231 words on Uni
More lectures and examples sessions today. One lecture went a little slow, another a bit out of hand – both because it was hard and disorganised – while the third only didn't manage to cram everything into the hour allotted.
How many talks you witnessed at university finished on time? Very few, would be my answer. How comes that people who are in that trade for years or even decades don't mange to estimate correctly how much they can fit into an hour at their preferred pace? The few people who manage to do that suggest that it is possible to get this right.
Examples sessions in the afternoon were quite helpful and relatively successful. Talking about the exercises with the other students and having bits explained by tutors helps much more than only listening to lectures or reading on your own. While mathematicians aren't the most talkative people, talking problems over with other people who are willing to do so can be very helpful.
Fun maths observation for the day: Intuition prefers topology. While line bundles have sections both for intuition and for the topologist – in algebraic geometry those sections simply don't qualify as sections as they're not considered morphisms, i.e. adequate maps. Perhaps that's the reason why a topological viewpoint is more accessible and appealing.
Tonight we went to a pub in town that sales local ales. All fun.