Month: August 2019

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Representation of race

Q.  What would you trust more, in seeking to learn about a person: their biography or their memoir/autobiography?

A. I think this is quite dependent on the person. In the case of a person who is remarkably egocentric/self-absorbed, I would prefer to read a biography because it would likely be less biased in favour of the author. On the other hand, a very humble person may downplay their achievements which would also cause a negative bias towards themselves which would make a biography a bit less biased and hence more reliable.

However, you could also argue that the biases that would come in an autobiography would be useful in conveying the true personality of the author.

I would say in both cases it would depend highly on whose biography/autobiography/memoir I would be reading, and of course, in an ideal case, I would prefer reading all three and comparing their similarities and differences.

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Maths and Me — Intro to HL Math Analysis

  1. Your name and previous mathematics experience (IGCSE, MYP, FIB, any other course)
    1. I was in IGCSE Additional and CIM Maths, I’ve had math classes ever since I started school. I was part of the K-12 math system back when I was in middle school in South Korea.
  2. What might be some of the feelings that you associate with mathematics? How do you feel about starting this course and why?
    1. I find maths fun usually, I love the feeling you get when you solve a problem or figure out a unique way to solve a maths problem. I do sometimes find myself rather irritated when I spend like an hour thinking about a hard math problem and I still can’t figure out the solution.
  3. Where would you put yourself on this continuum and why
    1. I like to solve problems myself, I find it annoying when someone has to explain things to me. I think I’d say I would wait at least a few days before I’d ask my friends for help but then I’d ensure that I wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
  4. What do you do when you are “stuck” in mathematics?
    1. My mom used to be a math teacher and so I have a few math books at home which I can refer to in order to try and find problems that use similar reasoning. I try as hard as I can to find the answer myself before I check the mark scheme.
  5. Which one of the following skills is your biggest strength in learning mathematics?
    1. I feel like my biggest strength would be as a critical thinker, I feel like I’m sometimes able to analyse things well which leads me to finding easier, perhaps more effective ways to solve problems.
    2. I’d say my biggest shortcoming is probably clear communication because my working out is sometimes subpar which leads to infuriating silly mistakes