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If anybody has heard of the old Black Triangle anecdote, the very same one that every good programmer inspires him or herself with, I am afraid that the triangle I attempted to overcome has challenged me to make yet another such triangle, ever so much that I fear that the constraints of life must allow me to turn it down in favour of progressing to the action I feel not ready for. Currently, I am skilled in the field of mathematics in a place ahead of my students, but unfortunately, what I have overcome has not put me above, only ahead, and in this sense I feel that I have not climbed anything, but caught wind and caught up to a dream that was before fully impossible, only to find the dream mostly improbable. To be brief, I talk of arriving at Calculus' front door. I don't know how many students don't make it this far, I'm the only senior who is in Pre-Cal (the "Pre-AP" version), and requests to advance to Calculus have probably left me rather shunned and ignored. "They usually say no," my counsellor says. I wonder how many students dare climb the ladder like me. From Basic Math to Trigonometry, a complete recap of every mathematical concept ever conceived, a trek that only the insane survive. But recently, I have been picked up as a programmer by an amateur team, and I feel that I owe it to that team to make the promises I made, obviously. So should I leave them that Game Maker engine and let them hire a graphics-man while they piece the game together whilst I adventure into the mathematics required to be a great programmer, or do I gain the experience of working within a company environment, since I will most likely be employed after graduation? (Of course, we are making an Xbox game, but I have left him a GM alternative in case things go sour). Completing Trigonometry was a feat in itself and I feel that Pre-Cal will be able to teach me things when we get to Chapter 10 or so, and even then, it isn't covering anything Pre-Cal-like, more of the uncovered concepts that other books failed to grab. Limits should be of some fun, maybe. As for now, I'll take a break to keep my options open by getting into C. I should at the least grasp the basic concepts of this language at some point, anyway. |