DPRG mailing list archives: [DPRG] Robotics Universities

Thu Dec 14 17:51:50 CST 2006

I'm sorry I have to do this to everyone that thinks I'm Arab. My mom is
white and my dad is Mexican, so I appear Mexican and everyone thinks I'm
Arab, then my Dad who is Arab everyone mistakes as Mexican... But, ya I
don't know what I can do to avoid it
-----Original Message-----
From: Randy M. Dumse [mailto:rmd at newmicros.com] 
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 4:41 PM
To: 'Mohammad El-Abid'; dprglist at dprg.org
Cc: Brian Huff
Subject: RE: [DPRG] Robotics Universities

> the socials seem to be quite hard for me, just the 
> other day my fam was at a restaurant and someone through 
> their food at us. I also went to public school for this 
> semester, not very pleasant, went to the principle's office a 
> lot on the account of racism.

Racism cuts both ways. For instance, UTA probably has more
foreign students than locals. Many East Indians, and also some
Arabs. I was in the stairwell as a visitor at ARRI UTA, and a
muslim student in traditional dress passed me. I remember him
scanning me until he saw my blue eyes, then scowled with disgust
and hurried past, ignoring me. When he saw me again in the hall
way, he appeared to duck into a restroom to avoid passing me. It
was subtle, perhaps, but this person knows nothing of my
beliefs, yet seems visibly to hate me. So it goes. 

Remember, ignorance is much more comfortable than searching for
the truth. That applies to us all, muslim students and native
texans. 

Good luck with the math. It unlocks about half of all other
things you need. I had trouble with the math. I know why too.
When I was about 16, I came up with an engine design, something
like the Wankle. I had figured out the weak link were the seals,
and I had guessed there'd be some way to fine the minimum value,
give the equations for the lentghs in X and Y. I went to my math
teacher, who was supposed to be some super-duper mathematician
who had published in ring theory (what ever that was, I didn't
know at the time) and asked for her help, and asked about the
way to get minimums. The fact I'd mentioned there was something
physical about it, a motor, freaked her out. She said no no I'd
have to go talk to someone else. So I asked my chemistry physics
instructor about it. He kind of laughed when I said I'd asked my
mathematician, and she'd sent me away. He assured me, yes, there
is a way to find minimums, and he was surprized she wouldn't
tell me. In fact he was impressed I had posited such math must
exist and had an interest. I'd discovered the need for calculus,
and just hadn't known it. You find minimums by finding out where
the slopes of lines. In calculus that's solving derivatives.
Where the slope, or derivative, of the line is zero, that's a
minimum or a maximum, you can be sure. 

I'll tell you what is most unfortunate about that event. I came
away with a disgust for math teachers. Here she had a chance to
turn me on and accelerate my learning by two years over my
grade, but instead set me back, loosing interest in what
mathematicians have to say because they didn't have any
connections to the real world. 

It's not like that. Almost the math we have has some connection
to the real world, and applies. Just because the mathematicians
don't acknowlege that, doesn't mean there isn't truth to it. If
you can learn to love math, you will have done yourself a big
favor.

One of my side lines is General Relativity. Do you have any idea
how wounded I am in the field without my higher college level
math skills in tact? Right now, I've got a couple of the best
known GR Physicists willing to work with me on a project,
because we've become friends and they like me. I'm trying to
explain this intuition I've got about black holes, and I'm
struggling to say what I think, in their language. I'm near
ashamed I have this shortcoming, afraid they'll loose interest
because of my mental block. I should have never let myself at 16
give myself an attitude that held me back as an adult. My point
being, no matter what subject is your toughest right now, if you
learn it well, there will come a time when you are glad for it.
Or atleast try to not let it come to a time when your
embarrassed for it. See?

Randy
www.newmicros.com