I just had my first midterm (microeconomics) last friday, and to be honest right after I got out of that room I was feeling pretty down and depressed. Seriously, fuck..how is it possible that in an exam room of 150+ ppl that 20 ppl left within the first 20 minutes while I sat there stuck on question 9 out of a 30 multiple choice midterm racking my brain to remember what I studied last night..
Ok sure, this is the University of Waterloo and ppl here are pretty damn smart, but goddamnit..i got a phone call from my roommate who also took the midterm, and guess what he says to me? "OMG i raped that shit easiest shit in my life 1a2a3a4a ez"
But I admit, he's a pretty smart guy. That's not the point I'm trying to make. This guy is seriously the laziest motherfucker I've ever known...the guy sleeps til noon everyday, skipping all his damn classes, plays games ALL DAY LONG, occasionally screaming MOOTALISKKKKKK, and treats life like a long chillz vacation. Guess how long he studied for this midterm? ONE FUCKING HOUR! THE FUCK? and he occasionally dozes off too wth is this...So I stick my ass to a chair in the library chewing my ass off of this book, with my study guide open and searching on the internet for Practice MCs to do...all this hard work and i get analed by the midterm...
I once said to myself: "it's ok, life isn't about tests and shit and grades..social life is important too. As long as I live everyday being as happy as I can, then it's all good."
My ass, easier said than done.. I have Coop soon and who the hell wants to hire a dumbass kid like me.. UGH i'm screwed TT
I guess the real problem is that I've done really really well in high school, and now I come to university I get the ass-whipping of my life..I know you guys are probably gonna call me a whiner or something similar..but have any of you guys feel the same way? You put in so much effort into something and you get raped, while you see those other ppl who OBVIOUSLY dont put any effort into ANYTHING and get better than you..
I don't know...maybe ppl are good at specific things..but I can't help but feel really down right now... I make the effort to do what I can, but I never seem to get there. Nobody said life is fair..but how do you guys deal with this? I feel like I've lost all my motivation..
On January 26 2010 13:41 Soledad wrote: I didn't read your entire anecdote, but I have one shred of advice to offer you: If life were not fair, then life would truly be meaningless.
yeah well... I'm not even good at anything..i guess life is meaningless for me then
On January 26 2010 13:41 Soledad wrote: I didn't read your entire anecdote, but I have one shred of advice to offer you: If life were not fair, then life would truly be meaningless.
yeah well... I'm not even good at anything..i guess life is meaningless for me then
You're good at not being good at anything. I guess that's something. We can all make a somebody from a nobody, but not a nobody from a somebody.
I don't know if you get what I'm saying, and I don't either.
On January 26 2010 13:41 Soledad wrote: I didn't read your entire anecdote, but I have one shred of advice to offer you: If life were not fair, then life would truly be meaningless.
yeah well... I'm not even good at anything..i guess life is meaningless for me then
awwww how sad you aren't gifted and so you're going to give up.
Sorry but if you're TRYING to improve the last thing you should do is waste time feeling sorry for yourself. The time you spend ranting can be spent trying to improve.
Edit: I reread that and yeah thats incredibly harsh, but my intentions are good. Don't give up on yourself if you want to get somewhere thats the LAST thing you want to do.
On January 26 2010 13:41 Soledad wrote: I didn't read your entire anecdote, but I have one shred of advice to offer you: If life were not fair, then life would truly be meaningless.
As some consolation, some (probably the majority lol) of the guys who left early are people who have no clue what they hell they are testing on.
But here's something to cheer you up. Intelligence can help you a lot, but once you get out of introductory level courses, or even the hell out of education itself, there are a lot of people in this world who value hard work way more than intelligence. One of two things will happen; your roomie will learn to work, maybe a bit less than others nonetheless, or he will fail later in life (maybe).
Just be proud that your work ethic is so good so young! lots of people coming fresh out of high school spend their first year partying and failing -.-
This is econ 101? It's like the exact same course as the high school course lol. But dont feel bad. beacuse 1. Some people have taken it before 2. Some people lie (actually a lot) 3. Econ 101 is pretty much all about how much you read/listen in lectures. good memory helps but there is no way someone who skips class everyday can learn everything in 1 hour. He's either 1 or 2 above.
On January 26 2010 13:41 Soledad wrote: I didn't read your entire anecdote, but I have one shred of advice to offer you: If life were not fair, then life would truly be meaningless.
what?? this doesn't make any sense to me.
if life were fair then everything would basically be 'easy', someone who grew up around a sport, compared to someone who wasn't if they both work hard, hypothetically equally, it's more likely the person who grew up around it is going to be better.
Is that fair? Is it the latter person's fault for not growing up around the sport, no its just what he was given. If everyone was given the same thing at the start, then the challenges we face now would be nonexistant.
I'm pretty sure if everything were fair, we'd all speak one race, have one religion and basically be a giant monolith of the SAME because if anyone is different they'll have an advantage/disadvantage over someone else. (AKA Unfair)
ECON 101 was the easiest course I've taken, high school/middle school/kindergarten all considered.
Seriously, that course was a freaking joke. I slept till noon, I played SC all day, and I studied for 30 min before the mid-term and final. Guess what I got for the course? 97.
So if you thought it was hard, then I seriously doubt you studied as much as you said, and I seriously doubt how well you did in high school.
That's not my point, however, I don't mean to brag at all.
What I want to say is, even though I'm one of the 20 people that left after 15 minutes (20secs average for each question, and a minute or two to check over answers) for an easy first-year course, I got rofl stomped in my second term.
I still didn't study, slept till 3pm everyday, skipped all classes, and played SC all day and drank all night. I got anally brutalized hard by all the exams, because, there was just too much shit to cram and shit got harder as well.
What you'll realize is, as you progress through university, the 20/150 people that breeze through exams are going to become rarer and rarer. Eventually, only the 1 or 2 fucking geniuses in the class would be able to do that in the 4th or 5th year, while the rest of us are royally fucked unless we studied our balls off.
tbh I think the reason there are people who find university ezmode and leave exams after 20 minutes is because there's this stupid push to make university for 'everyone' even though clearly not everyone belongs there. So, they have to dumb down the material and make it easier.
To make things worse, there's tons of people who don't give a fuck and are just there to party, and tons of others who are there because there's some ridiculous pressure to go because it's the 'highest' level of education or something, as if it makes you better to have a degree than a trade certificate or whatever else you choose to pursue.
Basically, university needs too be harder to get into, and senior level highschool classes need to better represent university. Of course that won't happen either, since senior highschool classes are getting dumbed down every year too.
Don't worry about it, I'm only in my second semester right now. My roommate is the exact same way. I also feel like the only engineering student with a life outside of the library.
The guy you described sounds like me XD lazy mother fucker who just plays SC all day, but, hand me college work and it's like PvZ, fast expand and snipe the ovies with corsairs before they get speed.
I see other people studying around me all the time and I think to myself, wow, shouldn't I be doing that? Then I actually go and take the same test I see those mother fuckers studying for and I get a 95 and they get Bs or Cs. Like, wtf were they doing when they study, reading their blank sheets of paper? I just try to play back every moment of the lecture that the teacher gave us in my head and it all becomes clear. Even tests are fucking easy to do without even studying for them, just remembering some notes and the lecture. I smoke pot all day and have some memory problems but I can still remember entire lectures, woaah XP
On January 26 2010 13:39 lazz wrote: your friend studied. everyone who left before you studied. they all studied. hard.
next time, study more.
hahaha I doubt it. his friend sounds like me.
man, i remember one time coming into a test I had barely studied for. girl ahead of me has this huge note book of notes, everything written out by hand, like 20 pages of stuff. I look over her shoulder and see a few things I forgot / didn't know about in the first place and get worried. Test is hard as hell. I get an 82% and feel like shit. Then the prof says he will curve it so that the highest grade out of the 80 people will be boosted to 100%. My grade is changed to 100%. lmao.
sometimes teachers and tests are just bullshit. I remember one test where about 7 people out of 120 finished it before time ran out. I didn't finish half of it. The teacher wasn't doing her job and I wasn't gonna let her make me feel terrible over it. So I withdrew; I don't regret it at all.
I always thought like 95% of the people who leave really early (ok well not so much in multichoice tests) are the dumbfucks who didn't know anything and are bound to fail.
On January 26 2010 13:41 Soledad wrote: I didn't read your entire anecdote, but I have one shred of advice to offer you: If life were not fair, then life would truly be meaningless.
what?? this doesn't make any sense to me.
if life were fair then everything would basically be 'easy', someone who grew up around a sport, compared to someone who wasn't if they both work hard, hypothetically equally, it's more likely the person who grew up around it is going to be better.
Is that fair? Is it the latter person's fault for not growing up around the sport, no its just what he was given. If everyone was given the same thing at the start, then the challenges we face now would be nonexistant.
I'm pretty sure if everything were fair, we'd all speak one race, have one religion and basically be a giant monolith of the SAME because if anyone is different they'll have an advantage/disadvantage over someone else. (AKA Unfair)
that is what I think it's supposed to mean, but then it should be worded "If life were fair, then life would be meaningless", not the complete opposite.
As for the exam, don't worry too much about it. Don't think about the other people in the room. Some leave because they got owned and can't do anything about it; some leave because they owned the exam. You may never know and it shouldn't concern you.
Just do the best you can with the information you have. Change your study habits, find friends to study with, find out what works best for you and do it!
As for people like your roommate: like most people said, they will become more and more rare. However, you will still see them. Not necessarily the extremely lazy/complacent ones, but the ones who know exactly what they need to do and can do it in an abnormally short amount of time. I know people who barely have to study to maintain VERY good grades. Not all people are created equal, and we have to deal with that >_>...
On January 26 2010 13:49 Azrael1111 wrote: Tons of people play off how hard they study, this is more likely whats is causing you to feel this way than actually being less intelligent than them.
Yeah, it's like Starcraft players always emphasizing their obnoxious practice hours to try to intimidate players. Few players are like Stork, admitting that the play WoW and watch One Piece, because they want to create this mystique. And obviously, they do practice an absolute ton. But they certainly have plenty of incentives to exaggerate it.
As a poster said before, people lie a lot. Some people lie that they studied a lot when they didn't study at all.
More often though, people lie that they didn't study when they really worked their asses off. It's hard to believe so many people lie if you yourself are a very honest person but trust me so many people lie about shit all the time.
They want you to think they don't study in order to bring you down because you are their competition. It may even be subconscious to them because they lie so goddamn much.
Just do what you need to do to get the grades that satisfy you.
Life isn't fair at all so don't expect it to be...
On January 26 2010 14:06 Chromyne wrote: Did you get Larry Smith?
As for the exam, don't worry too much about it. Don't think about the other people in the room. Some leave because they got owned and can't do anything about it; some leave because they owned the exam. You may never know and it shouldn't concern you.
Just do the best you can with the information you have. Change your study habits, find friends to study with, find out what works best for you and do it!
As for people like your roommate: like most people said, they will become more and more rare. However, you will still see them. Not necessarily the extremely lazy/complacent ones, but the ones who know exactly what they need to do and can do it in an abnormally short amount of time. I know people who barely have to study to maintain VERY good grades. Not all people are created equal, and we have to deal with that >_>...
Naw I got Eva Lau... I heard Larry Smith is a nightmare :S
Dude, college is harder than high school. I do feel your pain, but tough it out a little bit longer. See the thing is, one thing that I realized in high school was that there are going to be people that just don't work at all and get 4.0s in everything. I realized that there are people a lot smarter than me and learned to deal with it by working a little extra harder. This may not seem fair, but then again, if the world were truly fair it would be a very boring world.
Tell me about it. What do you do? You live with it. Happens all the time, not just in school.
Example of life being unfair: High school AP Microeconomics (LOL, AP ECON) I slack off in this class because I'm a terrible student okay? Well, anyway, we get pop quizzes every once in a while in this class, but we're allowed to use our notes on these. This keeps us honest in our readings and gives us incentive to take notes. Of course, being near the end of the term with a 97~98% doesn't really help me want to try. What do I do? I just read it, not remember a thing, and don't take any notes. Next day, pop quiz. My friend right next to me has his notes and everything. He's like, reviewing about it before hand, and I was just like OH FUCK. So I get the quiz, and I hardly know anything, lol. I'm like, damnit... But hey, at least there's a bonus question. So I'm the last one to finish the test, and I get freaked out because I hate doing poorly in school. We get our quizzes back in about 5 minutes, and guess what I got? A freaking 15/14. The best score in the class. Now I ask you, is this fair? No, I deserved a 7/14 MAX. My friend, got an 11/14. He should've got my 15. But you know what this means? I get screwed over in other parts of life.
On January 26 2010 14:09 Mr.Maestro wrote: Naw I got Eva Lau... I heard Larry Smith is a nightmare :S
What?! I heard he's awesome, unless you're referring to his exams.
In response to what JadeFist said, I agree that it's a common practice to lie about study habits. It's sort of a self-handicap for students. If they do worse than others, they can explain it with their lack of studying. If they do better than others, they can flaunt their unexpected performance. I'm sure it happens even more frequently in more competitive programs/courses. I probably do it too.
Well to make you feel better, I guess you can believe that your friend won't be able to abuse his intelligence for his entire life. Sooner or later he will hit a point where he needs to study or else he will fail. While you may not be as smart as him, when the time comes, at least you will have the self will to study.
Look at the amount of braggers in this thread and you'll know why people lie. I love how people are writing essays here, and some of the stories aren't even slightly believable.
ah, that's just life. Now i'm definitely smarter than the average guy, and im also lazy as fuck. But theres always people that are smarter than you, and usually it helps me when i feel jealous that theres plenty of people even smarter than the really smart people. It's just how the world aligned itself and theres nothing you can do about it. Try to appreciate what you got (:
On January 26 2010 14:09 Mr.Maestro wrote: Naw I got Eva Lau... I heard Larry Smith is a nightmare :S
What?! I heard he's awesome, unless you're referring to his exams.
In response to what JadeFist said, I agree that it's a common practice to lie about study habits. It's sort of a self-handicap for students. If they do worse than others, they can explain it with their lack of studying. If they do better than others, they can flaunt their unexpected performance. I'm sure it happens even more frequently in more competitive programs/courses. I probably do it too.
The vast majority of college students will always have self-protecting biases because they have high self esteems, even if they try to hide it (i.e. by not being douchebags).
But here's something to cheer you up. Intelligence can help you a lot, but once you get out of introductory level courses, or even the hell out of education itself, there are a lot of people in this world who value hard work way more than intelligence.
I can say from experience that this is absolutely true, lol. The sooner you learn to work for your results, the better off you will be.
On January 26 2010 14:02 FonzeXD wrote: The guy you described sounds like me XD lazy mother fucker who just plays SC all day, but, hand me college work and it's like PvZ, fast expand and snipe the ovies with corsairs before they get speed.
I see other people studying around me all the time and I think to myself, wow, shouldn't I be doing that? Then I actually go and take the same test I see those mother fuckers studying for and I get a 95 and they get Bs or Cs. Like, wtf were they doing when they study, reading their blank sheets of paper? I just try to play back every moment of the lecture that the teacher gave us in my head and it all becomes clear. Even tests are fucking easy to do without even studying for them, just remembering some notes and the lecture. I smoke pot all day and have some memory problems but I can still remember entire lectures, woaah XP
you're a tool. seriously. please go fall off a cliff or get mauled by the werewolf.
in other news, guess i'm also one of those "lazy ass kids" that do well in school. there's a few things i got to say on the subject coming from my perspective. may sound sort of preachy but i have strong feelings about the subject.
first: despite what i said in the previous paragraph, you need to stop polarizing people between those two groups. its not some caste system you were born into and will forever be stuck in. besides, many bums jealous of you hard workers. i cannot sit still in a chair and study but some people can just pour into books and learn everything. it's an important trait that i'm sure many many "lazy bums" are envious of. a good work ethic is something to be proud of.
second: if he isn't rubbing it in your face (intentionally at least) then leave him the fuck alone. you got no reason to spite him for doing the minimum work possible to do well. seriously who the hell wouldn't. my roommate bitched at me once for playing all the time and getting better grades and i was seriously going to kick the shit out of him.
third: maybe your university is just too hard for you? i watched a ridiculous number of freshman at CMU transfer out after their first semester. don't stay in the same school if you think you're going to get raped for the next four years and not have a social life in the process.
However, it is typical for people that study a lot to say the test is easy and/or he/she didn't study for it. This is because many people do not have to be perceived as nerds.
I was one of those "lazy, but smart" folk (it only gets you so far, by the way), and I always found it hard to sympathize with anyone who complained about exams or schoolwork.
When I studied, I did so with the intention of learning the material. I focused, scribbled notes, made "mind maps", thought hard, asked tough questions -- really tried to wrap my head around the material.
Yet half of my peers engaged in what I call "feel good busy work". They read a chapter without asking why they need to read it, or what they'll gain from it. They work on a practice problem without asking about its relevance.
They jump through all these hoops -- "studying" -- so they can justify their whining when they do poorly on the exam.
Imagine if you were a bodybuilder. And imagine that there's always this scrawny guy at your gym. He lifts a 5lb dumbell over and over, three hours a day, every day. And he eventually approaches you to complain about this bodybuilding bullshit, and how it doesn't work, etc. You wouldn't give him sympathy.
To gain muscle, you have to work smart and exert yourself beyond your comfort zone -- perhaps as little as a couple times a week.
On January 26 2010 13:49 Picture wrote: This is econ 101? It's like the exact same course as the high school course lol. But dont feel bad. beacuse 1. Some people have taken it before 2. Some people lie (actually a lot) 3. Econ 101 is pretty much all about how much you read/listen in lectures. good memory helps but there is no way someone who skips class everyday can learn everything in 1 hour. He's either 1 or 2 above.
I completely agree with this post. Trust me, there are many plausible explanations for why this guy is doing better than you. He might be years ahead of you intellectually right now because of the kind of activities he did in high school or even before, or he might be better than you at this specific subject due to previous exposure to it, or he might even just be putting on the appearance that he doesn't try at all in his courses.
As a side note, during my undergrad on several occasions, classmates of mine asked me how I'm able to do so well in classes without studying, called me a genius, etc, and I would just laugh and explain that they are wrong that I don't study: I consistently work my ass off to try to intuitively understand every little thing in a course and turn in assignments that are 100% correct; I'm no 'genius'.
In fact, I'm of the belief that there is no such thing as a genius, it's all about what you have learned and how you have learned it. If someone is a so-called genius there's always an explanation behind it. And when people get in the mindset that they are a genius they tend to become self absorbed and have less motivation to improve their intellect, i.e, they become lazy. I know of two people that this exact thing happened to; I started behind them intellectually when I first knew them and wondered how they did what the did, but ended up passing them after a while.
The point is, stay motivated. During college, you can develop yourself intellectually, socially, or however you want if you are motivated, and you won't even recognize yourself after your years there. I'm currently doing graduate work in computer science, so if you have any questions about engineering or college in general feel free to PM me or respond here.
Sorry man but most times when you work hard you will be rewarded.
Even though there are bumps in the road, I refuse to believe that hard work will not pay off in the future.
One example for me is when I almost failed high school english in grade 10. I worked my ass off in gr 11 but once again only barely passed. But in grade 12 I finally started getting the hang of it and really started to do well. Now I'm in first year university and English is really enjoyable (doesn't mean it isnt hard).
It might not come in one year, might not even come in two years, but it comes eventually.
Similarly, when you see people not studying, usually they study their ass off when your not looking, or they study efficiently. I know personally that when I study for example chemistry or math, I often review all the time so that when the final exam comes I dont really need to do anything.
Mabye in the future........balance your time and don't underestimate your buddy.
EDIT: I fully support the post above V(O_O)o victory o(O_O)b approved
The point is, stay motivated. During college, you can develop yourself intellectually, socially, or however you want if you are motivated, and you won't even recognize yourself after your years there. I'm currently doing graduate work in computer science, so if you have any questions about engineering or college in general feel free to PM me or respond here.
College is a unique growth opportunity, and I wish I was more aware of it at the time. My only regrets were those days/weeks when I wasn't at least motivated to work on something.
For the sake of full disclosure though, if you want to go to grad school then you will eventually have that "oh shit I should have studied harder" moment.
On January 26 2010 14:48 illu wrote: Typically, ppl that leaves early didnt study.
However, it is typical for people that study a lot to say the test is easy and/or he/she didn't study for it. This is because many people do not have to be perceived as nerds.
truths. i study pretty damn hard sometimes but I'm never the first to turn in a test. I always make sure to double/triple check.
You probably played non koreans in high school in order to achieve your A- rank.
But in college there simply are too many koreans to be able to dodge them. And your rank will thus seem inflated (it was inflated).
Your friend simply has better mechanics, because he did all the grunt work without dodging or picking opponents (read: only reading high school text books and thinking he was smart).
So my advice to you is: start working on your mechanics rather than doing these race specific all-in builds. It'll take you alot longer and be alot harder, but it'll save you from looking like a pseudo-intellectual (progamer with no macro).
On January 26 2010 13:49 Azrael1111 wrote: Tons of people play off how hard they study, this is more likely whats is causing you to feel this way than actually being less intelligent than them.
Yeah, it's like Starcraft players always emphasizing their obnoxious practice hours to try to intimidate players. Few players are like Stork, admitting that the play WoW and watch One Piece, because they want to create this mystique. And obviously, they do practice an absolute ton. But they certainly have plenty of incentives to exaggerate it.
This. I used to be one of these people and I would always try to emphasize how little I studied...It was a really understated form of bragging but it was obnoxious none the less.
The thing is, I did study a lot less than most people and got far better marks but I definitely put in a lot more effort in less amount of time. I may have studied three hours a day to others' six, sometimes more a day, but I studied WAY harder and a lot smarter than they did. Look, when some people "study" what they really mean is that they read and reread the same chapter over and over again in the hopes that all the important information will somehow sink in....
I made it a priority to actually, LEARN how to learn. I took extra time to go to classes on how to study, manage your motivation and time, and I did a Hell of a lot of research in my free time (I still do) on different study strategies. Before I even start reading, I activate all my prior knowledge... I recite what I know about the topic, anything I think might be related to it, predict what will be discussed, and by the time I actually start reading I have a long list of questions already prepared.
To memorize something I use a technique called mnemonics. I can probably memorize things three times as fast as most people can but it took me half a semester to learn the skill, and to make it payoff (It initially took me LONGER to memorize when I first started). I never ever cram. Ever. For exams, I only do a quick one hour review like your friend. How? I use something called Supermemo.... It's based on this thing called spaced repetition. You will remember something more easily and more accurately if you study something a FEW times over a long period of time, rather than studying something repeatedly in a short period of time. So instead of cramming something in a span of six hours..... I learn something, then I review it the next day, then a week after, then three months after, then a year after. Everything that I've learned is as fresh in my mind as when I first learned it. So I never go on long marathon studies like other do. I relax instead.
Lastly, most importantly, I learned that learning how to manage your motivation is more important than learning study skills. Because it's the difference between staying energized and commited to your goal versus feeling apathetic and helpless. It's the difference between accomplishing your educational schools and BEYOND, and dropping out.
On January 26 2010 16:25 LaLuSh wrote: You probably played non koreans in high school in order to achieve your A- rank.
But in college there simply are too many koreans to be able to dodge them. And your rank will thus seem inflated (it was inflated).
Your friend simply has better mechanics, because he did all the grunt work without dodging or picking opponents (read: only reading high school text books and thinking he was smart).
So my advice to you is: start working on your mechanics rather than doing these race specific all-in builds. It'll take you alot longer and be alot harder, but it'll save you from looking like a pseudo-intellectual (progamer with no macro).
On January 26 2010 15:14 AcrossFiveJulys wrote: In fact, I'm of the belief that there is no such thing as a genius, it's all about what you have learned and how you have learned it.
I agree with this to a certain extent. Imo, many people that we consider to be a genius aren't actually a genius but there are a select few whose intellectual capabilities are much better than other smart people.
Also, I rarely went (and dozed off when I did) to my 1st year econ classes at Laurier cause I took AP econ in high school and I still got As but those courses are no harder at Waterloo so I'm pretty sure you need to study more efficiently. Intro to econ is not a hard course at all if you know what to focus on.
Summary: Your friend's probably not a genius and you probably need to work on your study methods.
On January 26 2010 16:25 LaLuSh wrote: You probably played non koreans in high school in order to achieve your A- rank.
But in college there simply are too many koreans to be able to dodge them. And your rank will thus seem inflated (it was inflated).
Your friend simply has better mechanics, because he did all the grunt work without dodging or picking opponents (read: only reading high school text books and thinking he was smart).
So my advice to you is: start working on your mechanics rather than doing these race specific all-in builds. It'll take you alot longer and be alot harder, but it'll save you from looking like a pseudo-intellectual (progamer with no macro).
Looking like a progamer with no macro? Firebathero is looking pretty sexy from my point of view...
I wouldn't lose sleep over your slacker room mate. He can pull shit off like that only so far-- as classes get more advanced and technical, he's bound to get screwed over, because he'll think he can skip class and slack off, and he'll try to study the complex material in an hour and get pwned. I speak from experience :/
Don't get discouraged and start to underestimate the value of hard work... I've had plenty of friends who weren't strong academically (read: who just weren't that smart [lol]), but who excelled and beat kids who were brighter than them just by being diligent and on top of their studies. I guess if I were you I'd analyze your study habits, since maybe the way you study now is ineffective (like what other posters have said ). Life is unfair in that we're not all equal in our abilities, and it does suck having to put in more effort than others, but if the ultimate end goal is to excel through college, I guess you just have to do what it takes to get there.
You cared _too much_. That's the problem. After a certain point it's useful to just get a good night's sleep and let your brain and memory work. Don't worry about getting a 4.0, unless you're asian and you're going to get your ass kicked and you'll be fine.
Aight look, I'm asian and all that, got amazing grades in highschool without trying. In freshman year I got pretty good grades too without studying. I mean, you just pay attention in class and everything makes sense, not much to study....just read the book if you missed anything. Sometimes you don't even have to go to class if they just follow the book.
TBH, sometimes freshman classes are too slow because some people cant understand and ask retarded questions and hold up the class....but its good that you can study and struggle because you atleast learn how to develop the habit to study.
Now, I am struggling in school because I never really learned how to study (just read the book really...) or take notes. School gets harder and you are more prepared for it then the others are. School now....I had to learn how to photoshop so my parents wouldn't see my real grades...
What year are you in? If you are in first year, then it's mostly based on what you learned in high school (true even if you are in 1B). Some people learned more advanced topics, so first-year university classes are more or less reviews for them.
Also, some people have better short-term memory than others, which are really helpful when it comes to test-taking (I guess this is somewhat "life is not fair").
I failed all but one of my classes my first semester as an under-grad. I got practically all As every semester after. For me it was a matter of motivation -- maybe it will be for you to.
On January 26 2010 13:41 Soledad wrote: I didn't read your entire anecdote, but I have one shred of advice to offer you: If life were not fair, then life would truly be meaningless.
what?? this doesn't make any sense to me.
if life were fair then everything would basically be 'easy', someone who grew up around a sport, compared to someone who wasn't if they both work hard, hypothetically equally, it's more likely the person who grew up around it is going to be better.
Is that fair? Is it the latter person's fault for not growing up around the sport, no its just what he was given. If everyone was given the same thing at the start, then the challenges we face now would be nonexistant.
I'm pretty sure if everything were fair, we'd all speak one race, have one religion and basically be a giant monolith of the SAME because if anyone is different they'll have an advantage/disadvantage over someone else. (AKA Unfair)
And to the OP: Some people don't know jack shit and just hand the exam over. Multiple choice exams are the best evidence for this; some will just randomly answer stuff. You shouldn't care about other people, just about the exam's deadline and your own progress.
And as that guy said, you can study much more and better if you study 1 hour for six days than if you cram six hours right before the exam starts.
Don't trust what "smart guys" say about studying. They think that making themselves look like if they were born with that knowledge is going to make it any more impressive; it's just a farse and employers know it.
And yeah, learn how to learn. I guess you are in an economics major or something so I don't really know your subjects, but reasoning every single line and connecting it to previous knowledge is imo. the best way to learn.
On January 26 2010 14:02 FonzeXD wrote: The guy you described sounds like me XD lazy mother fucker who just plays SC all day, but, hand me college work and it's like PvZ, fast expand and snipe the ovies with corsairs before they get speed.
I see other people studying around me all the time and I think to myself, wow, shouldn't I be doing that? Then I actually go and take the same test I see those mother fuckers studying for and I get a 95 and they get Bs or Cs. Like, wtf were they doing when they study, reading their blank sheets of paper? I just try to play back every moment of the lecture that the teacher gave us in my head and it all becomes clear. Even tests are fucking easy to do without even studying for them, just remembering some notes and the lecture. I smoke pot all day and have some memory problems but I can still remember entire lectures, woaah XP
you're a tool. seriously. please go fall off a cliff or get mauled by the werewolf.
in other news, guess i'm also one of those "lazy ass kids" that do well in school. there's a few things i got to say on the subject coming from my perspective. may sound sort of preachy but i have strong feelings about the subject.
first: despite what i said in the previous paragraph, you need to stop polarizing people between those two groups. its not some caste system you were born into and will forever be stuck in. besides, many bums jealous of you hard workers. i cannot sit still in a chair and study but some people can just pour into books and learn everything. it's an important trait that i'm sure many many "lazy bums" are envious of. a good work ethic is something to be proud of.
second: if he isn't rubbing it in your face (intentionally at least) then leave him the fuck alone. you got no reason to spite him for doing the minimum work possible to do well. seriously who the hell wouldn't. my roommate bitched at me once for playing all the time and getting better grades and i was seriously going to kick the shit out of him.
third: maybe your university is just too hard for you? i watched a ridiculous number of freshman at CMU transfer out after their first semester. don't stay in the same school if you think you're going to get raped for the next four years and not have a social life in the process.
I like how you still tried to contribute to the tread XD good job! Everything you said though was like listening to my robot voice in the fan: USELESS! xD
From experience, 1st to leave never means anything. I'm in UW engineering and ive been with the same people for 4 yrs (that's how engineering works unfortunately). And i kno who is smart and who isn't, and for a fact the people who leave the exam first are never the ones getting top grades, and I know who is top 10 students every term.
Btw, I've been doing co-op and I can tell you smarts isn't everything. Be organized. I can't stress how it is important to get organized. It doesn't take smarts to become a manager, but the initiative to get things done and know where your files are (I got into some dirty poopsicles this morning for losing 200 pages).
Just based on the fact you go to the library shows you have some initiative to study, gj, not many ppl can do that. I know a lot of people who are super smart and fail (fail rate in UW engineering is pretty bad though).
My 3rd 4th year experience is you gotta constantly study to keep up. To get caught up you HAVE to sit down and do ALL of your homework. I know people who complain about how some ppl are smart and get through univ cuz they are gifted. WRONG. Just friggin do your homework from Day 1, and don't take shortcuts and read solutions before attempting homework. Sorry to sound like a dad but some of my buddies who failed just dont get it.
I sit down everyday and do homework for 3 hours to get to where I am today, and I won't lie to you when I say I am the more fortunate people who can understand faster than the norm (at least engineering anyway) and I still have to do all of my hw. People complain about the "gifted people", but honestly input = output.
If you want to be top 10 then sry you need the smarts. But smart people dont necessarily pass. Hard workers do.
On January 26 2010 16:28 Warrior Madness wrote: This. I used to be one of these people and I would always try to emphasize how little I studied...It was a really understated form of bragging but it was obnoxious none the less.
The thing is, I did study a lot less than most people and got far better marks but I definitely put in a lot more effort in less amount of time. I may have studied three hours a day to others' six, sometimes more a day, but I studied WAY harder and a lot smarter than they did. Look, when some people "study" what they really mean is that they read and reread the same chapter over and over again in the hopes that all the important information will somehow sink in....
I made it a priority to actually, LEARN how to learn. I took extra time to go to classes on how to study, manage your motivation and time, and I did a Hell of a lot of research in my free time (I still do) on different study strategies. Before I even start reading, I activate all my prior knowledge... I recite what I know about the topic, anything I think might be related to it, predict what will be discussed, and by the time I actually start reading I have a long list of questions already prepared.
To memorize something I use a technique called mnemonics. I can probably memorize things three times as fast as most people can but it took me half a semester to learn the skill, and to make it payoff (It initially took me LONGER to memorize when I first started). I never ever cram. Ever. For exams, I only do a quick one hour review like your friend. How? I use something called Supermemo.... It's based on this thing called spaced repetition. You will remember something more easily and more accurately if you study something a FEW times over a long period of time, rather than studying something repeatedly in a short period of time. So instead of cramming something in a span of six hours..... I learn something, then I review it the next day, then a week after, then three months after, then a year after. Everything that I've learned is as fresh in my mind as when I first learned it. So I never go on long marathon studies like other do. I relax instead.
Lastly, most importantly, I learned that learning how to manage your motivation is more important than learning study skills. Because it's the difference between staying energized and commited to your goal versus feeling apathetic and helpless. It's the difference between accomplishing your educational schools and BEYOND, and dropping out.
I agree with everything in this post. Particularly the bolded statement. I can't stress enough -- quantifying "how much you studied" in no way gives you a free pass to complain about doing poorly on an exam. The onus is on you to actually LEARN the material.
Also, +1 recommendation for supermemo, which I still use to this day (beats the hell out of Rosetta Stone for language acquisition.)
There are 5 people trying to rise the same, heavy object, that once risen to one level, does not fall back immidetaly.
First one decides to use willpower but nothing happens so he says fuck it.
Second one decides to make a falsification, trying to make people think he made it.
Third one decides to use hard work , he lifts it a little bit higher everyday.
Fourth one comes and sees the object. Then he decides what technique or tool to use. Then he gets a leverage and lifts it day by day until he lifts it , makes it quite fast.
Fifth one is exceptionally aware one . He lifts it with his arm in one turn but he never tells it to anyone because people don`t believe in fairytales, only after next 300 years or so.
Find a leverage. You can be astonished of how easy or ridicilously easy it actually can be.
Its a bliss that you have a friend like you described. You can get info out of him that will help you to construct your own levarage. You might copy something but its often the case that it doesn`t suit, sometimes completely. You can modify some already existent , that is a good idea.
Don`t be a victim of " I was born average" . There is not a thing that would stop you from changing from average to amazing. People are born with certain degree of intelligence - but does really physical strength that important when you use a leverage ? It becomes a lot less important , sometimes unimportant.
It really is very similar when it comes to studying . There is a vast difference between people`s phisical strength and the intelligence lvl`s - but - open-mindness , creaitivity and sensitivity to the new truths are vastly more important than this physical strength - for they are what can multiply it by unthinkable amounts.
When someone says - this is impossible - he is not realistical or sceptical - he mistakes scepticism for narrow-mindness and falsce assumptions.
-----------------------------------
You said you are depressed right now - but can`t this situation give u a tremendous motivation if you take another perspective ? Wouldn`t you be satisfied if you actually were able to study for something like this in 1 hour , then own it in 20 minutes and call your friend that you 1a2a3a4a`ed it ?
It is possible no matter what you think right now. You need to find a way. If you at one point say that its impossible you are giving up and walking out of this way and really not proving that it is impossible.
--------------------
PS . Hard-workers. Why would they continute to hard-work if they had tools or/and techniques to make hard-work unnecesary ? They don`t have it because they believe it doesn`t exist. So they rather won`t discover it, no wonder.
On January 26 2010 16:28 Warrior Madness wrote: This. I used to be one of these people and I would always try to emphasize how little I studied...It was a really understated form of bragging but it was obnoxious none the less.
The thing is, I did study a lot less than most people and got far better marks but I definitely put in a lot more effort in less amount of time. I may have studied three hours a day to others' six, sometimes more a day, but I studied WAY harder and a lot smarter than they did. Look, when some people "study" what they really mean is that they read and reread the same chapter over and over again in the hopes that all the important information will somehow sink in....
I made it a priority to actually, LEARN how to learn. I took extra time to go to classes on how to study, manage your motivation and time, and I did a Hell of a lot of research in my free time (I still do) on different study strategies. Before I even start reading, I activate all my prior knowledge... I recite what I know about the topic, anything I think might be related to it, predict what will be discussed, and by the time I actually start reading I have a long list of questions already prepared.
To memorize something I use a technique called mnemonics. I can probably memorize things three times as fast as most people can but it took me half a semester to learn the skill, and to make it payoff (It initially took me LONGER to memorize when I first started). I never ever cram. Ever. For exams, I only do a quick one hour review like your friend. How? I use something called Supermemo.... It's based on this thing called spaced repetition. You will remember something more easily and more accurately if you study something a FEW times over a long period of time, rather than studying something repeatedly in a short period of time. So instead of cramming something in a span of six hours..... I learn something, then I review it the next day, then a week after, then three months after, then a year after. Everything that I've learned is as fresh in my mind as when I first learned it. So I never go on long marathon studies like other do. I relax instead.
Lastly, most importantly, I learned that learning how to manage your motivation is more important than learning study skills. Because it's the difference between staying energized and commited to your goal versus feeling apathetic and helpless. It's the difference between accomplishing your educational schools and BEYOND, and dropping out.
I agree with everything in this post. Particularly the bolded statement. I can't stress enough -- quantifying "how much you studied" in no way gives you a free pass to complain about doing poorly on an exam. The onus is on you to actually LEARN the material.
Also, +1 recommendation for supermemo, which I still use to this day (beats the hell out of Rosetta Stone for language acquisition.)
While these materials are very useful ones, its really not recommended to blindly copy or do exactly what they say , without understanding. Its recommened to see the framework. This is - to understand on what exactly does the succes rely on.
Most of these learning techniques rely on combining imagination with logic. They form techniques upon that concept and give ready ones to you.
Most of these techniques aren`t universal, working for everyone, far from it in fact, nor are they optimal.
On January 26 2010 14:12 WindCalibur wrote: You are right, life is unfair. Gotta deal with and not cry about it.
I'm not crying about it... I just feel really down and wanted opinions on how to think around this situation.. =/
Think about it like you're Flash. You won the Ever OSL and had a chance to make history and win the Nate MSL. You're up against Jaedong, a player that you know that you have the ability to beat. Score's all tied up 1 to 1. You're in the middle of round three and suddenly the power shuts off and the referee awards the victory to jaedong because he "seemingly had an advantage." You think, no problem, I can take him in the next game. You decide to try some cheese. You go 8 Rax and think that you're going to win with an early marine rush. Jaedong, however, seemed to mysteriously guess what you were doing and he went 9 pool! Because of these circumstances, you lost your chance at the title that you believe is rightfully yours, and you believe that, given a chance, you could have proved yourself. Now what does Flash do? He practices more and steamrolls Jaedong in the proleague! This is what you have to do. Don't look at your exam grade as a loss, look the next exam as a chance to prove yourself. If you have a decent professor, he'll take into account that your grade has an upward trend.
P.S. If you don't understand the reference watch the Nate MSL finals :D
Microecon is kind of tough for me too. I keep making these stupid mistakes on assignments and always get worse marks than people I should be doing better than. Like labeling lines Qd or Qs instead of D and S. I got every thing correct on my last assignment, but lose marks due to that kind of mistake. Someome guy beside me got ALL the math wrong and only corrected it when I told him how to do it, and gets perfect on the assignment. FUUUUUUU
people who have good work ethic are way better off than people who rely on their natural intelligence.
The day will come when a person realizes that the rest of the world thinking they're smart doesn't really matter, and the only way to make yourself happy is to work your ass off; that competing and winning is still less than simply trying your utmost. And when that time comes it's really fucking hard to learn work ethic.
As long as you avoid being bitter about people who [seem] to be 'more gifted' than you, you'll retain the power to make life what you want it to be. This is key though. I know people who always had good work ethic but held resentment against others who a) didn't have to try to succeed b) never thought it important to try, and these people are no better off because their dispositions are juvenile and handicapping.
I wish i could convey how freeing my current axioms allow for: 1) It's not about being right 2) You amount to nothing more than what you feel 3) Giving only half means you'll never feel like you accomplished anything but only half of what you could have
Usually the people that leave within the first 20 minutes are those who didn't study, looked through the test, and just threw in the towel. Eventually, some of them just drop the class.
The people that finish in 40 minutes, though: thems the smart peoples.
I hated econ and found it pointless. You really have to know your strengths and weaknesses and study what you love (in my case history). You'll do really well at what you're interested in, trust me.
No joke... enjoy the little things and the big things in life... like when you totally own those smart people after years of hard work, and they're sitting there wondering why they're not getting the best grades/jobs/etc.
you seem to fit into the hardworker archetype... life isn't always fair, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. Fear less... worry more.