Happy birthday, grandpa, we miss you!
DUDES UI FALL SCHEDULE TIME!
Here’s what I’d take. Clicky clicky.
Purely hypothetical, of course…or IS it?!
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN!
Some Days I Miss My Sanity. Other Days I’m Just a Toaster.
So my first week of Grad School: Take II has passed. I’m taking three classes and TA-ing an undergrad course. REVIEWS!
PHIL 9276: Philosophical Foundations of Modern Physics
Word for word on the syllabus: “Week 2: Newton vs. Leibniz.”
HELL.
YES.
PHIL 9606: Hume and Reid on Mental Representation
Next to the veritable demigod that is Leibniz, Hume is my favorite philosopher. I really like the way he tackled he idea of causality and how simply observing a “cause” action and then an “effect” action doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the cause actually CAUSED the effect.
Anyway, this class will involve reading a metric crap ton of Hume plus many of his critics, including Reid.
PHIL 9889: Environmental Philosophy
This is going to be a near exact repeat of my philosophy senior seminar at UI. Which I’m okay with, ’cause it was interesting stuff.
PHIL 2020: Basic Logic (TA)
Yay, logic! This is an undergrad class full of non-philosophy majors and is taught by a PhD student. Once we get to PhD level we’re allowed to actually teach classes; at the MA level we’re just graders/office-hour-holders. I’m hoping that since I’m TA-ing logic for both semesters now that I’ll be able to ask them to actually let me teach it next year, ‘cause I think it would probably be one of the better classes for me to teach given my background.
Cool, huh?
SO EXCITED
SO!
Here are the classes I’m probably going to take at Western this semester and next. The MA is only a year-long thing there, so at the end of next summer I’ll be done with that and going onto the PhD, assuming everything goes well. For the MA, we need to take six half-courses in total.
Here are the ones I’m wanting:
Fall semester:
Philosophy 9276A: Philosophical Foundations of Modern Physics
“This seminar will examine the background to contemporary physics, particularly emphasizing two aspects: the philosophical views of space, time, and matter that were part of classical physics, and the views of the nature of scientific theory in general– in particular, of the roles of theory and experience, and the relations between mathematical structure and physical reality– that informed, and were informed by, developments in physics. Authors to be discussed include Newton, Leibniz, Euler, Kant, Helmholtz, Maxwell, Duhem, Mach, Poincaré, Einstein, Heisenberg, Schlick, Carnap, and others.”
Philosophy 9606A: Hume and Reid on Mental Representation
“This course will focus on Hume’s and Reid’s contrasting accounts of the foundations of knowledge and the workings of the mind.”
Philosophy 4993F/9889A: Environmental Philosophy
“This course in environmental philosophy explores some ethical and epistemological issues that arise in the contexts of conservation and restoration ecology. We commonly ear that we ought to preserve biodiversity. What are the moral justifications for such a widely accepted normative claim? Finally, this course will also look into the issue of unpredictability. Scientific and applied ecology were for a long time deeply influenced by an equilibrium paradigm in which nature was conceived of as balanced and predictable. But in the 1970s, ecologists started challenged this view and now endorse what some call a “non-equilibrium” view of nature. We will reflect on this new ecology and how it can affect the way in which policy makers and ecologists approach ecological management.”
Spring semester:
Philosophy 9277B: Philosophy of Probability
“This course is an introduction to philosophical issues connected with probability. Emphasis will be on the strengths and limitations of a probabilistic approach to confirmation in science. Topics will include interpretations of probability, Bayesian reasoning and its relation to classical statistical inference, how to understand conditional probability, and application of probabilistic reasoning to case studies in science.”
Philosophy 9279B: Science and Values
“This seminar considers the roles of values in science from four angles: (1) Values in scientific epistemology: heuristics and pragmatics; (2) Whose science is it?: authority, governance and ownership in science; (3) Scientific communication and moral life: trust, testimony, and obligation; (4) Choices: goals, risks, and the aims of science.”
Philosophy 9608B: Consciousness
“We will consider several philosophical theories of consciousness, including the HOT theory, AIR theory, multiple drafts, and dual aspect theory. We will also consider the role of science in explaining consciousness.”
Cool, huh?
UI schedule fun
So I should have been born in like 1991, because the U of I has had some really great classes these past two years. Here are the 25 credits I would like to take this semester, if I were there (click on image to bring to full size):
These plus MATH 452: Mathematical Statistics, which is a video course.
Nice, eh?
Mother Teresa called — she HATES you
So because I’m me, I’ve decided to plan out a hypothetical “this is what I’d take next semester if I were still at the U of I” schedule. No Flash-made chart this time, ‘cause CS3 blows and I can’t find the CD for good ol’ Flash 5.
Monday/Wednesday/Friday
STAT 507: Experimental Design (9:30 – 10:20)
PHIL 446: Metaphysics (1:10 – 2:20)
MATH 430: Advanced Linear Algebra (2:30 – 3:20)
Tuesday/Thursday
PHYS 111: General Physics I (9:30 – 10:45)
THE 305: Intermediate Acting (11:00 – 12:15)
ENGL 492: Advanced Fiction Writing (3:30 – 4:45)
Monday/Tuesday
STAT 404: Statistics for the Life and Behavioral Sciences (5:30 – 6:45)
Thursday
CASP 509: Psychometrics (5:30 – 8:20)
All week
MUSA 119: Marching Band (12:30 – 1:20; 12:30 – 1:45)
Yeah, it’s only 25 credits, ‘cause I’m sure if I’d petitioned for more than that again they’d deny me again (and because, of course, none of the physics labs would fit with this schedule, so I’d just take the lecture component). ‘Cause it just works like that. This semester would be the “let’s take the next level in all the class strings that I started (like linear algebra, writing, and acting). It’s also the “fuck anyone who gets in my way, I’m TAKING METAPHYSICS” semester.
Today’s song: Opus 36 by Dustin O’Halloran
Waiter! There’s a tachyon in my—oh wait, there it goes, never mind.
There are a lot of tricks to riding the bus.
If you go during the busy times of the day, you may not get a seat due to the sheer number of people. However, during the busy times there are also a lot more buses running, which means that you might have a shot if you’re one of the first in line.
If you go during the dead times of the day, then you also may not get a seat, as there are a lot fewer buses running and the lines to get on the bus grow quite a bit between buses.
However, there appear to be a few times during the day where the bus company still determines it to be busy but there are lulls in the number of people taking the bus. This is best represented in graph form. Times circled in green represent good times to take the bus, times in yellow represent bad times.
Why? Because I felt like it.
Also, this is pretty fantastic.
Today’s song: Save Me a Place by Lights
I am 95% confident that the population parameter ‘love’ falls between you and me
(AND YES, I know that’s not the appropriate way to interpret confidence intervals…shut up, I thought it was cute)
Hahaha, oh the memories…I’ve helped save Sean from looming academic disaster literally six times now, and now, right this second as I’m typing this blog, I’m doing it again. Why am I like the only person who knows what’s going on with the U of I scheduling? Even still?
I designed the schedule that turned Aaron from Academic Probation Boy to Dean’s List member. At least, I designed the schedule that HELPED this transformation. I still hold the schedule had a big part in it…he hated his first semester classes, but really liked the ones I picked out. I know more about how the classes/schedules work than my advisor did.I know more about how the classes/schedules work than Sean’s advisor.I still have the goddamned U of I Catalog, EVEN THOUGH I DON’T GO THERE ANYMORE.I remember when in the semester drop dates without W’s are, drop dates with W’s are, and I know when the half-classes generally end/start.
Haha, I’m not complaining, I just think it’s funny. This was all spawned by Sean YET AGAIN NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT THE FUTURE WILL EXIST AT SOME POINT and relying on his luck and the fact that he knows I know the U of I catalog pretty much word-for-word. Usually that approach woks just fine for him, but who knows this time.
Anyway.
So if anyone wants academic advice/a schedule, just let me know. I’ve still got the book!
Also, Academic Probation Boy = best superhero sidekick name ever (or villain sidekick name. Dr. Procrastination needs a crony).
Today’s song: LoveGame by Lady GaGa
January is too far from the end of the semester
Ugh, school. Here’s my schedule this semester:
9:30 – 11:00 M/W: Bayesian Inference
3:00 – 4:30 M/W: Statistical Computing (half course, starts in March)
9:30 – 11:00 T/H: Measurement
11:00 – 1:15 T/H: Regression
Fun times.
Today’s song: Fuzzy Blue Lights by Owl City
The cactus is right!
Guess who’s now enrolled in Intermediate Fiction?!
ME!
19 was unacceptable. Had to push it up to 22. ‘Cause I’m me and I’m weird.
Also, YAY FICTION CLASS! Tuesdays are going to be awesome, ‘cause I have concert band at 12:30 and then Fiction at 2, and then I’m done.
Best day ever.
Yay.
Edit: schedulescheduleschedule!
Second day of classes!
SECOND DAY, HOLY CRAP!
Today’s classes:
Music 321: Concert Band – always a good class to have.
Philosophy 490: Senior seminar – the senior seminar in philosophy…a class I would have NEVER expected I would be taking if you’d ask me about it my first semester. Meets only once a week, but for 3 ½ hours.
Oh yeah, and more research is happening this semester.
ALSO: 19 credits is a frighteningly low amount for me.
First day of classes!
Oh, look.
Another semester.
Hello, semester.
Today’s classes:
Philosophy 240: Belief and Reality – Dr. O’Rourke!
Philosophy 447: Theory of Knowledge – Dr. O’Rourke bonus hour! I adore this man.
Math 330: Linear Algebra – this class will destroy my soul.
Statistics 519: Multivariate Analysis – YAY STATISTICS!!!!!
That is all.
Best part of the year, assuming it’s not screwed up like last time
WOOOOO SPRING SCHEDULE!
So I guess I can sign up for practically anything I want.
Or nothing.
Finally, some choice.
I think I shall take a crap ton of philosophy and statistics. And…perhaps…the dreaded Linear Algebra.
Schedule to come in a few days.
ARE YOU SERIOUS
God DAMN the U of I!
They cancelled Metaphysics!
WHY?! FUCK!
Too angry to blog. This ruined my schedule entirely. There are like three classes I had to NOT TAKE so that I could fit Metaphysics in that little block on Monday.
Screw it. Too angry to blog.
So many more things to do…
Remember that schedule for next fall I said that I had figured out? If you thought I wouldn’t be able to hold on to that schedule for the whole semester without changing it…
Well, you’d be right.
So here’s the thing: I don’t need to take Buddhism in the fall due to the fact that I’m taking it this summer in the late session (any jokes like “aren’t you going to drop it like you dropped Linear Algebra?” will not be a good idea), and I don’t really need to take Fiction, even though I really, really want to. So I’ve decided to be a good student and take a class that actually pertains to one of my majors (or minors…who knows, it’s all twisted at the moment). I’m dropping Fiction and replacing it with Philosophy of Science, which certainly sounds interesting, but is at 8:00-9:15 in the morning on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Oh, and I’m also going to try to persuade several people (Torrey, Dr. Craig, the CASP department, and the Psychometrics teacher) to let me audit Marching Band and take the Psychometrics class offered for five Tuesdays up in Coeur d’Alene. I’m so desperate to take that class.
Sigh.
Yay Schedule!
Well, now that things have finally settled down, I think I’ve finally figured out my schedule for fall. But Flash is being dumb, so I can’t make a pretty picture for y’all.
And I’m really, really busy, you guys. Apologies if I cancel plans over the weekend. The grades come first, I’m sorry, but they do.
Oh yeah? Well screw you, too, U of I!
Alright, University of Idaho, you want to play rough, I’ll play rough.
Newly revised schedule for next fall:
As you can see, I revised quite a bit to fit Metaphysics in. I really, really want to take that class, obviously, because I eliminated what would have essentially been a “history of psychology” class, which is right up my alley. I figured I’ll just take either Psychology of Learning or Abnormal Psychology online during the fall (and the other one online during this coming summer, but I haven’t decided which to take when, obviously).
Take THAT, U of I, you piece of crap!
More U of I-related gripes:
~The one lower division class philosophy majors need, Belief and Reality 240, is apparently offered every four years. This is a problem, because it’s being offered right now, here in spring of ’08. That essentially means that there’s a .0001% chance that I’ll be able to get a degree in Philosophy next spring (yeah, I’ll have every class BUT that one, how much does THAT suck?!). And if this is the case, then I’m dumping Buddhism for Phil of Science (Buddhism fills the “Eastern” requirement for the major).
~Apparently, the U of I does have a class called Psychometrics (which I never saw because it’s listed under Counseling and School Psychology, or CASP, not PSYC). Unfortunately, it was last offered in 2005 and is not offered next fall (in fact, none of the CASP classes are offered next fall, which makes me worry that they dropped the whole thing).
I hate this place, I really do.
At least I’m almost freeeeeee!
The Disaster of My Final (Necessary) Semester’s Schedule
So remember how I said the fall schedule was up and running?
Yeah, well, my schedule basically sucks for next fall.
Check it out:
(Wow, the blue’s really hard to read. Basically, they’re three philosophy classes).
Now if you know me and my schedule preferences at all, you know how I like to have all my classes in a big block, preferably as early in the day as possible. Yeah, I’m not getting that vibe from this schedule, are you?
Problems:
~I start with freaking Marching Band at 12:30. I’m usually 90% done with classes by that time in the day.
~That 8:00 class on T/R is going to kill me, since I won’t be getting up until 11 AM or so on M/W/F and thus will stay up ’till god knows when.
~Cognitive psych that late in the day for that long? That won’t be fun at all, I’m telling you that right now.
~I want to take Metaphysics…I mean, I REALLY want to take Metaphysics, but it runs from 3:30-5:50 on Mondays, which would cancel out History and Systems of Psychology, which I also really want to take.
Plus, what I’ve got listed there is 22 credits (like I was only going to take the 17 I need to graduate, come on, guys). That’s not counting the one research class (3 credits) I probably should do and the one research class (3 credits) that I really hope I can do (Stat 499: Statistics in the Social Sciences. Doesn’t that sound like it was made for me?!).
So I’m looking at a 28-credit semester next fall. After I promised myself that 25 was my upper limit.
Bad, bad, bad Claudia.
Please note: this schedule will change, I’m almost sure of it.
FINALLY, holy crap!
GUESS WHAT, GUYS?
The fall ’08 schedule is up—FINALLY—at www.uidaho.edu/schedule.
Haha…by the time these blogs get uploaded on to here you’ll probably have seen me and I will have ranted about my schedule (good or bad, I haven’t really worked anything out yet), so this blog will be past news.
Blog 620: Another Daily Log of Claudia’s Life Happenings (only 380 more to go until 1,000!)
Day two!
Introduction to Symbolic Logic: The first thing the professor says is, “welcome to symbolic logic. This class will be a lot like a math class.” Grr. I have a feeling this will be a difficult class. Why is it, in my experience, that 200-level classes are the toughest?
Concert Band: Hurrah! A class with people I know (even though you’re both in the back)! Torrey is switching me to clarinet, because all the other clarinetists from last year’s concert band died of the plague (I’m assuming) and I’m apparently the only one in the band who knows clarinet who is willing to switch instruments. Hurrah. Oh, well. I haven’t gotten to be loud and obnoxious on the clarinet in a concert band setting since junior year of high school.
History of Modern Philosophy: I love Joseph Cannon! I’m excited greatly for this class. The only downside is the fact that we’re only going up to Kant. But it’s all good.
Tonight consisted of: homework, dinking around on eBay for hours on end, working on my MFAW Flash (that’s “Millard Fillmore Appreciation Week, by the way), and making and subsequently drinking Nesquik chocolate milk. Yum.
Fillmore Fact:
“Econometrics: on average, people spend money” (thanks for the quote, Sean)
Holy crap, new semester! Here we go with my obligatory rundown of today’s classes:
Human Sexuality: oh man, is this gonna be a fun class. We get in there and he’s all “bring porno to class, we’ll watch it!” What a wonderful way to begin the semester and every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until May. The downside, though, is that our grades ride on only 100 points from two tests. Scary.
Statistical Analysis: I don’t think this is going to be the nightmare I thought it would be. However, I got my first droning professor of my college career. That’s going to be fun at 9:30 in the morning. But oh well—the tests are open book and open note!
Sample Survey Methods: I don’t think this one’ll be too bad, either. We’ll see.
Developmental Psychology: Hooray! I like Welch. I naturally study and absorb the same material she tests over, so it’s good.
Psychology of Emotion: Hooray! I have this class with Sean! And Welch teaches it, so it’s good. Plus, she says the tests are easy.
Well, it doesn’t sound like the tortuous 25 credits of death as I was expecting it would (at least today’s not—we’re not through tomorrow yet), so I’m pretty content.
Onward to Thursday!
Fillmore Fact: Did you know that it was under Millard Fillmore that California was admitted as a free state? Very cool, M. F., very cool.
Oh, and also…
First cartoon of the new semester. Concept thought up in Stats 401 (we weren’t talking about diagrams at all).
Heh. I’m awesome.
Stop. Schedule time.
Look at the symmetry. Just look at it. Isn’t that just the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?
Yeah, even with the U of I’s crappy last-minute scheduling, I pulled this beautiful schedule. Hooray.
They do this to me on purpose, I swear
*insert loud, frustrated, utterly-surprised-at-incompetence screams here*
This freaking university. I am often surprised by their lack of competence, but today’s adventures took the cake.
I, being who I am, constantly check the class schedules on a daily basis to make sure nothing’s changed and that everything is still go for my schedule next semester. Up until this point, nothing has been dramatically changed on me. Note the “up until this point.”
So today, I nonchalantly check the class schedules during my little break between geography and philosophy, as I always do. But today, I noticed there was a difference—every single philosophy class’s times and days were switched around. Confused, I refreshed the page several times to make sure there wasn’t mistake. There wasn’t—the philosophy schedule had completely changed. Frantically, I check to see where these new time slots fit in with my previously secure schedule.
Now let’s pause here and reason for a moment. Suppose you’re head of the registrar’s office at a university and are in charge of scheduling time slots for classes. It would make sense, don’t you think, to schedule classes that may conflict for people who have double majors at different times than each other, right? An example of this would be people majoring in, say, microbiology and regular biology. So it would make sense, wouldn’t you say, to schedule psychology and philosophy classes, with a double major of psychology and philosophy being rather common, at different times, correct?
Apparently, this did not occur to whoever designed the new philosophy schedule. The two philosophy classes required for the minor (and thus the major) are scheduled at the exact same time as two psychology classes that are not offered at any other time. Brilliant move, U of I. Brilliant move. What also changed is the statistics schedule, but luckily, this changed for the better. At least, for the moment.
After doing some investigating, I discovered that this genius revision of the schedule so close to registration was due to the rather large mistake by the registrar’s office of putting up last spring’s schedule instead of the new one and assuming that all the departments would realize this and adjust—in due time, before the schedule became available to students—their classes accordingly.
No.
So after rambling on for about four too many paragraphs, the short message is this: recheck your schedules if you’ve already got them charted out, and don’t freaking trust this university.
That is all. I am angry.
Schedule-riffic!
All right then, people. I have my spring ’08 schedule all planned out already, and assuming I don’t find any better alternatives or my advisor advises me otherwise, this is how it’s going down next January-May:
MWF:
9:30-10:20—Statistical Analysis (Stat 401)
11:20-12:20—Developmental Psychology (Psyc 305)
12:30-1:20—Psychology of Emotion (Psyc 456)
1:30-2:20—Sample Survey Methods (Stat 422)
TR:
9:30-10:45—History of Modern Psychology (Phil 321)
11:00-12:15—Introduction to Symbolic Logic (Phil 202)
12:30-1:45—Concert Band (MusA 321)
3:30-4:45—Sensation and Perception (Psyc 444)
What fun! And I’ll probably add a directed study in there, too.
Oh yay!
Holycrapholycrapholycrapholycrap, guess what?!
The spring ’08 schedule is up on the Registrar page! And you know what that means…
Obsessive planning!
This is what I’ve been looking forward to since I got this semester’s plan all figured out (what was that, March?). I love planning. Love it, love it, love it.
Ooh! And I got some new clothes for Claude: jeans (that fit—aren’t too long or too big around the waist, what an accomplishment!), a new shirt, and a coat/hoodie thingy. And a necklace. Hooray! He’s really hot.
(holycrapspringscheduleyay!)
The day that Camus backed into a sumac was the day the palindrome was born!
Ha, well, I was so enthralled with the goings on of yesterday’s gaming fun, I forgot to do my little rundown on my classes of the day! So here they are.
My opinions on the new ones:
–Introduction to Research in the Behavioral Sciences (Psychology 218): holy crap. A whole class on writing research papers. Am I in heaven?
–Tests and Measurements (Psychology 430): I’ll be tested on tests. How grand. I also find it funny that I almost typed “testes and measurements.” Shows you where my mind is.
–Social Psychology (Psychology 320): I wasn’t looking forward to this. But now I am. Sounds fun!
Good semester.
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