Two Types of Tests

On the left, a student ascends a rollercoaster, feeling comfortable. On the right, their cart does a midair "jump" across a gap. The difference between knowing what to expect and having a teacher throw a curve ball.

Just like a rollercoaster, the one consolation is that they both have a fixed time.

29 Nov 2019

Mapping

A function from reality to reality. As an input, an unsuspecting student. As an output, a proof machine.

Warning: this function is not invertible.

27 Nov 2019

Hoops

Researcher 1: "Did you read my proof I sent you?" Researcher 2: "I tried, but I couldn't get through it." Researcher 1: "Oh, that's because you have to read it during a full moon with one eye closed, in an area without Wi-Fi."

“Ah, I did the rest, but I forgot about the Wi-Fi part. Silly me!”

25 Nov 2019

Good Enough

A student climbs a hill toward the top 1% of their field, and can't help but feel like they aren't good enough, even though they are further ahead than the 99%.

You’re allowed to look back and enjoy your progress, you know.

22 Nov 2019

Linearity

Linearity of expectation.

I’m just trying to not break mathematics here.

20 Nov 2019

Bad Calibration

After realizing one small thing went badly on a test, a student says, "Oh no, I really messed up that question! That probably means I got other things wrong too! I'm done for! I'm going to fail the course! How could I be so stup..." On how our internal calibrators are a little too biased toward negative results.

I am notorious for getting into these thought cycles. I go from one thing wrong to imagining that I’ve somehow forgotten everything about physics, and sooner than later I’ve convinced myself that I know nothing.

18 Nov 2019

Prestige

Researcher: "Must resist giving more credence to this research just because it was published in a popular jounal." (Later) Researcher: "...Oh year, this research is top-notch. After all, it was published in the prestigious journal Nature!" (What we say versus what we do.)

Once I started noticing this in magazines and other science outreach publications, I couldn’t unsee it. You’re welcome.

15 Nov 2019

Intermediate Steps

Professor: "We are running out of time, so let's use my favourite method of proof." Students: "Contrapositive?", "Contradiction?", "Induction?" Professor: "Proof by skipping intermediate steps!"

“I don’t know why they don’t teach this in school anymore. I’ve found it to be very helpful in getting through material quickly.”

13 Nov 2019

Mistakes

First panel: The supervisor tells his student that there was a mistake in their paper, so it's the student's job to fix it. Second panel: All week, the student looks for the mistake, but can't seem to find it. The student concludes they are being stupid. Third panel: The supervisor tells the student that the good news is that there wasn't any mistake after all!

More or less based on a true story.

11 Nov 2019

Low Expectations

A physics student walks toward their new lab, hoping that it will have a nice window. Instead, all they get is a view of people's feet.

Maybe I was just unlucky with where I studied, but the windows reminded me of a prison.

08 Nov 2019

To the past To the present