it
>> is.)
>
> Go where they'll pay for you. You can't reasonably do a PhD while
> you're holding down a full-time job, IMO.
Agreed. I've got a few friends who got their PhD's and one of them made
a little money on the side playing the stock market (risky, but Tim's an
outstanding maths guy and good at research - and he took quite a while to
get his doctorate, at that), but generally it was a full-time job paid
for by grant money, like you said.
>> I seem to vaguely recall somebody (I forget who) claiming to know who
>> to go to for this kind of thing, and offering to help me arrange it.
>
> I've done it in the USA. Apparently the UK is much different. But don't
> limit yourself to the UK. Lots of people travel abroad to do schooling
> like that.
Agreed. Plus going to school abroad looks great on a resume. Andy
shouldn't let his view of going to a foreign country be coloured by a few
jerks in the company he works for who happen to be based in the US.
Jim
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On Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:17:09 +0000, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
>> 4) Profit!
>
> Anybody know the origins of this curios meme?
Slashdot.
Jim
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