Not Again...

Once more with feeling

I feel as though we jumped into big o notation a little too quickly. I understand the main idea behind it, where we need to prove that the best and worst run times for an algorithm, but the actual proving went WAY over my head. I know that there are a lot of people in class that get this sort of thing, but I am not one of them (I'm looking at you, math people). We really jumped right into this topic, I wish there could have been more explanation on the concept of big o, and an approach dealing with simpler algorithms then the ones we did last week. I did not get the thinking behind the individual steps that were taken, and had no idea what the justification was for anything, at all, forever. The proof for the triple nested loop program on friday flew so far over my head it could have been classified as a satellite. I would definitely like to see general tips on how to approach big o notation, as I have absolutely no flippin idea what is being shown to us.

Also on another note, assignment 2 wasn't so hot for me. That learn how to prove proofs thing I was pumped up about didn't go so well... I did end up getting most of the questions right but I still had tons of difficulties. I really didn't end up getting question number 6 right (actually I completely bombed it). Now that I see an example solution for it I am certain that I would never be able to solve something like that by myself. I have never thought like that before when approaching a proof in my short time as a 165 student. It just feels that the level of thought required for the problem goes above and beyond how I am currently thinking, and it is a little frustrating to think that I would never be able to solve something like this if it was posed on a test.

Also speaking about tests, I'm pretty worried about trying to solve proofs I have never seen before on Friday. So I must pose the question. What do? What can I do when after I think long and hard about a proof and come up with nothing? How do I get my mindset onto a topic in a way I've never really thought about before? These are the questions that plague my sleep (actually not really). Good luck on the exam y'all, and may Heap guide you through each step in the proof of life.