When you are hired/tasked to develop on some project, it isn't going to be for single, one-shot, little programs. It will likely be for some long-running and evolving project. The pnc and dcf projects are an attempt to acclimate you to that evolving attribute of problems. Where you don't just solve it and drop it, but must continually revisit, revise, expand, enhance. Having a long-term view of where things are going and your strategies for approaching them.

Yet far too many are still stuck in their short-term, brute-forcing ways. And in that desperation I see things like over-helping (getting access to code or solutions that the person does not truly understand, aside from “it works!!1!”) and people driving themselves to exhaustion.

Some have said they'd like to re-take CPROG, perhaps even next semester. But there's a logical flaw in that: If you feel you could tangibly benefit from retaking CPROG in the future, how is that helping you NOW, when you're clearly deficient in the necessary basics for success in discrete? Hint: it is not.

More than a few people have stated they'd like to sit in on my CPROG class, yet to date a scant few have seemed to seriously follow-through (and those that have, I have considerable optimism regarding their success, both in the present and near future, but also further into the future as well- they are demonstrating their ability to make a sound investment in their future). And by seriously follow-through, to be both physically AND MENTALLY present, actually learning and picking up important basics.

sativa

indica

and hybrid where horticultural efforts are melding the two

“sativa should be about as stimulating as a strong cup of coffee. Typically used during the daytime, sativa will energize you with their strong cerebral effects. Many marijuana lovers choose sativa when they’re looking for an uplifting and creative buzz.”

legal/ethical: it definitely is still illegal at the Federal level, and recreationally still illegal at the state (NY) level. So while I'm obligated to mention that…

Lesson #4a: There are many neat things that come from combining all these lessons/skills as well. Like reading + listening + thinking, one can develop a sense of context, and then move further away from that black and white world of specific exact actions. Like my search example above with searching for the substring “verif” instead of specifically “verify” or “verification”. That requires thinking and understanding that the information you seek comes in many forms, and we have to contemplate the best ways of instructing the computer to do our bidding. If you were told there's information related to how to verify your output on the project page, and you search for “verify” you may find some information, but maybe not everything, even the more useful stuff. But if you think and understand there are different forms of representing “verify” in our natural language, and you can then better use the search functionality (the computer sees “verify” and “verification” as two entirely separate things, it derives no meaning from them; we understand the meaning of words, and the similarity of their forms, and from that, we can craft more effective patterns we can communicate to the literal computer). A common mistake and misperception some make in computing is that success means they have to learn to be just like a computer. NO. We're not looking to become computers. We are looking to become effective operators of computers. Directors of computers.

pnc0 was due before it was no longer Wednesday.

It is now Saturday, meaning if you submit pnc0 today, it is 75% LATE. And while it is important to note that getting 25% credit (max) is better than only being able to get 0%, you're focusing only on the short term.

So many things in discrete will be based on very simple premises.

If we are not careful, we will ignore the simplicity and leave complexity instead (wasting time trying to wrangle it into operation).

Do not be your own worst enemy. Don't be closed minded. There are MULTIPLE paths to solution, and a big part of discrete is opening your mind to experiencing multiple solutions (pnc0 is a perfect example– look at all the optimizations, and those are just a few I have chosen).

And some in the class are already demonstrating they are not just the sum of their parts. They are realizing just how capable they are, and utilize the concepts encountered in these courses to propel them to even higher heights. And I'm definitely taking notice.

but I'm also taking notice of how many continue to struggle, and although it is still early, a lot of the struggling is based on self-imposed limitations.

So PLEASE, stop looking ONLY at what is immediately in front of you. You have just experienced 1 week in this class. We're looking to do the same this week, then the next, then the next. If every single inch is a struggle, and you cling on for dear life, perhaps some will make it with that approach, but they certainly won't enjoy it (and it isn't just that my classes may be more intense, think of it this way: I am preparing you for the intensity of later courses. The more prepared you are coming out of my classes, the better you can appreciate the more advanced topics and concepts and projects to come). If you're only taking a short-term view, you can get stuck thinking this is your only path, when in reality many others exist.