The First Day

Classes Begin

Calculus and Differential Equations – Biology 1, my first class at Northeastern University.  The title of my first lecture – “To Infinity and Beyond!”  The irony didn’t escape me, and so I figured I must put this in my blog.  And even though I must retake this class, I did learn something new on the very first day.  Infinitesimals, really really really really really really really REALLY small numbers.  Really, like as close as you can get to zero without actually being there.  Actually, zero is an infinitesimal.  I get infinity.  It took me awhile, but I have finally grasped the fact of having a number that is so large it can be given no finite value.  Infinitesimals however are a different story.   How come we can’t just say 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000….1?  Is that not an infinitesimal?  No, only e (epsilon) and d (delta) -- by the way, these aren't the right symbols, but blogger doesn't let you do the real ones apparently--, and I’m sure a few others that were not mentioned at this point and will come back later in my calc career to confuse me even more.  Maybe graphs will clear things up.  They generally do.  Except when they make things worse.  So thus begins my calc experience.

General Chemistry 1, my 150-student lecture hall.  The professor wrote the textbook, I’m already behind it seems.  I’m actually really excited for this class, I’ve always liked Chemistry the subject, I’m yet to have a Chem teacher that I’ve liked, but this is looking promising.   It’s my only class tomorrow,* so that should give me some time to catch up.

Inquiries to Behavioral and Evolutional Biology.  I’m going to hold off giving my impression of this class, and wait till it gets going a little more.  This isn’t my favorite topic in biology, though I don’t have a lot of experience in this specific topic, so I guess it’s a good area to get more of a solid background in.

And now off to homework… They don’t wait for nuthin.

~Emily

*I actually am supposed to have 4 classes tomorrow, but all but the one are cancelled for one reason or another.  Friday however I do only have one class.  Interpreting the Day’s News at 8 AM.  I am completely done on Friday at 9:05.