In my youth, I had one idol: Harrison Ford. He played Han Solo and Indiana Jones. He was everything I wanted to be. From him I learned how to be a man.
From his role as Han Solo I learned that it's okay to be a scoundrel as long as you show up at the right time to knock out Darth Vader so Luke can blow up the Death Star. Also, when I woman tells you that she loves you, it's not okay to say, "I love you, too." A man says, "I know."
A real man is in control. He also first tries solving a problem by shooting at it.
There are more lessons from Han Solo, but we can't leave out the great Indiana Jones. From Indy, I learned that Nazis are bad, women are for wooing, and being an archaeologist is awesome. This next video sums a lot of that up.
You can also check out my other blog, "Things I Learned from Indiana Jones." Thanks for joining me today!
-Zack
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
7 Habits of Highly Effective Students
I was reading a blog post the other day by a friend of mine named Zach. He's a student at BYU. He noticed that there were 2 different groups of students: effective and ineffective. He put it into the context of test takers. His angle was pretty interesting, being that he is studying neuroscience. It inspired me to make my own 7 habits of effective students.*
1. "I don't always underestimate myself, but when I do, it's waking up for my 8:00 class." Classes start at noon? Aahhh Yeeaah.
2. "Skipping class is essential to sanity." I took a history class last semester and attendance was not required. It was boring, not related to my major, and homework consisted of essays due about every 3 weeks. I skipped that class more than I went to it. I still got an A, but did I learn anything? Sure, I learned I still don't like history. Also, that I'm still sane because I skipped that class.
3. "Friends = Study Buddies." Make friends with someone in your class and then you can play Xbox while talking about the Theory of Relativity. It's a win-win.
4. "Final worth 67% of my grade? Homework just became optional." Why spend countless hours doing homework when I can just cram for the final and ace it? Do well on the other tests, and I'm guaranteed a C. Do a few homework assignments and I've got a B. Booyah.
5. "'You can't do this assignment the night before.' 'Challenge accepted.'" Procrastination is talent. We have been perfecting our skill in procrastination since middle school. God gave you a gift, my friend. Don't hide it under a bushel.
6. "Facebook is an acceptable substitute to homework." Having trouble writing that paper for American Heritage? What is more American than Facebook? You should definitely just hop on and start stalking your favorite people. Afterward, that paper will practically write itself.
7. "Google answers everything. Period." If you can't figure something out, Google is there to help you. Someone, somewhere, has had the same question as you and probably posted it on a forum. Other people have already answered it. Collaboration at it's finest.
You now have every tool you need to become a highly effective student. Or maybe, just maybe, you caught my sarcasm. Keep on, my friend, keep on.
*Disclaimer: Results not typical.
1. "I don't always underestimate myself, but when I do, it's waking up for my 8:00 class." Classes start at noon? Aahhh Yeeaah.
2. "Skipping class is essential to sanity." I took a history class last semester and attendance was not required. It was boring, not related to my major, and homework consisted of essays due about every 3 weeks. I skipped that class more than I went to it. I still got an A, but did I learn anything? Sure, I learned I still don't like history. Also, that I'm still sane because I skipped that class.
3. "Friends = Study Buddies." Make friends with someone in your class and then you can play Xbox while talking about the Theory of Relativity. It's a win-win.
4. "Final worth 67% of my grade? Homework just became optional." Why spend countless hours doing homework when I can just cram for the final and ace it? Do well on the other tests, and I'm guaranteed a C. Do a few homework assignments and I've got a B. Booyah.
5. "'You can't do this assignment the night before.' 'Challenge accepted.'" Procrastination is talent. We have been perfecting our skill in procrastination since middle school. God gave you a gift, my friend. Don't hide it under a bushel.
6. "Facebook is an acceptable substitute to homework." Having trouble writing that paper for American Heritage? What is more American than Facebook? You should definitely just hop on and start stalking your favorite people. Afterward, that paper will practically write itself.
7. "Google answers everything. Period." If you can't figure something out, Google is there to help you. Someone, somewhere, has had the same question as you and probably posted it on a forum. Other people have already answered it. Collaboration at it's finest.
You now have every tool you need to become a highly effective student. Or maybe, just maybe, you caught my sarcasm. Keep on, my friend, keep on.
*Disclaimer: Results not typical.
"80 grand later I found out that all that I had learned..."
"...Is that you should show up to take the final and the midterm."
-Matt Thiessen of Relient K
If there is one thing that school has taught me, it's that the odd answers are in the back of the book. I'm a physics major. I take a lot of math classes, and they are not always the most interesting. Take, for instance, linear algebra. It's a math that is so abstract that it requires you to do calculations in "n" dimensions. Can you visualize coordinate axes in more than 3 dimensions? I sure as heck can't. That aside, I'm still required to take it in order to "qualify" to take higher-level physics classes. Thank goodness the odd answers are in the back.
In all seriousness, I really am glad there are some answers in the back. It's nice to have a confirmation that I understand the concept, or an indication that I missed the mark. If I can see that my answer was wrong, I then review the problem, reread sections, and then locate the pieces I was missing. I've never been one to simply copy down the answers from the back of the book. In the end, what does that accomplish? The answers to your test questions are not at the back of the test.
It's really too bad that the answers to life are not always in the back of some book. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to come up with my own answers. Like I do in my writing class.
-Matt Thiessen of Relient K
If there is one thing that school has taught me, it's that the odd answers are in the back of the book. I'm a physics major. I take a lot of math classes, and they are not always the most interesting. Take, for instance, linear algebra. It's a math that is so abstract that it requires you to do calculations in "n" dimensions. Can you visualize coordinate axes in more than 3 dimensions? I sure as heck can't. That aside, I'm still required to take it in order to "qualify" to take higher-level physics classes. Thank goodness the odd answers are in the back.
In all seriousness, I really am glad there are some answers in the back. It's nice to have a confirmation that I understand the concept, or an indication that I missed the mark. If I can see that my answer was wrong, I then review the problem, reread sections, and then locate the pieces I was missing. I've never been one to simply copy down the answers from the back of the book. In the end, what does that accomplish? The answers to your test questions are not at the back of the test.
It's really too bad that the answers to life are not always in the back of some book. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to come up with my own answers. Like I do in my writing class.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)