The Beginning: Day 1

It's day 1 of Dissertation Camp! I've got my coffee, some snacks, and a friend nearby for encouragement. Let's get started.

Goals for the Summer

Throughout the camp, I plan to
  1. Edit what I've already written into a submittable introduction/background information.
  2. Finish the background information section (I still need to talk about Heegaard diagrams and how to get the bimodule from that).
  3. Write the main computation section as I finish it.
Realistically, goal 3 won't happen during the next two weeks, but that's okay! I can still work towards it. It is reasonable for me to finish goals 1 and 2 in the next two weeks.

Goals for Today

This morning,  I will
  1. Edit section 2.1 - A infinity algebras and modules
  2. Arrange section 2.2 - Tensor products
    1. Arrange everything where it needs to be
    2. Add content so that the appropriate tensors are defined.
  3. If time - work on induction proof using notes from meeting with Ben from yesterday.

Reflection

10:45 - GOOD GRACIOUS MY ATTENTION SPAN IS LACKING. I'm like, one line away from finishing my first goal of the day and I CAN. NOT. FOCUS. So, I'm going to (a) rant about it here briefly and (b) get up to take a walk and then sit down and finish it. *puts game face on*

10:55 - I put off my walk and typed the last thing. GOAL 1 COMPLETE!!! WOOT!!!! Now I can walk, pee, get some water, and continue on to Goal 2.

11:32 - Finished Goal 2 by putting everything into the appropriate subsection in 2.1. I should still edit that some; it's a tad sketchy in places. But I HATE EDITING. So that will be done tomorrow, and I'll use the last hour to make more headway on my proof.

11:45 - Naturally, I kept working. It's a little better now. I also laid out general goals for what I'll edit in the next week. I realized that I edited 13 pages today, which is a success.

12:27 - I wrote out (on paper) the single strand case for what happens as we travel across a domain. I still really don't know why this is preferable to just going through each case, but hey. What do I know. My advisor is definitely a smarter human than I, or something like that. More realistically, he's a ton better at formally phrasing math. I'm over here gesturing at pictures. :P

12:41 - The reflection worksheet seemed a little vague/unhelpful to me. I know mathematicians, for the most part, see writing as a tedious task, or a necessary evil. Also, organizing our thesis is very different from most other people's. I don't have a methodology section or a discussion section. I prove a thing and then I'm done. Also, I hate writing math. So, here we are. Writing my dissertation and feeling miserable.

14:53 - I had another writing meeting at 1pm, and now I'm fundamentally exhausted. My brain, my body... exhausted. Keeping my eyes open is extremely hard. Yet, there's more to do, so we keep on trucking as much as possible.

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