Williamsburg Trip, Days 3-4
Time to wrap up this trip. So when I changed for dinner last night at the Kimball Theater, I realized I had Brian Thomas's khakis - oh well, they fit nicely. What happened was back in the hotel, Jimmy, Brian, and I had our clothes thrown everywhere - on the bed, on the tables, on the furniture - and we all had similar-looking khakis and I grabbed the wrong pair.
To sum up Saturday (Day 3), we spent the entire day at Busch Gardens. Good park. I loved the European theme - five sections: England, France, Scotland, Germany, and Italy. Different costumes, restaurants, and façades in each section. I rode all the main roller coasters - not as many as, say, Six Flags or Cedar Point, but overall of better quality. Many featured cool innovations such as tiered seating (allowing back rows to see past the seats in front of them), a water-braking system (the back of the coaster went under water, splashing us and slowing the coaster simultaneously), and a 90-degree turn into a vertical drop. In the afternoon, I went to one of the arcades to play DDR and I met the sister of an In The Groove (spin-off of DDR that's harder, frankly) world recorder holder. Saw some sick dancing toward the end of my three hours at the arcade.
Oh yeah. I also lost my cell phone, probably on Griffon, as Kate Mayans theorizes. I now have a new Samsung phone that's waaaay better - some improvements: no more delays after pressing buttons, Bluetooth, and a much better calculator (trig functions, e, pi, ln, and factorial!). I renewed a two-year family plan and got the phone free! My number's still the same.
Also, at Busch Gardens, my group came upon a weight guesser, and I asked if the guesser would like to guess me as practice (I didn't want to pay.). She said, "Sure! Would you like me to guess your weight, age, or birth month?" I said, "Weight." So she looks me over and thinks for a moment, and then says "165." I'm thinking, Haha, she messed up, I'm really 155. So I step on this giant scale they have, and I don't read 155; no, I don't even read 165; I read 169... I'm still convinced that scale's slightly tweaked - I weighed myself stark naked when I got home from Williamsburg and indeed, I was 155. I weighed myself JUST NOW (with clothes on!) and I was 155. There's no way I gained 14 pounds, even with food in my stomach and cubes in my pockets.
Sunday was our departure day and fairly uneventful. We stopped at the beautiful Baltimore harbor to shop and eat lunch. In one of the stores, I saw a funny fishing shirt:
[picture of fishing rod and anchor]
Charter Fishing Excursions
Years of Experience Under Our Belts
Ask about our group rates
We ate lunch at Johnny Rockets, and while waiting for my food, I went to the bathrooms and got to use Eco-Friendly Urinals (No flush, no water - just chemicals and filters. They claimed that despite using no water, what they released into the sewer was even cleaner than a normal urinal.) and a high-velocity hand dryer:
You stick your hands between the jets, and high-velocity air shoots out all around your hand. Your hands dry really quickly! All this innovative technology makes me wonder if Maryland is a really environmentally active state.
Then there was this giant sculpture in the harbor area, with no explanation plaque. I walked completely around it and asked multiple people, but nothing/no one explained what its name was. So after going home, I discovered its real name - tian1 xia4 yi4 jia1 (Under the Sky, One Family) - and its sculptor - Mark di Suvero. According to him, the sculpture was supposed to represent urban progress, but it was heavily criticized as being one of his poorer works - many didn't understand how the broken propeller was supposed to symbolize progress.
Fun trip! Definitely my most memorable of high school!
Would you rather be blind or deaf?
I think most people get asked this question at some point in their lives. I've thought about it many times in my life. When I was younger, I always chose deafness. But the older I get, the more I'd rather be blind than deaf.
The old train of thought: Vision is your primary sense. You see what you eat. You see to use the computer. You see to solve a Rubik's Cube. You see to read and write. You see other people. You look around when you play sports.
Things I wouldn't be able to do if blind: play StarCraft, speed-solve Rubik's Cubes, read, see my friends, see the world around me, see colors and the what the hell I'm doing, juggle, play sports. All right, so I might not be able to hear some stuff, but at least I could still see and do most of the things I do.
The new way of thinking: A silent world is much worse than an unseen world. A silent world means no laughter and no music. No conversations with friends. There is so much expression and meaning that can be captured in a sound. I remember this one sentence Dr. Cahill, my freshman language arts teacher, wrote on the board. Actually, I don't remember the sentence, but it was something like "I really want to go to the zoo today with you." We then discussed all the different meanings it carried when different words were stressed:
- I really want to go to the zoo today with you.
- I really want to go to the zoo today with you.
- I really want to go to the zoo today with you.
- I really want to go to the zoo today with you.
- I really want to go to the zoo today with you.
- I really want to go to the zoo today with you.
- I really want to go to the zoo today with you.
So many different interpretations of a simple sentence just from voice inflection! It's amazing.
With vision, I could still operate a computer normally and communicate with my friends online through Facebook and GTalk. But being able to talk directly to a person is so much better. One of my favorite party modes is a huddle of friends lounging on comfy sofas and recliners around a fireplace and just sharing a laugh. I really do love laughter. A world without laughter would be very lonely.
Along the same lines is music. Listening to a beautiful melodic line never gets old.
I know, for me at least, it's a lot easier to imagine how something looks than how something sounds. I don't have perfect pitch and when I look at sheet music, I cannot sing back all the written notes on pitch. I might be able to hum a general gist of the phrase, but it's usually quite different from how it actually sounds. But I do a lot better visualizing how something looks from a description.
I believe sound is intrinsically more sophisticated than sight. A camera can very easily snap an objective picture of a setting and a computer analysis could dissect the picture into a thousand shades and make lighting adjustments. But though we can record sound and analyze the frequencies involved, distinguishing different timbres involved is much harder. Whereas a human ear can identify all the instruments in a fully orchestrated moment of music, it is almost impossible for a computer.
They also say deafness is a far greater impediment to learning than blindness. Children seem to develop more from sounds they hear than from what they see.
End of babble.
Why Yale
In the end, it came down to Princeton and Yale, the two schools I visited post-acceptance. I didn't realize how different and impressionable it was to actually spend three days living on campus, and how much of a better feel for the school I could get from such a visit than just reading about the school and talking to students who go there. Originally Columbia was in my narrowed list of acceptances, but after visiting Princeton and soaking up so much, I realized there was no way to really feel out a school without staying there a couple days. Despite Columbia's ideal location for and strong department in financial engineering, I eliminated that choice simply because I wouldn't have a chance to visit it and without that exploration, I really didn't know the school at all.
After Princeton Preview, I felt like "I'm definitely going to Princeton in the fall." But I kept reminding myself, "Now, now, don't say that. You gotta keep an open mind and give Yale a fair chance." So I tried to.
I went to Yale with a better idea of the programs/events I wanted to check out that would help me make my decision. I dispositioned (yeahuh, like that's a word) myself to be receptive to what Bulldog Days had to offer. When I went to sleep the first night, I was still thinking, "I'm going to Princeton." But then over the course of the second day, my inclination began changing. I gradually liked Yale more and more, and by the second day's conclusion, I was like "Boola, boola, I'm going to Yale." Then after I left the third day, I could finally step back a little from the excitement of the preview days, where schools are throwing every kind of pitch at you to sell their place. Finally back to sleeping in my own bed at home, I awoke literally dead-even 50-50 between the two schools.
I then pulled out this comparison chart I made while at Yale and looked it over:
Princeton:
| Yale:
|
So just looking at the list and judging by length, Yale wins out. But then why was I still 50-50? I must be giving different factors different weights.
How important is the education aspect to me? I'm getting a top-notch education at either of these places, and as far as engineering is concerned, neither of these places is a super standout like MIT or Caltech. As far as financial engineering is concerned, Princeton wins hands-down with their ORFE department, while the closest Yale has is Economics and Mathematics, which to me is "eww...econ." But then I'm thinking, doesn't FE deal with finance, which has to do with managing money flow on the market, which involves economics, so wouldn't an FE major entail studying a significant amount of economics anyways? Am I really interested in FE and the application of math in it or do I care more about getting onto Wall Street and earning lots of money?
I talked to several people over the course of these two college visits, including ORFE and Econ/Math majors, and again and again, they said the major wasn't all that important. I asked my Princeton host if he hadn't chosen ORFE, what would've he studied - he said math. At Yale, several presenters emphasized how little correlation there was between major and career. Many people told about friends from multifarious backgrounds who ended up working on Wall Street: biologists, chemists, anthropologists, even a history major.
By now I was seriously reconsidering my interests and the majors that interested me. I decided, I probably needed to explore my interests more - take varied classes and find something I would really enjoy studying for the rest of college. I felt Yale offered more opportunity to explore, starting from their class shopping period to create-your-own-major to dual single majors (like Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (I call it the I-like-science-but-I-can't-decide-on-a-single-science major)) and double dual-majors, whereas at Princeton, you can only single major. All right, so these aren't über-duper things - I mean, you should probably know roughly which classes you'll want to take before you start - the shopping period's more for some final finalizing, and double-majoring isn't what's important - it's the classes you choose and what you learn from them that counts. I know regardless of major, I'm going to sign up for lots of classes that interest me regardless of their field.
Ok, how about research opportunities, working with professors, summer internships/fellowships, study abroad? Yale is the bigger university with graduate and professional schools and more research facilities. Because of these facilities, it attracts researchers and speakers from around the world - sort of what I was nudging at by my "seems to be more networking in general" bullet point above. So more chances to get involved in research, right? Well, Princeton's one of the few schools where the undergraduates outnumber the graduates, so wouldn't undergraduates get more opportunities in labs and with professors since there aren't as many graduates? And really, how interested am I in research? I've always thought working in a lab was cool - pursuing a personal idea doing your own research and perhaps stumbling on an important discovery! But isn't lab work mostly for biologists and chemists? I'm more of a physics/math guy. I remember asking an Applied Mathematics professor at the Academic Fair what he did while researching. I was like, "So, I understand math isn't a field where research entails lots of laboratory research. Then what does one do during his research time? Read books and articles and try to figure stuff out?" His response was more or less a "Yes." That doesn't sound very cool or fun. Since, I've been thinking math, my passion, is something I'd like to keep as a hobby for my whole life but would rather do something applied and impactful (I love inventing words...) on others around me. Okay, then if I studied physics, maybe I could get in the lab, but then wouldn't I be working with these half-mile wide particle accelerators? That seems kinda theoretical (I love theory.) but not very directly influential on others. Yeah, so engineering's probably the way to go. But like, financial engineering? Aren't I just creating artifical models to analyze the flow of money? What the heck am I doing? I'm not even handling the money! It's like a virtual simulation without the 3D graphics and the game. I think I enjoy building stuff - another engineering field would probably suit me better. Electrical engineering seems pretty cool - there's all sorts of circuits buzzing around us. It's related to wireless communications and robotics, all very current fields. Now there's real-world application and involvement. I love the math and theory behind stuff, but I don't see it as a meaningful, life-satisfying pursuit. It'll be my side dawdle (and I can teach it to my students when I become a teacher later), but I'd be much happier doing design and construction engineering projects. Those autonomous vehicle design challenges have always intrigued me :-). Ah yes, anyways, going back to my main topic...
Summer opportunities? I think most schools throw lots at their students, and I'm probably going to send out lots of applications to other places as well, so that's about equal. Study abroad? I think there are more Bulldog Programs than Princeton Abroad programs established worldwide. I remember the ORFE presenter joked in response to an audience question about the study abroad programs at Princeton: "I'm the wrong person to ask about the study abroad programs. I don't think anyone should do it. These are the four best years of your life - why would you want to spend it elsewhere? I don't get it." At Yale, a common sentiment seemed to be that people liked Yale so much they didn't want to spend one of their four years studying somewhere else - they would much rather take a year off to study in a foreign land, so that they would still have four years at Yale. Right now, I don't think I'm too interested in overseas programs, so it's not really a factor, but maybe later on I'll be looking to take that next step.
I've basically exhausted academic opportunities, which ultimately were about equal for the two schools, so it was time to look at student life and environment. This ultimately became the deciding factor. Despite the longer list of points for Yale, there was something I sensed while visiting there that unsettled me. It was also what kept me pro-Princeton the first night I spent at Yale. It took me a while to clearly sort out what this sense was, but I finally decided it was a sense of intimidation. I was taken aback and made uncomfortable by the forwardness, if that makes sense, of the students there. Students seemed so outgoing and involved and such risk-takers. It was beyond my comfort level, if you can believe it :-). Maybe it's the political flare there, or just the numerous opportunities and constant encouragement to seize them and/or create your own something, but students just seemed so out-there and unafraid. My very first meal there - dinner - I sat with some buddies and also next to a Bulldog Days Staff member - a Yale student. We eventually got to talking about my interests of study, which led to mention of financial engineering, and of course she brought up the Economics and Mathematics major and explained how I could gear that to be heavily finance-courses and math-intensive, and she also talked about other stuff of course about why I should come to Yale. But I was stubborn (or Princeton-high), and retorted politely or just nodded and smiled. She wasn't satisfied. She told me to wait for her to get her friend who was an Econ & Math major. She came back fifteen minutes later with him. It wasn't so much that I heard anything significant from her friend, but rather the whole effort of bringing him here that struck me. This kind of proactive spirit was what I felt and what both scared me and attracted me.
The sense I got at Princeton was a beautiful, laid-back, comfortable campus. It felt homely and lovely - a place I would have fun, like a playground. It seemed calm and peaceful and I felt at ease on campus. But I realized I didn't want to feel comfortable - college is a time for me to step it up to the next level (Over 9000!!!!!!!!!). I realized I was afraid during some of my Yale visit because I felt awkward in such an openly-outgoing environment (did I mention the LGBT community?), and it bothers me when I'm fearful. So I felt Yale would challenge my comfort level and would lead to more personal development. It's time I stepped out of my cozy Jersey nutshell and tested a new environment.
Now that I'm done talking about the factors of my decision, I'd like to discuss some fun stuff ^_^. Yale sent me a free shirt; I had to pay for my Princeton shirt (and only got a measly 5% discount during preview days!). Princeton's math club has lots of cubers and gave me a cool free frisbee with the math club insignia on it; Yale was where frisbee originated when students tossed empty Frisbie Pie Company pie tins around. The Yale interview was my favorite - the closest and at the person's home - oh, we talked about so many interesting things like Deep Blue vs. Kasparov, his EE projects in college, psychology, and lots of cubing - I also solved his baseball-themed Rubik's Cube that had been sitting scrambled on top of the kitchen cabinets. I did mention I could solve a cube blindfolded, but it was completely on his own whim that he YouTubed "Anthony Hsu" and discovered two videos of me from the Governor's School talent show solving a cube blindfolded and then one-handed. He told my admissions officer to check out these videos, and I'm convinced that's what got me into Yale. (My Harvard and Yale applications were almost identical - the Common App. portion was the same, and for the supplementary essay for each of them, I wrote about my Boys' State no-to-pornography speech - a terrible, insubstantial essay. I got rejected by Harvard but accepted by Yale; it's gotta be the YouTube factor. And maybe the interview - the Harvard interview was sorta crummy - I got matched with a football player/former lawyer turned real-estate company co-founder/history buff/gun collector.) My Princeton interview was set in the very nice environment of an evening Starbucks. I got there early and found two comfy couches in a corner and ordered a deliiiicious strawberry swirly drink with whipped cream on top. (The cookies 'n' cream flavored Starbucks drink I ordered for my Columbia interview wasn't nearly as good (and neither was the interview).) Nice interview - I just remember sometimes glancing downward absently while talking and couldn't help noticing his too-short dress pants and/or too-short black (or were they dark blue?) socks - there was about 2.5 to 3 inches of exposed skin and I was laughing inside thinking about my own undersized, super-tight, pants-turned-capris clothing.
Oh, supposedly there's only one dining hall at Yale - the central Commons - that offers hot food for breakfast, whereas I believe almost all dining halls at Princeton offer hot breakfasts. You have to get bussed to the athletic fields at Yale, they're so far away, whereas Princeton's athletic facilities are more central. However, Yale's gymnasium is within walking distance and each residential college has a spacious courtyard for frisbee, soccer, volleyball, hammock-sleeping.... Yale's weather is colder and it gets more snow (I'm a winter guy.).
I love the residential college system with multiple double rooms in each suite connected to a grand common room. I can't wait to find out how many students are in my suite and who my suite-mates are!
This concludes my post-college decisions rant. Um...the rest of this weekend is dedicated to physics. AP Tests on Monday.
Peace.
Some thoughts on a May Friday afternoon:
I feel good. Yesterday, I got my first full night's rest after a week of cramming for three consecutive-day APs: Spanish Language, Calc. BC, and English Lit.
To sum up the Spanish exam, here's an excerpt from the telephone conversation I had:
[recording, translated]: Good afternoon. This is Mrs. Gonzalez calling about your application. Do you have a few minutes now to talk? [Me, responding, translated]: Hi, good afternoon. This is Mrs. Gonzalez...
Big choke.
The calc. exam was pretty straightforward. I was able to solve all the Taylor/Maclaurin series and parametrics questions with my crammed knowledge or by intuition :-). I had a good time with part (a) of this one open-ended question. It asked you to estimate L'(t) at t = 5.5. They gave you a chart of values of L at different times t. This was my solution:
I basically drew some axes, plotted the six L(t) values they gave, and then fitted the points with what I eyeballed to be a best-fit curve. Then I wrote: "L'(5.5) = 0 (based on the graph)." Apparently, the intended method of estimation they wanted was [L(7)-L(4)]/(7-4), the slope of the secant line between the two points they gave you surrounding L(5.5), but I was confused, so I scribbled something and went on.
English Lit. exam I almost canceled, but my dad said I might as well take it because it didn't hurt me even if I scored poorly. So I took it and it was 'ehn.'
Got my last two APs - the pair of physics ones - on Monday and then senior year's done (I'm pretty sure I'm exempt from all finals.).