Daily Journal

7/10 Journal

My first experience with Linux went smoothly as the interface and operations felt very similar to that of windows, and I also recognized that the terminal Linux contains is very similar to that of one found on mac os. However, while the system felt familiar to use, many actions on the computer, such as opening an application, were very slow.

During our first robotics lecture we learned about both a command line interface and a graphical user interface. A command line interface requires solely a keyboard where a user types in a command and the computer responds. A GUI is more advanced as it also incorporates the use of a mouse and allows a user to click onto different buttons or icons. A command line interface seems to be better for doing more specific tasks as it requires the knowledge of many different commands to operate it. A GUI may gain advantage when wanting to create a more easily accessible and visually pleasing screen. Overall, the general population can use them compared to a command line.

The best part of COSMOS so far has been meeting new people and forming connections. I have also enjoyed the individual, college representation aspect of it. However, what have found most difficult thus far is the use of the bathrooms as you have to share with many others and the showers have been difficult to operate so far.

7/11 Journal

Today I spoke with my roommate Aayaan from cluster 9, which covers the mathematical modeling of biological systems. After asking him if he learned anything interesting, he told me about the reproduction of yeast cells, also known as schmooing. Because yeast cells cannot simply reproduce on their own, they release pheromones to other near by yeast cells, signaling a mating process. When such pheromones are received the two yeast cells bind to one another, through a schmoo, allowing for the sharing of genetic material, which is then used to create new yeast cells

7/12 Journal

I believe that there are multiple ways in which one can assess wether or not they understood a lecture they received. One of the first things I would do is check if my connections logically makes sense, meaning I would try to find the connections I made in the lecture in other forms of information such as the class textbook. I would also see if I had connections related to previous lectures, as educators commonly assume you know all the information from previous lectures coming into a new one. Another thing one could do is clarify with the teacher after class: they could explain how they interpreted the lecture and see if the professor agrees or believes their connections need to be structured. Finally I would console with friends or others in the class to see what they got out of the lecture, if we have a consensus of the main ideas then we most likely understood the lecture