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This page last updated on: Saturday, December 27, 2008 6:24 AM
Today, and for the forseeable future, we eat leftovers. Yum.
The mind is a wonderful thing. I am reading "A Tale of Two Cities". To the best of my memory, I have never read this novel before. Yet I have a very clear idea of how it will end. It is tempting to attribute this to my reading of a Classics comic book on this story when I was about 12 years old. Yet I can recall nothing about the story line but one image, which is incredibly clear - that of one of the characters looking heavenward as he is about to be beheaded - and he has a look of almost joy on his face.
It is also fascinating to compare this novel with the non-fiction account (e.g. Simon Schama's "Citizens") of this same period in French history. The non-fiction is about key people and politics, the novel is about insignificant people and blood. The novel gives a much better sense of the period.
Mmm: Musing, mathematics, model trains in the morning. Reading: it serves 2 purposes. One is the sheer enjoyment that accompanies the activity. The other is the change it makes to one's mind. But for the change to have anything other than a transitory effect, it usually requires some form of repetition and review, either by continually using and applying the knowledge, or by explicitly rereading and rehearsing the material. In the case of model trains, I am now continually using and applying the knowledge. But in the case of mathematics, I need to implement some form of continuity. I still have a desire to improve my understanding and use of calculus as well as my understanding of symmetry. At the moment I have let that slip.
I have also let slip some form of regular exercise. I am in a January 1 mood, a week ahead of time.
If I am serious about what I have just written, I need to adopt a schedule where I set aside 3 hours/day for exercise, calculus and symmetry. But I also want to maintain my fairly regular activities of model trains and literature. This quickly begins to become unreasonable. Exercise is easy to set up as a 1-hour activity for MWF. I could do the same for calculus and symmetry. Calculus could be 1-hour on MWF and symmetry 1-hour on TTS. This seems to be worth a try.
Today is Friday. That means one hour of exercise and one hour of calculus.
| Learning Category | Planned Activities for Today | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Literature | Complete reading "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens | 2 hr |
This is a great novel. There is suspense to the end, with a superb blending of good and evil. It is clear to me why some books are classified as Classics. This is deservedly one of them.
I would rate this novel as 5 out of 5.
Tags: novel, England, French Revolution
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