Week 7~

At the end of the last week, we were given an in class exercise where we were expected to devise a plan or algorithm to solve a certain problem. After help from Danny, as a programmer, it was quite simple to understand the first solution or plan; work backwards. This meant, start from the solution, and keep working back until you reach the starting point. If you cannot reach the start, then the solution is not possible. Now, the second solution is what stood out to me. Interestingly, we could model this problem as a tree (currently exploring this topic in CSC 148) and view all the possible cases or results. I always find it astonishing when courses relate together, even in simple cases such as this.

During the week, I worked on assignment 2 and have no experienced how simple it is to prove something that is false, or disproof something true. I was convinced claim 1.2 was true, until told otherwise at Danny's office hours. It was one of those moments of disbelief, followed by the feeling of utter stupidity. It seemed I missed a case in my proof, causing it to collapse. It's interesting how fragile a "for all" statement is, and how there are cases that are hard to consider until told to you. As a computer scientist, I need to improve this and learn how to explore and consider all possible cases.