simonbarron.blogspot.com
An Open Road: OU - An Update
http://simonbarron.blogspot.com/2011/04/ou-update.html
My experience of studying for a BSc (Hons) with the Open University in the UK - and how I keep changing direction. Tuesday, April 26, 2011. OU - An Update. Well, no updates from me since January - but I'm not slacking - I'm just very busy! Anyway, I read through the marked transcript this morning and found that I made a couple of stupid mistakes (careless oversight - seems to be a habit of mine), a part of one question that I managed to miss out (not the first time thats happened either! Some of the most...
simonbarron.blogspot.com
An Open Road: Quandry
http://simonbarron.blogspot.com/2010/12/quandry.html
My experience of studying for a BSc (Hons) with the Open University in the UK - and how I keep changing direction. Tuesday, December 21, 2010. I need something that I can do well, really get into, and if it isn't programming that does that then nothing will do it. After that is out of the way then it will be time for M363. Unless I change my mind again tonight. Last chance though - tomorrow is decision day! But can relate to the situation, as I was in a similar one with some psychology courses. For me it...
simonbarron.blogspot.com
An Open Road: January 2011
http://simonbarron.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html
My experience of studying for a BSc (Hons) with the Open University in the UK - and how I keep changing direction. Wednesday, January 26, 2011. S197 Has entered the building. Two days ago the course book for S197 arrived - so now I have two very interesting courses sitting waiting for my attention. The topics on this one include:. But - it will have to wait - I have to make reasonable headway on M362 first. M362 A familiar start. Wednesday, January 05, 2011. Tuesday, January 04, 2011. I don't think we co...
catbear.wordpress.com
Linear equations and matrices | TMA Machine
https://catbear.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/linear-equations-and-matrices
The adventures of a mathematics-loving Open University student. Linear equations and matrices. Filed under: M208: Pure mathematics. February 1, 2010. Now this is more like it! I’m not sure why it never occurred to me before, but during LA2 I found myself suddenly wondering who had invented matrix methods for solving simultaneous equations, and I was really surprised to find that the technique has been known for around 2000 years. That’s pretty mindblowing, I think. Laquo; Vectors and conics. A BSc for me!
catbear.wordpress.com
Homomorphisms, group actions, and maths fatigue | TMA Machine
https://catbear.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/homomorphisms-group-actions-and-maths-fatigue
The adventures of a mathematics-loving Open University student. Homomorphisms, group actions, and maths fatigue. Filed under: M208: Pure mathematics. Mdash; 4 Comments. July 25, 2010. So it turns out that GTB2 (Homomorphisms) is quite a tough one as well! Seems to really trip me up. And even worse, the associated TMA question was full of that stuff! Hopefully there won’t be as many. Related questions on the exam…. Weirdly, I’ll be really quite glad when M208 is finished, which is something I absolu...
catbear.wordpress.com
Vectors and conics | TMA Machine
https://catbear.wordpress.com/2010/01/23/vectors-and-conics
The adventures of a mathematics-loving Open University student. Filed under: M208: Pure mathematics. Mdash; 1 Comment. January 23, 2010. I found it quite hard to get back into working with conics, even though they were covered in almost as much detail in MS221 last year; in fact, oddly enough, I had less trouble getting used to vectors again, and the last time I studied those was in 2007! I also made a complete mess of all the “draw the intersection of these two planes in. Question in the exam….
catbear.wordpress.com
Continuity | TMA Machine
https://catbear.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/continuity
The adventures of a mathematics-loving Open University student. Filed under: M208: Pure mathematics. Mdash; 3 Comments. May 24, 2010. The similar examples involving balancing a table on bumpy ground, and equally distributing sugar on pancakes, were lots of fun too.). TMA04 is wrapped up now, and I’m proud to say that this will be my first ever LaTex-produced assignment! Well, I should say Lyx. May 9, 2012 at 8:50 pm. May 9, 2012 at 9:55 pm. May 9, 2012 at 10:47 pm. Thanks, I’ll look there. A BSc for me!
catbear.wordpress.com
Numbers | TMA Machine
https://catbear.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/numbers
The adventures of a mathematics-loving Open University student. Filed under: M208: Pure mathematics. April 15, 2010. I finally finished the TMA question associated with Unit AA1: Numbers today, and it’s quite a relief! I feel like I’ve been working on AA1 for absolutely ages. It’s not a bad unit, by any means, but for some reason my motivation levels have been a lot lower than usual lately, so I’ve barely been putting any time into M208 for the last few weeks. M257: Putting Java to work. A BSc for me!
catbear.wordpress.com
Sequences & Series | TMA Machine
https://catbear.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/sequences-series
The adventures of a mathematics-loving Open University student. Filed under: M208: Pure mathematics. May 11, 2010. I found myself a bit underwhelmed by Unit AA2, to be honest. It was interesting, and I really enjoyed the part of the associated DVD program about approximating pi by taking exterior and interior polygons around a circle, but overall the unit didn’t quite grab me in the same way as the chapter in MS221 about sequences. 8221; like that. Homomorphisms, group actions, and maths fatigue.
