Probability Function Of Reading A Section In An Academic Paper

Probability function of reading a section in an academic paper

P(abstract) = 0.99

P(introduction) = P(effect of assignment on prof's opinion of me) × P(I care about prof's opinion of me)

P(related works) = P(introduction) × 0.9 when related works is the second section

P(related works) = 0.01 when related works is the second to last section

P(discussion) = 1 - P(I'm reading this paper after midnight)

P(conclusion) = P(introduction)

P(future works) = P(I'll get asked to discuss possible future works in class)

P(acknowledgements) = P(my name is in that section) = 0

Otherwise P(section i) = P(section (i-1)) × 0.9

I use yellow sticky notes as bookmarks for the books that I read.

You should try it, it’s easier when your bookmark doesn’t accidentally fall when you open your book on the bus and lose your place in the book!

This one no longer sticks after being used in 4 books. The black dots are ink stains on the glue strip.

Isn’t this awesome? 😊

Rainbow Hair Project

— Last year I did this project with my friend Marcelo where I dyed my hair a different colour every month, for six months, to cover the entire spectrum of the pride flag.

My friend Derek (derekdoodlebug) created this awesome pair of animated gifs to commemorate the project. Thanks Derek! :D

(higher quality versions here and here)

That cute guy on the bus

We both shyly stare at each other only to avert our eyes when the other one notices, standing next to each but not saying a word – until he get off the bus first and then we stare at each other through the window, smiling, as the bus drives away.

There's a rush of adrenaline as I'm imagining myself starting to talk to that guy (and let's be honest, also imagining less innocent things…)

But I never act, and I end up feeling like I missed the opportunity of a lifetime.

And it happens again and again.

Picking a lab desk

I started going to weekly research meetings in the Software Practices Lab (SPL), which is the lab that I intend on joining and doing my research in after I finish with my courses (maybe even before?)

There are twelve personal desks in this lab, numbered on top in the following diagram:

Given the choice, I would prefer a desk where I wouldn't have my back to the corridor, so either 3, 4, 7, 8, 11 or 12.

But, given that I'm me, I won't be satisfied with a finite set of six numbers. I need to math it.

Wolfram|Alpha to the rescue! The series we want is:

Because… you know… this is preferable to doing stuff I actually need to do.

Awesome inventions in Antwerp

I visited jocmeh, who recently moved to Antwerp, for one day. Belgians have the best ideas, among the ones I saw were: — A pedestrian tunnel to cross a wide river (with pretty, old school wooden escalators) — Belgian fries cooked in animal fat (each bite tasted like an artisanal burger) — Lindemans Kriek, cherry beer (a.k.a. the first beer I genuinely liked) — A cocktail called Coconut Woman (practically a drinkable cake) — A laundromat that doubles as a bar (so you can socialize while you do the laundry) — Pay for the bus with a text message (failed to work for Jochem and me, but he says it worked every time before that) — An escalator that goes up, then continues forward flat, then goes up again (so you can lazy while you lazy) Keep at it Belgium. You have my approval.