In Which I Consider My Chances of Survival
Above is a candid snapshot of this semester’s required texts.* “Required” in the sense of necessary/non-optional, rather than in the sense of “Yeah, right” (also understood by some as the “doorstop/paperweight” sense).
As expert students know, some textbooks are included in the syllabus merely to give below-average students a sense of accomplishment. The expert students realize that a) those particular textbooks merely duplicate the professor’s lectures, or b) those particular textbooks may be intellectually interesting, if you have time for them, but the professor has failed to tie them to the course (i.e. exams) in a really meaningful way.
Either realization generally leads expert students to “save that one for later,” which is another way of saying they will sell it at slashed rate to the first interested party.
For better or worse, my required texts this semester really are required. This could be a godsend or a disaster, depending on one’s perspective. I tend toward the godsend view, but with one caveat: What will this bookish barrage do to my blog-life?
Generally speaking, I’ve found that good (or “necessary”) reading tends to provoke good blogging. Using my vast Physics background, I’ve drawn a simple diagram below to illustrate this relationship.
The tube should be understood to represent the quasi-linear workings of my mind. The “necessary” books are inputted, percolating with other ideas and concepts until they emerge, reconstituted as brilliant blog posts. However, every closed system has elements that figure into an optimum working environment, and that’s where I’m concerned. What might happen if the quantity of necessary books expanded exponentially? Below is another diagram illustrating my darkest fears.
Will my required texts this semester exceed critical mass? If so, how could I compensate? Solutions would involve altered elements in the equation, say, a bigger “tube” (i.e. mind) or a new element…like coffee dosage.
Help me here, I’m reaching.
* Not included are this semester’s “auxiliary” textbooks, the pricey ones which you don’t actually read cover to cover, but have to keep on hand for reference. Kind of like life insurance, I guess. Anyway, were they present, this stack would be another eight inches high. But that would be misrepresentation.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
A Blogging Hurdle?
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7 comments:
Odd, I don't see any books on C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien, or more importantly, those two together. :)
I'm sure you've already breezed through them, anyway.
i don't think you need to worry about how many texts you have, but rather, those texts on the bottom. the top ones look quite fun.
the previous anonymous comment was NOT anonymous.
-the other aj-
uh, yeah your reaching ariel...but it made me laugh out loud. this post came across as if you'd been studying too long and were a little looney. but it's funny. KA-BLOOSH! ;)
>>Odd, I don't see any books on C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien...<<
I should clarify that these are the books I have to read for school. Were I to compile my own list of "necessary" books, it would look drastically different, the aforementioned authors playing prominent roles... Nonetheless, at some point in the semester, I'll probably begin wildly reading what I want to, regardless of the consequences. *sigh*
aj, as you say, the books that are thicker than 2 inches are the ones you really have to worry about.
>>this post came across as if you'd been studying too long and were a little looney<<
I think you just captured me perfectly.
Great post! I love the high-tech graphics of the explosion. However I would be interested in reading those books you have there. I am thinking about taking a religon class....time willing!
And using my vast neuro-biology background to assist in your quest for an enlargening Cerebral Cortex (which we will capitalize to show the superiority of a human one as to compared to those of a different species.. say, Jerry Springer), I would say that in order to continue moderating all discursive abilities to an almost perfunctory value, one must look at a growth of a squared inch per 1448.3 minutes (disclaimer: this figure is due to the fact that a day on Encefalonus has been precisely calculated to the most accurate of all possible, resulting not in a more accurate description of how many minutes constitutes a day but in a political and legal crisis that had further resulted in a completely nonsensical and overtly stupid disclaimer after each quote or even reference to how many minutes constitutes a day) of both cerebral lobes. More importantly (contrary to popular human obsession in perceiving symmetrical perfection ubiquitously... say, Denzel Washington), it's assymetry must be kept in pace with such growth for the function of language is most notably represented in the left hemisphere. This of course would lead to a most comfortable and natural conclusion that the left hemisphere should always grow an approximate 0.00045% of an inch more than the right if one would infer from my ambigious display of words that the left hemisphere should be bigger than the right. Of course case examples would serve more than to correct me (which would mean NOT correcting me); see case #1432: all PIXAR or Disney animated characters.
But if I may say with much insincere grace that I am proven wrong, the left hemisphere might actually be smaller than the right. If so then, empirically we should proceed with medical procedures to reduce the size of your left hemisphere of your Cerebral Cortex. I would most recommend these highly effective medical procedures:
1)placing your head in the middle of the road. Although this may concur with a lack of mental stability (ironically, when one is attempting to procure it), I have found the explanation that "I am listening for the garbage truck" a most cogent deterrent from oncoming impertinent enquiries.
2)annoy the town bully. I personally have never tried this before but it is said to be quite a reasonable alternative if one does not have a garbage truck in the surounding vicinity of one's home. Success stories; see case #2: Man-In-Coma.
3)And of course, a personal recommendation.. to read Douglas Adam. This has resulted in a tremendous significant quantitative increase in my mental capabilities which has lead to a vast suspectible knowledge in medicine as proven above.
And if you have read Douglas Adam and still experience oneself in such a predicament.. the last option I would present would be a one way trip to Encefalonus.
Hey, I heard the days were longer there... should help with the immense overload of reading. I personally have never taken a trip there but I heard that the longer days help with academic pursuits.
Refer case #2:Man-in-coma.
smiling smiley
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