memorizing... code!

this semester in my undergrad class, i have a ... well, a different student. not quite sure why he's a bit ... "confrontational" in general but there can be n reasons for that. so i don't want to be rude to him or anything so i try to keep my calm with him during the lecture.

the other day, he kept insisting about how can one memorize Processing language functions like "line(x1,y1,x2,y2)", how does one meorize the code to draw a cube, and so on. to be honest, he caught me by surprise since i had never been asked a question like that before - how does one memorize programming codes!

i tried to explain to the class about how when they practice enough, they won't *need* to memorize functions and so on but quite frankly, i didn't convince myself, if at all the students.

so here's the answer i wish i had given:

Student: "How can i memorize this code you wrote to draw a cube"
I: "Can you tell me what is 73 + 18?"
Student (Hopefully): 91
I: "Did you memorize that?"

Intuitive understanding would say that programming is rather similar to Math, where understanding of fundamentals is critical towards solving more complex problems that are built on top of simpler problems.

Thus, the brain (IMO) goes through a process of analyzing each separable component of a problem (and by problem, I mean mathematical or computing) to determine

1. if it's solvable as-it-is, or
2. whether it can be broken down, or
3. whether the next separable component should be looked at first.

the brain gradually trains itself to come up with the problem solving process just described above and eventually when faced with a problem, applies the process, and adds any new information in its knowledge base.

I know this is all very intuitive and random hypothesis, but hey, that's why it's going on a blog and not in a research journal :D

Over and out :-)

Cairns - Port Douglas trip

As some of you might be aware of, Gunjan and I took some time off work and had a wonderful holiday in cairns and port douglas. in this edition, i would like to share some stories from the trip and more importantly some information i wish i had before going.


We took jetstar flight to cairns, stayed there overnight at Queen's Court which is a very basic and economic place to stay. Next morning we picked up our rental car (which I HIGHLY recommend to anyone visiting Queensland, or any place for that matter). We were with AVIS and the staff were not very helpful (at the same time, they weren't too bad either). Although they didn't have the free upgrade we were entitled to, I was pretty happy with the small manual Getz over there as it's really really flat as compared to NSW. So my first suggestion is to get a small (1.3/ 1.6 ltr car and opt for the free extra day instead of free upgrades that rental companies offer as you will NOT need anything heavy duty).

We took off for Port Douglas, and on the way Gunjan finally accepted that  I wasn't bluffing about there being mango trees on road side.

  


We had a dip at a beach on the way and was quite nice - the water was amazingly warm for September (at least for us, who live in Sydney, it was)





In Port Douglas, we stayed at Mercure TreeTops which is 5 mins drive from the city center. The city itself is just one main street and kinda reminded me of Hatod, which has just one road, Nandlal Road. Of course, apart from similar city structure, there's nothing common between the two.

Our evenings were mostly spent in the town where our favorite dinner place was Mango Jam. The vegetarian pizza was excellent and we stuck to that the two nights we were there.

 



We also tried Rattle Hum where the food was ok, but it ain't no Mango Jam.

The main beach in Port Douglas is Four Mile beach and is serene!

While we were in Port Douglas, we went to see Mossman Gorge and Daintree rainforests.

Mossman gorge is a lovely place and has some pretty interesting flora. The natural landscape is beautiful and offers ample opportunities for good pictures. There is also a tiny pond at the end of the trail where you can have a dip with the fish (so take the swimming gear, snorkel mask and tube, no need to take fins along).

 

 

There are a few mosquitos and bugs there so either apply repellent beforehand or better still take it with you. You might also wanna keep a ltr or so of cold water as it gets a bit hot in there.

We then drove to Daintree rainforests and on the way, stopped for an hour-long crocodile river cruise which was nice as we could witness wildlife without restrictions. You don't see tens or hundreds of crocs but you do see a couple of adult crocs and a few babies too. On a lucky day, you can also see some pythons and snakes in the mangroves.

Dainetree rainforests themselves were nice but since we were a bit tired from the trip that day, we chose not to explore them comprehensively. We did have a swim at the beach at the end of the trip (What was the name of the beach...... Cape Tribulation beach, yes!) It's not that great for swimming as it has quite a few rocks within 10 meters of the shore. Hence, you have to be a little careful, otherwise you might seriously hurt yourself.

 

But on the way back, we saw a beautiful yellow belly snake, at the sight of which, Gunjan, logically, ran away but I decided to take some pictures from about 15 ft away. I had enough time to change my lens and the reptile offered some good shots. (S)he got a bit upset towards the end and that's when I decided to run away too :D

The main attraction, at least before we had left Sydney, was the Great Barrier Reef. It was spectacular to see the reef and the sea life down there. 

  

There's a cafe in Port Douglas which has one of the funniest signs at the door I have ever seen. I wish their coffee were equally good too :-(

Port Douglas weekly markets were also really good and had lots of fresh fruits on offer. I gorged on my childhood favorite - sugarcane. Had heaps of juice while we were there. Trust me, it can't get any sweeter than that, or better, with a twist of ginger in it ... yumm :-p

From cairns, we did a day trip to Paronella Park, named after it's builder and owner, a Spanish migrant who worked in cane fields and was wise enough to save to buy a property and build a nice small castle on it. It is definitely worth going to, with a small picnic basket.

While we were in cairns, we went to the Art Gallery, that was holding the FNQ 2010 exhibition and two paintings really impressed us. I have forgotten the name of the first one, but the second one was "The love song of J Alfred Prufrock"

  

is THAT why it's wrong!?

Usually, I refrain from putting up political posts here but this one had to be shared!

I quote the following from Sydney Morning Herald (08/09/10)

The concerned news, with similar take, can be found on other western newspapers such as New York Times and The Telegraph.

A Florida evangelical church has vowed to go ahead with plans to burn the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary, despite fears it may fuel an angry backlash and endanger US and allied troops in Afghanistan.

The White House lent its voice to growing concern from military leaders that the incendiary move could trigger outrage around the Islamic world, as well as stoke a growing anti-Muslim tide of feeling in the United States.

"It puts our troops in harm's way. Any type of activity like that that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, reiterating comments by top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus.

So the White House thinks, and western newspapers concur, that the only (or at least the primary, and worth mentioning) reason it's wrong to burn religious texts is because it might harm THEIR troops - Genius! Score from today's game - Tolerance - 0, Whackos - 1