I'm a bit late to the discussion, but @quid's name can be mimicked by “ԛսіԁ” and the difference with the real quid can only be noticed by checking the encoding :)
@Qwid no. In my opinion it's basically a useless activity. Sometimes I think I should have dedicated more time to math when I was younger but not in an Olympiad context. Yet, then, I did well enough, so it's alright.
To qualify the above a bit. It's also fine, maybe even desirable, to engage in "useless activities" if one enjoys them. I mean I play chess which also not really useful. But it's not something one should feel one needs to do.
What I meant to say is that I do not consider it as a particularly good preparation, and certainly not a necessity, for a career in academia to focus on such competitions.
@quid Fair enough. It is actually healthy and useful to engage in a few "useless activities", particularly in youth, but we all need to find a way to "Play", as well. But I agree with your sentiments about math competitions. If one feels they "ought" to participate in them, that's different than having tons of fun doing so.
Sorry for interrupting the good conversation here.
@amWhy not quite sure i understand the meaning behind, but whatever..
@XanderHenderson true that..
@XanderHenderson I don't know if you've seen this from me before, but congratulations on successfully defending your theses (and earning those two letters that you would sign everywhere now) !!
@sai-kartik Alliteration, and nonsense. By the way, in english, ducks "quack", hence my assurance that quid is not a duck and hence does not quack. I'm sorry if you don't get the humor in that. But whatever.
@sai-kartik Yes, there are times when I reach a point where I think leaving may be in my best self-interest. But I do not act rashly on those feelings, but rather reach out. The post you replied to when you stated "not quite sure i understand the meaning behind, but whatever" was exactly the post I previously explain. If you wanted to address I previous post of mine, then you should link that post when addressing me. In any case, you know little of the harassment I've received over time.
I don't expect you or most users to know about it. And so my expressed concerns may come across to some as confusing. I'm sorry for that. But sometimes the only way I keep sane on this site is by expressing my concerns. But I do not mean to alarm anyone. I am sorry I didn't explain this more fully. But I usually work through such frustration with the help of friends here. I wish you well, @sai-kartik.
@sai-kartik It has nothing to do with my alliterations. That's the beauty of this site. Not everything a person says is intimately connected. Usually it's not.
So I spent a summer and a semester at a CC getting my GPA back over 2.0 so that I could attend the state school. I went there as an anthropology major, with an archaeology emphasis.
I almost finished that degree, but got into a fight with one of the old silverbacks in the department. Being an arrogant 21 year old, when he called me arrogant, I made a comment about pots and kettles.
@Xander I want pancakes! I'll send my insulated drone to pick them up, and return them. I prefer they are served with butter and maple syrup, so please oblige! :-)
@Qwid I totally understand. Outdoor cats don't survive long. But indoor cats, can live very long. My first cat, Mary, lived to the age of 21 years! And was very healthy up until her last month. The world, particularly the developed world, is not kind to stray pets.
@quid Absolutely, positive. You have a wonderful sense of humor! But I have come to suspect that "tease" means different things to different people. When I use it, I mean only to "kid/joke with someone", but I suspect some see the word as a synonym to "taunt". I think it's likely cultural or regionally specific. When I've referred to "teasing", I've always meant it in a fond sense, never in a mean sense.
I want to solve a high-dimensional integral using Monte Carlo integration. Does anyone know of a suitable package for Python that I can use? I have heard of Stan, used for statistics, but I am not sure it is suitable for a simple integration
@Qwid what about a tortoise / turtle :p ( just the disadvantage that they are extremely boring at times)
Just that maybe your great grandchildren would watch them breathe their last..
And speaking of songs with sun in their title, I don't really have one, but I would suggest you guys to check out the artist James Sun on Spotify ( I agree not all his songs are great) but the topmost hit is absolutely a marvelous piece of music (no it's not classical)
Please, to be polite to all users, please speak in English in math.se chatrooms. I've said this many times before, and you should know this by now, @Qwid.
@Qwid Yes. And at times since. Sometimes sadness and happiness are hard to separate, and the deepest of thinkers, throughout history, have experienced both great sadness, and great joy. The same is true of great artists, whether their art is expressed in words (literature), or art, or philosophy, or math. But I think you are also a deep thinker.
@sai-kartik I majored in math, philosophy, and psychology. I went on to earn a PhD in philosophy, and then earned my PhD in mathematics. I just love learning.
@amWhy true.. my ultimate ambition is however to work for India's space program.. so if I get absorbed into it after my undergraduation, I guess I'll roll with it ..
@Qwid IKR!! "this is just an exception. Learn it. " Very few teachers actually encourage learning the subject instead of just giving a short trick to use in the exam.
One has to navigate two paths: succeed in the standard tests, but retain enough of a stubborn streak to continue pursuing answers to one's Why's! That's a tall order, no doubt, but don't every let that voice asking Why? die!!
@Qwid I'd say you're doing a good job at doing just that. One goal might be suppressed to accomplish the other goal, but don't ever deny, over time, all of who you are and all of what you are curious about. And the most successful in any enterprise, are fueled by the inner passions they never let die.
@quid That's a Monday for you :-). I saw a question earlier, either here or in CURED, from @Knight, about whether any time or date has been set for the next mod election (along with a question about who's running, but that can't be known until the nomination phase of the election.) I tried to scroll back in this room to check, where the question appeared, but there's been a lot of activity in this chatroom today, so I'd have to go back further.
