September 1, 2004

Taking the WPE's

Over the next few days (Weds-Tues) I will be cramming for and taking the WPE's (written preliminary exams) in computer science at the U. If you are like many people I have talked to, you don't know what a WPE is, and you also don't care. However, like most people, you feel compelled to ask anyways, because I am attractive and you think that by acting interested in what I'm doing you will be more likely to score with me. Oh, wait, that's what I do to women.

The WPE is a three part test that every PhD (Player haters degree AKA Pimpin hoes degree AKA Pile o' Hot Dung) student must pass shortly after his or her first year. Some say it is merely a gauntlet thrown down to test your resolve. This makes sense. Anyone who is willing to put in the time indoors studying during the 2.5 months of the year in which Minnesota weather is actually suitable for human life deserves a shot at getting a PhD.

Some people say that the WPE actually is a very useful learning activity. By studying so intensely, so shortly after taking a course, the information is learned extremely well. This explanation is a little harder to buy, and let me tell you why. After I finish this exam, I am going to get so fucked up I won't remember what planet I live on, let alone how to select training examples to get the version spaces algorithm to converge to a single hypothesis in ceil(log2|VS|) steps (Yes, this is an actual piece of information to know, and sadly I went to look it up to make sure I got it correct for this blog entry).

So, the point is, over the next week I might not update as frequently as I have been lately (every weekday!). Do not fret, I am not running out of random ass crap to write about. Even if I do, I will just start copying from people who are actually funny. Posted by mill1991 at September 1, 2004 8:36 AM

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