burnerOh2125

Yes, I second this.

I remember a girl in high school told me I was a bad dancer and laughed at me. She was a close friend, and danced all the time. For some reason it stuck, and I really haven't danced after that...

woah there, why don't you slow down on the hard science and just let me enjoy West World over here?

Here's a radical thought: don't use a presentation deck! Hand out a collection of images, printed or via pdf file, give the student a couple of minutes to quickly become familiar with it, then just talk about each of the major figure in the handout. This was my solution to 'powerpoint hell' when sharing results in grad school, I don't know if it really applies to your case (non-expert students), but it may be worth a shot. Hell, its better than reading off slides! Good luck!

Yea, i went into a phd program in biomedical sciences, spent 2 1/2 years doing computational biology, studying math, computer science and machine learning, not to mention working on project, then left. It was at the point where the prospect of out competing 7/8 of my fellow phd students was not work it, when all of my skills, where transferable to industry, even without staying for the phd. Part of me wishes I did stay, and I'll probably go back for a masters at some point. who knows. Anyway, the system really is designed to get phd students to do the heavy lifting, at 30k a year, for 6 year stretches. Why would I do that, when I have dropped out, and tripled my salary?

Interesting, I'm a phd-drop out in computational biology, working as a data science consultant: I use mathematics including multi-dimensional statistics, linear algebra, and calculus everyday. Being self-taught, I'm very self conscience about the math I don't know, but so far, not knowing differential equations doesn't seem to have hurt me. I actually just ran into a problem that uses Hamiltonian dynamics, so maybe I will end up learning differential equations, but it does seem like the course, as taught many places and in the Dover books I own, presents either no useful conceptual insight, like why I learned geometric algebra, or a powerful toolset, like some multi-dimensional statistics.

No, I like Linux.

Thank you so much! This is what i've been looking for!

Thanks for your comment, I'm in AA and I really like the aspect of the program that is living a life based on a practical philosophy of stoicism, i.e. the serenity prayer. I've been at a bottom too, which is an experience of depravity and pain that is often difficult for people to relate to.

I lost nearly everything in my life: my job, my apartment, my car, and very nearly my life from drugs and alcohol. I used for years with few consequences, but with the help of the dark net markets, got my hands on cheap and power drugs my body and mind could literally not handle. I came to a point in my life where I realized I had lost control over my ability to self-regulate consumption of intoxicating agents, and the consequences were dire.

I underwent a pretty radical change getting sober, moved to a different part of the city into a semi-supervised sober house, and started going to AA meetings. What I found there was a diverse group of people, with even more diverse problems (drugs, alcohol, violence, relationships) that had 1) accepted the problem was of their own making and 2) collectively decided that only through their own actions could they make themselves whole again. My AA group is a little unconventional in that we are extremely accepting of different types of addictions, and operate in an inner city area much different than my suburban upbringing. For me, AA is about living a stoic life, accepting what you can control, and disregarding what you cannot control. Seeing these same problems, across race, class, gender and geography was a pretty transcendental moment for me.

AA is just one part of what I'm doing to stay healthy: the other component, which in a lot of ways I trust more, is cognitive behavioral therapy, and group therapy. I think eventually more 'evidence based' group therapy systems will take over, but you just can't beat AA's model: people helping people via donated time and services.

When a new person walks into 'AA' with just a 'desire to stop drinking' their entire experience comes from the individuals, qualified only through their anecdotal experience in sobriety, that they meet. As a data scientist ready to defend AA, it used to be hard for me to rectify the fact that 1) AA is not effective as a prescribed intervention and 2) I'm in AA, and it works. How can I recommend a treatment when I know doing nothing in some cases is often better? Well, I don't know, and for me, AA is about staying sober, statistics be darned, I have something that works.

Finally, getting sober, for me, was a long, difficult, and extremely uncomfortable experience. If you are reading this, questioning if 'AA' is right for you, I would strongly implore you to attend a few different meetings in your area. Raise your hand, introduce yourself, and see what comes forth. AA will not save you, you will save you.