In case the title of this post is not a good enough hint...
Let me start with the "Upside" first.
If you have been following my blog, first of all, a big salute and heartfelt thanks! Anyhow, you may recall that I was in Germany for my Bachelor's Internship semester, and I was very lucky to be able to work with proper industrial robots in an R&D environment. You can read about that in my previous posts.
I still clearly remember that in my last days of being in Germany in 2018, I used to lie in my bed, look at the night sky and wonder, If I would come back to the same spot? It was the first time I was living out of my home, my city and my country, and I was working on something that I truly enjoyed doing. Playing with robots, sensors, trying different programs, different codes, thinking about new projects, new methods of doing the old projects. It was a relaxed environment. I was sad when it was time to go back home, to India. I did not want to go back. I hate changes, especially in my day-to-day schedules and things.
Fast forward to May 2019, I was selected for the Master's program at RWTH Aachen, which is the same city I was in for my internship. Not only that, but It was also an M.Sc in Robotics System Engineering. Since I had seen the labs and experienced the work culture first hand, saying I was excited was an understatement. I even got the confirmation to stay at the same lovely little room in which I stayed the year before! I could lay down on the bed again, look at the night sky from the same place, and say to myself that I did it.
Fast forward again to today, March 2020. It has been about 50 days since I have left my room for anything except going to the market or going to give my exam. All my exams have gone terribly. I have constantly dry eyes and an impinged tendon in my shoulder. And to top it all off, Coronavirus just hit Germany and we are basically in a lockdown state as I write this. But all this is still okay. All this is still something I can deal with and push past.
The real disappointment has been the actual studies. On the very first day of joining as a Master's student, I was made aware that nearly ALL of the study program is theoretical / calculation based and there are literally ZERO practicals or lab sessions. None of the subjects had anything in common with any other subject I had in my bachelor's. Hell, I had 2 Machine learning subjects with assignments in Pytorch and TensorFlow, with my experience with both of these ML frameworks being exactly zero. Understanding Neural Networks and Deep Learning is a far cry if you do not understand the basics and the terminology of the subject. And all the basics of ML require a very strong foundation of probability and statistics, which again, I do not have. Even the subjects that are related to the Mechanical engineering subjects I had studied proved to be too advanced and difficult for me to understand in a period of 4 months.
I am not saying that my course is stupid and terribly planned. Every single subject in the course makes perfect sense and has a very strong reason to be in a robotics course. Kinematics and dynamics of robotic systems, automatic control theory and feedback loops, system modeling, machine learning, data classification, and reinforcement learning. The problem lies with me, more specifically, How I build an understanding of the subject/topic.
You can show me all the equations with all the fancy greek symbols and animations, it would still not make sense to me. Show me only the mathematical formulation and it will have an effect, which I can only describe as "opposite of learning". The way I tend to learn, to understand is and always has been by doing it. Kind of like learning to play the guitar. It is useless if you keep showing me the chord diagrams and finger positions for the guitar if you don't give me a guitar to apply what you are teaching me and give me the flexibility to try different things.
I did not learn programming, or Arduino, or RasPi or Linux OS by reading books and websites. I was curious what an Arduino was, I bought a few, I plugged stuff in it, I burned a few. And even though I destroyed around 5-6 Arduinos, I have learned more from seeing the magic smoke come out than I would have learned from just reading books. I did not learn photography from a lecture series or a course. I had a Sony point-and-shoot and I was bored one day, so I decided to try the different settings, both in the camera and in Lightroom. I discovered long exposure shots not from the settings of the camera (because point and shoot cameras do not have any such setting) but rather from the dealy in the shutter sounds and by moving the camera in defined directions and noticing the light traces in those photos.
I obviously do not have any formal training in computer networking, but when I was setting up my server, I had to set up everything by myself, from the wiring to the configs, the local sharing, and the VPN. I had a system to play with, to tune the settings and experiment. Sure, I had to read forums and tutorials on the internet, but doing the things side-by-side meant that I gained an insight on how the different components are supposed to work together, an insight that was not explicitly mentioned in the forums or the tutorials themselves. Insight, that can only be absorbed through practical, working examples. By getting your own hands dirty.
So when the course turned out to be mathematically intensive, with nearly zero practical sessions and hands-on time, It was no surprise that I was going to struggle with it. Again, to be fair, it probably is only me, (because everyone else seems to pass), and the subjects do make perfect sense in the fields of Automation and Robotics.
Obviously, this was neither an informational post nor the review of the Ryzen PC / Home server that I had promised. The review(s) is not going to happen because... well I do not have those devices with me. This post was more of a rant that I had to get out of my system. Although I am happy that I was able to get back under the same roof window and look at the stars when laying in bed, I am disappointed, both with the course and myself.
I realize that this post has had a very dark theme. And considering everything that 2020 has so far bought with itself, I do not think its a nice idea to end this on a gloomy note. If there is something to learn, something that you can take away from all this is, it would be -
Be aware of your own skillset, what you enjoy doing and what you don't. Learn to adapt to changes so that it is less intimidating for you. As Yo-Yo Ma says in his NPR Tiny Desk Concert, "It is not painful to learn something if you do it incrementally." Take your time. And if you are anything like me, look for practical applications first if the theoretical work and equations do not make sense to you or you find them boring/repulsive. Most importantly - Be Patient!
I hope the title "Down on the Upside" makes sense now. For the uninitiated, it's also a great music album by Soundgarden. If you have not heard of them , you should definitely try, especially if you like grunge music with tasteful lyrics. Apart from that, please enjoy some other photos I clicked since returning to Europe. If you use Ubuntu, specifically Ubuntu Budgie, you will find 3 of my photos (not these ones) included with the distro in the latest 20.04 LTS release due in April! Feel free to use the attached photos as your wallpapers/pictures.
P.S. Considering what all was projected to be a reality by the year 2020 in the previous years, 2020 has to be the most disappointing year I have experienced. Also, coronavirus has been projected to cause lowering of emissions that are orders of magnitude better than all of the conscious human efforts to fight climate change, combined. No matter how advanced humans get, the multiverse will still have its way, and we still won't be able to do anything about it. To be fair, the planet deserves a break.
Feedback and thoughts are welcome, as always.
Let me start with the "Upside" first.
If you have been following my blog, first of all, a big salute and heartfelt thanks! Anyhow, you may recall that I was in Germany for my Bachelor's Internship semester, and I was very lucky to be able to work with proper industrial robots in an R&D environment. You can read about that in my previous posts.
I still clearly remember that in my last days of being in Germany in 2018, I used to lie in my bed, look at the night sky and wonder, If I would come back to the same spot? It was the first time I was living out of my home, my city and my country, and I was working on something that I truly enjoyed doing. Playing with robots, sensors, trying different programs, different codes, thinking about new projects, new methods of doing the old projects. It was a relaxed environment. I was sad when it was time to go back home, to India. I did not want to go back. I hate changes, especially in my day-to-day schedules and things.
Fast forward to May 2019, I was selected for the Master's program at RWTH Aachen, which is the same city I was in for my internship. Not only that, but It was also an M.Sc in Robotics System Engineering. Since I had seen the labs and experienced the work culture first hand, saying I was excited was an understatement. I even got the confirmation to stay at the same lovely little room in which I stayed the year before! I could lay down on the bed again, look at the night sky from the same place, and say to myself that I did it.
Fast forward again to today, March 2020. It has been about 50 days since I have left my room for anything except going to the market or going to give my exam. All my exams have gone terribly. I have constantly dry eyes and an impinged tendon in my shoulder. And to top it all off, Coronavirus just hit Germany and we are basically in a lockdown state as I write this. But all this is still okay. All this is still something I can deal with and push past.
The real disappointment has been the actual studies. On the very first day of joining as a Master's student, I was made aware that nearly ALL of the study program is theoretical / calculation based and there are literally ZERO practicals or lab sessions. None of the subjects had anything in common with any other subject I had in my bachelor's. Hell, I had 2 Machine learning subjects with assignments in Pytorch and TensorFlow, with my experience with both of these ML frameworks being exactly zero. Understanding Neural Networks and Deep Learning is a far cry if you do not understand the basics and the terminology of the subject. And all the basics of ML require a very strong foundation of probability and statistics, which again, I do not have. Even the subjects that are related to the Mechanical engineering subjects I had studied proved to be too advanced and difficult for me to understand in a period of 4 months.
I am not saying that my course is stupid and terribly planned. Every single subject in the course makes perfect sense and has a very strong reason to be in a robotics course. Kinematics and dynamics of robotic systems, automatic control theory and feedback loops, system modeling, machine learning, data classification, and reinforcement learning. The problem lies with me, more specifically, How I build an understanding of the subject/topic.
You can show me all the equations with all the fancy greek symbols and animations, it would still not make sense to me. Show me only the mathematical formulation and it will have an effect, which I can only describe as "opposite of learning". The way I tend to learn, to understand is and always has been by doing it. Kind of like learning to play the guitar. It is useless if you keep showing me the chord diagrams and finger positions for the guitar if you don't give me a guitar to apply what you are teaching me and give me the flexibility to try different things.
I did not learn programming, or Arduino, or RasPi or Linux OS by reading books and websites. I was curious what an Arduino was, I bought a few, I plugged stuff in it, I burned a few. And even though I destroyed around 5-6 Arduinos, I have learned more from seeing the magic smoke come out than I would have learned from just reading books. I did not learn photography from a lecture series or a course. I had a Sony point-and-shoot and I was bored one day, so I decided to try the different settings, both in the camera and in Lightroom. I discovered long exposure shots not from the settings of the camera (because point and shoot cameras do not have any such setting) but rather from the dealy in the shutter sounds and by moving the camera in defined directions and noticing the light traces in those photos.
I obviously do not have any formal training in computer networking, but when I was setting up my server, I had to set up everything by myself, from the wiring to the configs, the local sharing, and the VPN. I had a system to play with, to tune the settings and experiment. Sure, I had to read forums and tutorials on the internet, but doing the things side-by-side meant that I gained an insight on how the different components are supposed to work together, an insight that was not explicitly mentioned in the forums or the tutorials themselves. Insight, that can only be absorbed through practical, working examples. By getting your own hands dirty.
So when the course turned out to be mathematically intensive, with nearly zero practical sessions and hands-on time, It was no surprise that I was going to struggle with it. Again, to be fair, it probably is only me, (because everyone else seems to pass), and the subjects do make perfect sense in the fields of Automation and Robotics.
Obviously, this was neither an informational post nor the review of the Ryzen PC / Home server that I had promised. The review(s) is not going to happen because... well I do not have those devices with me. This post was more of a rant that I had to get out of my system. Although I am happy that I was able to get back under the same roof window and look at the stars when laying in bed, I am disappointed, both with the course and myself.
I realize that this post has had a very dark theme. And considering everything that 2020 has so far bought with itself, I do not think its a nice idea to end this on a gloomy note. If there is something to learn, something that you can take away from all this is, it would be -
Be aware of your own skillset, what you enjoy doing and what you don't. Learn to adapt to changes so that it is less intimidating for you. As Yo-Yo Ma says in his NPR Tiny Desk Concert, "It is not painful to learn something if you do it incrementally." Take your time. And if you are anything like me, look for practical applications first if the theoretical work and equations do not make sense to you or you find them boring/repulsive. Most importantly - Be Patient!
I hope the title "Down on the Upside" makes sense now. For the uninitiated, it's also a great music album by Soundgarden. If you have not heard of them , you should definitely try, especially if you like grunge music with tasteful lyrics. Apart from that, please enjoy some other photos I clicked since returning to Europe. If you use Ubuntu, specifically Ubuntu Budgie, you will find 3 of my photos (not these ones) included with the distro in the latest 20.04 LTS release due in April! Feel free to use the attached photos as your wallpapers/pictures.
 |
| During the Christmas market of Aachen |
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| Cologne Cathedral from the other side of Rhine |
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| Hohenzollern Bridge |
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| One of the more funky apartment buildings - Maastricht |
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| Liege-Guillemins Railway Station |
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| After climbing the 374 steps of Montagne de Bueren |
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| I went back to Monschau! |
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| First attempt at flowing water effect |
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| The only time it snowed this year in Aachen |
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| Testing a polarization filter. Where has it been all my life?!? |
P.S. Considering what all was projected to be a reality by the year 2020 in the previous years, 2020 has to be the most disappointing year I have experienced. Also, coronavirus has been projected to cause lowering of emissions that are orders of magnitude better than all of the conscious human efforts to fight climate change, combined. No matter how advanced humans get, the multiverse will still have its way, and we still won't be able to do anything about it. To be fair, the planet deserves a break.
Feedback and thoughts are welcome, as always.
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