Cool Hand and Quantum Physics..

[rayinpenn]

After the first semester I haven’t really paid attention to what courses DS “Cool Hand” is taking at college because the computer science major is pretty prescriptive. (In addition to what you’d expect there’s Lots of calculus and math). There isn’t a lot of wiggle room. He did manage to take a tai chi course as a required physical education course this semester but I think it is only a credit or two. Anyway a few weeks ago I learned he is taking a Quantum Physics course. He said it was that or another course he wasn’t interested in. It was then I explained Rays theory on taking easy enjoyable electives to facilitate focusing on tuff stuff. It was about that time that the professor for the course sent out an email explaining that the course would be particularly difficult. If we were in a boat I would say I see rocks ahead...

As a result of his gaming addiction the Cool Hand’s nemesis is the 8AM or 9AM class. A couple things you should know..
He’s asked to take his Gaming Computer to school. No deal
He’s been given an echo dot. His Mom knows his schedule and at precisely 8:30AM she says to our Alexa “Alexa call cool hands echo dot” and many miles away his dot starts playing an alarm. In the beginning the call was met with a groggy “Hello”. Ive had to remind him who’s paying for all this. This semester somethings changed he’s awake and I have even been surprised to hear “I woke up early to study”
Dare I say it? Do we see a new man? Has the tide turned?

I asked the Cool Hand how is Quantum Physics going? He said “so far pretty good.” I cant imagine what Cool Hand will do with QP as a computer programmer. I know that modern portfolio theory course I took many years ago was totally useless. I’ve come to hate waste I’d rather take a ballroom dance class then portfolio theory.. at least i could dance with a pretty lady.

Did you witness a child’s metamorphosis into an adult? If so what were the signs?

 

[braumeister]

Did you witness a child’s metamorphosis into an adult?

I'm still waiting for my own.

 

[Scrapr]

Well, maybe. DS was getting tired, cranky of working at Wally world. He went out on his own and found a new job with a raise. Even got his pee to pass a pee test. <no report if he paid for clean pee though. Maybe that shows initiative?>

Green shoots?

 

[GrayHare]

Sounds like a worthy class to me since Quantum Computing is going to be huge this century.

I couldn't hack 8 am classes either, nor could most of the others who had staggered in.

 

[Masquernom]

Our daughter is 28 years old next week. We're finally starting to see some improvement. She's now got her first full time job, and has held it for 5 months now. I tell her she's 28 going on 19...

 

[Dtail]

I'm still waiting for my own.

Unfortunately +1 for my 30 y.o.

 

[38Chevy454]

Ray, you ever ask Cool Hand to inquire about pass/fail grading (A, B or C = pass, D or F = fail) for the general education type courses? In my case (engineering major working my way through), I took almost all of the gen ed classes as pass/fail - just study enough to get a C. Get the credit, but has no effect on GPA. That way the courses I had to get grades in such as the support and major type classes, I had more study time.


I know some people have the opposite theory, get good grades in the general ed easier courses to offset the grades on the support and major courses. I liked my plan better, but both can work.


I am sure Quantum Physics is not a general ed course. However with his first year now, I am sure he has several general ed classes left.

 

[MarieIG]

Well, son #5 was catapulted towards adulthood by enlisting in the Marine Corps. I remember him calling us and telling us about have his wisdom teeth pulled out (a requirement). Said he was glad for the chance to lay down for a few hours. When he did go to college, he really appreciated it.

 

[LOL!]

Did you witness a child’s metamorphosis into an adult? If so what were the signs?

There were two main signs that I can distinctly remember:

1. When they come home, they take their parents out to dinner and pay for everybody themselves.

2. They no longer call you about their car breaking down when it happens. Instead, they call a few weeks later and tell you how they had to get their car worked on a few weeks ago and it's all OK now.

 

[skipro33]

When our oldest son came home from college for the summer and I got him a part time job laying asphalt with a contractor friend of mine. He decided manual labor was not for him and knuckled down to his studies.

 

[rayinpenn]

When our oldest son came home from college for the summer and I got him a part time job laying asphalt with a contractor friend of mine. He decided manual labor was not for him and knuckled down to his studies.

Cool Hand’s ‘laying asphalt’ reality check has been his high school and summer part time Job with ACME. (Lots of hours in the summer) He has commented on: how hard people work and how little they are paid, The turnover, And more interestingly “I cant believe thats their life.”

In deliberate measured portions I remind him that if he doesn’t do well the salt mines of ACME await. It isn’t something I enjoy doing but I believe a good kick in the butt is for some necessary.

 

[donheff]

PHD work in quantum computing in his future?

 

[DatumPoint5]

I cant imagine what Cool Hand will do with QP as a computer programmer.

Sometime, very soon in the future, he will be VERY glad he took the QP course if only to become acquainted with the current "state of the art" of computing.

There are actual, real quantum computers today. They are only a few q-bits of info, but, they are real and definitely on the forefront of computer technology.

Cool Hand should Google "Quantum Computer" and read some of the results. These devices already exist at about the same level as our current computers were way back in the late 60' and early 70's. e.g. not a lot of power, but, everyone who worked in the field could see the future potential.

This is a small snippet from the first hit in Google.........

Quantum computing is computing using quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement. A quantum computer is a device that performs quantum computing. Such a computer is completely different from binary digital electronic computers based on transistors and capacitors

And here is direct link to the Wikipedia Article............
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_computing

 

[rayinpenn]

PHD work in quantum computing in his future?

He has taken a few physics courses and has done well. Funny he mentioned maybe I’ll major in physics.. I explained that you’ll likely need a graduate degree to find work. (No I recognize I am no expert). Id like to change your words if I may.

Paying for PHD work in quantum computing in your future?

I’ve thought about it and I would not be surprised if we have pay for grad school. Education is high on my priority list and he will get the money now or when we are gone. At least I know it wont be spent on a my shiny 63 vette (My soul would die again). Before DD job payed for graduate school we covered 2 courses.

Oh and I failed to mention According to Cool Hand QP has a 3 hr lab if you miss one you are done. Fortunately it is in the afternoon.

 

[Mdlerth]

It's never as simple as we would like it to be

From watching our own crew, I had to conclude that maturation isn't a single point function. More of a probability distribution spread among a variety of skillsets.

One mightily resisted getting up in the morning, but was academically the most ferocious and successful. A different one struggles with finances but works hard and manages to live an independent life; another boomeranged back home and saves money like crazy but at the cost of any meaningful social life.

 

[Montecfo]

Rayinpenn-
Have enjoyed the updates. The Echo dot is a pretty good idea. Would not have worked for our boy as he required and earthquake type alarm to wake up.

Growth was in steps for ours. Making sure he got up and got to class was a big one. Then being more focused on grades. Then applying for internships. Then having some plan for meals at least some of the time. Got a good job right away and off the payroll.

Now he saves, invests gets raises etc. He is 26.

 

[kgtest]

Well, maybe. DS was getting tired, cranky of working at Wally world. He went out on his own and found a new job with a raise. Even got his pee to pass a pee test. <no report if he paid for clean pee though. Maybe that shows initiative?>

Green shoots?

lol

 

[skipro33]

It's a bit self defeating to assume YOU have to pay for a doctorate for Cool Hand Luke. When my son was approached by his employer that a PHD would be necessary for further advancement, he took a job at the university first. As such they help him find time, money and support for the program. He was able to continue to work full time, raising his family of 4 kids (including an adopted 5-year-old girl with special needs) with his full time teaching wife and complete his studies in 3 years. He was accepted at USC but found it was too expensive and instead enrolled at UOP. Most of his studies were on-line and class work was conveniently weekends and some evenings. It wasn't easy, but he did it on his own and didn't even try to ask me for financial support.

 

[rayinpenn]

It's a bit self defeating to assume YOU have to pay for a doctorate for Cool Hand Luke.

In truth I was thinking a masters of computer engineering at penn state -the graduate school is local and affordable. DD is past the mid point on hers. Of course If he can get someone to pay for it great.. It will be Cool Hand’s choice.

I did 2 graduate degrees at night - I learned a great deal but it was miserable. A busy job and school was exhausting at least for me.

Thumbs up for your son.

 

[Teacher Terry]

In general it seems like boys mature slower than girls. By college kids are adults and need to manage their own time and get themselves up. We didn’t pay for failure either.

 

[rayinpenn]

In general it seems like boys mature slower than girls. By college kids are adults and need to manage their own time and get themselves up. We didn’t pay for failure either.

My wife’s wake up call is no big deal- we are up anyway. Like i said he’s getting better.

 

[SecondCor521]

I've seen signs of maturity in DS1, who just turned 24. In the past year, he's decided to go back to school to finish his degree, goes to effectively all his classes, does all his schoolwork on time, has chosen a marketable degree program in something he is interested in and good at, and is getting straight A's. He has also recently told me a few times when I've done a little bit too much parenting "I got this, Dad". He stopped out and worked for a few years, which I think helped him be productive while he matured.

DS2, who is 19 and finishing senior year in high school is still a work in progress. Although we are parenting him differently - DS1 we helicoptered more and forced him to succeed more, with DS2 we're taking a more hands off approach. We're coming up on graduation and IB exams, so that will be the first major, measurable sign of success or failure of this second approach. He is very capable but is not great at long term planning and is a procrastinator, so he will probably learn those things at some point, I assume either when he matures or when he fails at something that is important to him.

DD1 is 17 and a high school junior. She is smart and relatively mature even for a girl, but she still has the blind spot of not knowing that she doesn't know, and has a pretty high degree of wanting to find stuff out for herself rather than accepting the wisdom of her elders. Since I was the same way I understand, but now that the shoe's on the other foot I can understand why my parents tried to give me advice.

I've been told by my kids and others that youth will take advantage - if I am willing to fix them breakfast, they'll generally take me up on that and rely on it; if I say "you're old enough and know how to cook, fix your own breakfast" they'll grudgingly do it themselves. Either way they'll adapt to the situation.

I find it interesting what areas we parents hand off to the kids and at what ages. My sister was still waking her sons up as they graduated high school and was worried about them getting up in the morning when they went off to college. My kids have been getting themselves up and ready for school since junior high so that hasn't been something I think about for a while now. But I still want to be active in my DS1's class selections so he graduates in a time-efficient manner and he has junior-level standing, so that is something that I'm probably holding on to longer than other parents.

I also find it interesting how expectations play into it. I've talked with @Nords on another forum about my kids' maturity, and it finally dawned on me the other day that I was expecting/wishing that my kids would be fully mature after high school but before college. It seems the current norm is to be fully mature sometime around graduation from college. If I go by my expectation/wish, my kids are behind the curve, but if I go by the current norm, then they're just fine or even a bit ahead of the curve.

 

[Teacher Terry]

My kids are 39-45. Being a helicopter parent wasn’t even a thing.

 

[Souschef]

I was pleasantly surprised at the final initiative that DS1 took. He was always.
into cycling, and got a job overseas working in a bicycle warehouse
Fast forward- he got married, started working for Panavision as a camera repairman, then took courses to become a film editor
He is now teaching at UCLA extension coursers in editing in addition to his work.

 

[Clone]

We went to visit our two boys a few days ago. Went out to eat at a place they selected. Towards the end, Son #1 told the waiter "One check, I'll pay for this. I make a lot more than he does now..."

That was a weird feeling, but appreciated!

A year or two ago, they also came up with this gem: "You know, when we were little, you were always at work. We thought maybe you didn't like us. Now we understand!"