Professor Ramblings #3

"Whoa, am I good or what? Well, I think I'm good. Put up with me."

"Imagine my surprise when the somewhat anti-intellectual, former navy pilot started talking about asymptotes. You know what an asymptote is, right?"

"What do you call it? Those little balls of crack? A kernel?"

[In a problem where we calculate the number of centenarians in the U.S.] "What does 'RO' stand for? REALLY OLD."

"This is why consultants get paid so much money! They have the patience to knock this stuff out!"

And my favorite this week...

[Phone rings.] "Oooh, it's a reporter. I'll talk to them later--you're much more important than a reporter."

And so begins another week...

Professor Ramblings #1

I'm taking a summer class on "quantitative methods" and despite my reservations about anything math-related, I think this class is going to be good. The professor is AWESOME. Smart as a whip, funny, confident, and he knows how to teach. He strikes the perfect balance of being invested in our success, holding us to high standards, and presenting us with a reasonably challenging regimen. Score.

He also cracks me up about five times per class. So, I present Professor Ramblings #1:

"You'll need to write a one page memo at the end of each problem set that would explain to someone with no particular mathematical faculties what you discovered. Like your grandma... or Joe Biden. Ask yourself: 'If I were Joe Biden, could I understand this?'"

"You grew up thinking that asking for help was cheating. Well, get that out of your system. You're not longer 'cheating' by asking for help, you're 'consulting.'"

"It's a good lesson to learn: if it makes you feel smart, you're probably on the wrong track."

On the quadratic formula: "Fairly often my intellectual powers fail me and you need to use something that will always, always work. It's not elegant, but it's easier."

"Okay, that's a BIG ASS number. Let's see if this works."