The last few months or so have been very exciting. I not only attended the Tennessee Government Leadership Conference, but also my first TGL Toastmasters meetings. The conference was wonderful, and really broadened my perspective yet again. It is really inspiring to see somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 people all in one room, sharing a common goal. Seeing the first Black Belts awarded in the state's Black Belt Program was fun because I became a White Belt earlier this year after graduating from TGMI.
I could see very clearly as I sat at the conference that there is energy here, and a real desire to serve. A "Service Oriented" mentality was not really instilled in me when I was young, but being a part of TN State Government has really provided me with an example that will stay with me forever... they seem to embody the mantra of this state. Tennessee is The Volunteer State, and it isn't hard to see why.
As I listened to a speaker at the conference talking about the TNAchieves program and the difference it can make for high school students transitioning to college, it really struck home with me. I was certainly one of those "high risk" students - first generation college student from a low income family and soon to be single mother. I had no idea what I was doing, and despite my best efforts I made huge mistakes along the way. If I can somehow be the difference for another student, like myself, who may not have a resource or someone to encourage them along the way then perhaps one more person may find the satisfaction of success. In December, I attended a TNAchieves Mentor orientation so that perhaps I can make a difference in someone's path to higher education! I'm really excited about it.
My first Toastmasters meeting was also interesting. I'd never attended a meeting before, but had a general idea of their purpose. Plenty of times in the past I've seen little ads hanging up to advertise their meetings but I was always rather intimidated (yes, even the INTJ gets intimidated). While I was at the conference, I wandered over to the TGL Toastmasters booth and spoke to a woman named Shana who was very kind. I expressed my desire to come but told her I was hesitant because I wasn't very familiar with the building and didn't know where the meeting was held exactly, and I didn't know anyone at the meetings. After a few minutes conversation we parted, and I was sure I could work up the courage to "show up" at a meeting. (I'm not sure why, but it kind of feels like busting into someone's party doing such a thing. Would alarm bells go off? "Intruder, Intruder..." The reclusive side of me dreaded such a thing but my curiosity was warring for me to take the step.) The following week I received an email from Shana. I was very surprised because I'd never written down my name at the table! She offered to meet up with me before a meeting, introduce me to some people and explain the flow of events. I was very relieved and made plans to meet up with her that coming Friday. Shana is now my mentor for Toastmasters and I am extremely excited to improve my speaking skills.
How serendipitous that I should both become a mentor and find a mentor, all within the same few months. I don't know exactly what 2016 has in store for me, but I do know that it won't be dull.
Saturday, January 16, 2016
INTJ vs The Rubiks Cube
Everyone knows the little bugger. 3x3 cube with innocent colors? I had one when I was little, but really it only served to annoy me. I didn't get why anyone would spend time rotating these little blocks around and around to apparently no good end. I don't think I ever saw anyone actually solve it, unless it was by taking off the stickers.
While I was Christmas shopping, I saw a bin full of new-age "fast action" Rubiks Cubes and thought "meh, why not?" I put it on my list of "Christmas gifts to me" (a habit surely created by years of single parenting) and on Christmas day I looked long and hard at it before I took a deep breath and began mucking it all up. I knew that it may never return to its original state, especially considering that there are no longer stickers on the thing. The colors stay where they are.
Thankfully, in this digital age, there are other ways to cheat. Plenty of Youtube videos exist to help you learn to solve the cube, but the most helpful place of all was actually the Rubiks Cube website. They have a very simple, step by step instruction guide for solving your cube, no matter how tangled up it is.
I must say that I was just a little put off at first by the fact that there is no grand mystery in this little block of irritation. It can be solved with just a few learned sequences. The part of me that struck out on the path to learning physics appreciates the beauty and simplicity of it though, and even though I cannot yet explain it myself, I know that there is actually a mathematical formula that exists around it. (Visit this location for a decent description: http://web.mit.edu/sp.268/www/rubik.pdf )
This cube will be my inspiration for physics classes. Something that appears impossible can often be reduced to basic concepts and elements that are easier to tackle. The fact that something as useless and annoying as a Rubiks Cube could engage generations of children (and adults) proves that we are inclined to problem solving, even if some of us give up more quickly than others.
It didn't take me long to Google... I knew there were solutions available because I'd seen them before. I suppose it's the mark of INTJ efficiency to avoid "reinventing the wheel" but I'm a little disappointed in myself now, after seeing the solution and working through it numerous times. I wish that I'd held off for a while and really put my attention to trying to figure it out. The best I can do now is to watch what the cube is doing as I move through the sequences and understand why they work. Perhaps as I advance through my classes at school I will begin to understand the math that can derive the solution.
On a happier note, I'm proud to say that I did solve a unique problem of my own recently. I was inspired by Pinterest, but their solution didn't quite work for me. I'm sure by now many have seen the "paperclip stuck to the table" solution for holding electronic device chargers where they can be easily accessed. Just in case you haven't, here it is. I had used the idea previously with actual paperclips taped to the back of the table so just a little loop appeared above the table where the wire was, however I rearranged things in my room so this table no longer sat where it was needed. Now there is a desk there, with all kinds of abnormal curves and no really good place to put a clip like this. I tried all sorts of solutions, but finally realized that I have a bunch of magnets sitting here that I play with from time to time. The under-side of the keyboard tray that rolls out is metal...
Now, the paperclip is stuck to a rare earth magnet on the underside of the keyboard roller... and it never falls. In fact, if the clip is ever misaligned so that it would bump into the desk itself as the tray rolls back and forth, the clip just spins around on the magnet so it never gets caught. It was quite a brilliant solution, I thought. Onward to the next problem!
While I was Christmas shopping, I saw a bin full of new-age "fast action" Rubiks Cubes and thought "meh, why not?" I put it on my list of "Christmas gifts to me" (a habit surely created by years of single parenting) and on Christmas day I looked long and hard at it before I took a deep breath and began mucking it all up. I knew that it may never return to its original state, especially considering that there are no longer stickers on the thing. The colors stay where they are.
Thankfully, in this digital age, there are other ways to cheat. Plenty of Youtube videos exist to help you learn to solve the cube, but the most helpful place of all was actually the Rubiks Cube website. They have a very simple, step by step instruction guide for solving your cube, no matter how tangled up it is.
I must say that I was just a little put off at first by the fact that there is no grand mystery in this little block of irritation. It can be solved with just a few learned sequences. The part of me that struck out on the path to learning physics appreciates the beauty and simplicity of it though, and even though I cannot yet explain it myself, I know that there is actually a mathematical formula that exists around it. (Visit this location for a decent description: http://web.mit.edu/sp.268/www/rubik.pdf )
This cube will be my inspiration for physics classes. Something that appears impossible can often be reduced to basic concepts and elements that are easier to tackle. The fact that something as useless and annoying as a Rubiks Cube could engage generations of children (and adults) proves that we are inclined to problem solving, even if some of us give up more quickly than others.
It didn't take me long to Google... I knew there were solutions available because I'd seen them before. I suppose it's the mark of INTJ efficiency to avoid "reinventing the wheel" but I'm a little disappointed in myself now, after seeing the solution and working through it numerous times. I wish that I'd held off for a while and really put my attention to trying to figure it out. The best I can do now is to watch what the cube is doing as I move through the sequences and understand why they work. Perhaps as I advance through my classes at school I will begin to understand the math that can derive the solution.
On a happier note, I'm proud to say that I did solve a unique problem of my own recently. I was inspired by Pinterest, but their solution didn't quite work for me. I'm sure by now many have seen the "paperclip stuck to the table" solution for holding electronic device chargers where they can be easily accessed. Just in case you haven't, here it is. I had used the idea previously with actual paperclips taped to the back of the table so just a little loop appeared above the table where the wire was, however I rearranged things in my room so this table no longer sat where it was needed. Now there is a desk there, with all kinds of abnormal curves and no really good place to put a clip like this. I tried all sorts of solutions, but finally realized that I have a bunch of magnets sitting here that I play with from time to time. The under-side of the keyboard tray that rolls out is metal...
Now, the paperclip is stuck to a rare earth magnet on the underside of the keyboard roller... and it never falls. In fact, if the clip is ever misaligned so that it would bump into the desk itself as the tray rolls back and forth, the clip just spins around on the magnet so it never gets caught. It was quite a brilliant solution, I thought. Onward to the next problem!
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