mixster

Notes are written in as […] and are for draft versions only

Computers have been a large part of my life. One of my earliest memories is playing a Lion King game when I was about five. When I was seven or eight, I discovered the internet. It opened a whole new world to me – I could access just about whatever I wanted. At twelve, I found PHP [programming language used for websites – pages that end in ‘.php’ are written using them] through a lent book and I revelled in applying all the maths I knew. At fifteen, a friend introduced me to Linux [Alternative to Windows / MicroSoft, much like Apple] in the form of Ubuntu and later on Gentoo [kind of like XP and Vista – different distrobutions of Linux], where I began to understand what a kernel and operating system is and what’s behind it all. More recently, I’ve come across Alan Turing [During WWII, helped crack German Enigma code using maths and by helping produce the world’s first ‘computer’ – Colossus]. His theoretical foundation for modern computing was inspirational to me and his thought experiment in the form of the Turing Machine [a device that could be used to automate mathematical algorithms, ie the idea for computer] seemed amazingly simple yet brilliant. Similarly, I have been experimenting with Python [another programming language, used to write computer programs rather than for websites], using it to express thoughts and ideas. As I’ve grown older, I’ve moved from loving computers functionality to loving its workings. I have a fascination with the strange, yet familiar logical and mathematical nature of computers and how they build up and up to give the products they do now. What I look forward to is really finding out exactly how everything fits together and works as both a physical and mathematical machine. I hope computer science will give me a strong starting point for getting into the games industry with an aim towards artificial intelligence and game engine design/programming, although I would like to continue with further education after the course before starting work.

Studying maths and further maths at Reigate has helped give me numerical fluency and new tools I can use to help solve problems in other areas. It has also encouraged me to be self-motivated and work hard at all times as it was a challenging course due to the tight schedule. Physics has helped me with problem solving skills and adaptability through applying maths to new, unfamiliar situations, such as when working with the Maximum Power Theorem to model to results of various resistances and voltages. Chemistry has helped me develop research, planning and analytical skills through a large piece of coursework where I investigated and compared different methods of determining copper concentrations in a solution to see the relative advantages and disadvantages of two methods: using the voltage generated by Copper-Zinc cell and using titration through an iodide intermediate. Computing has helped improve my approach to programming by encouraging me to take a more structured start with planning and preparation as well as developing a formal approach to problem solving.

I have a part-time job working as a website maintainer and updater. With this job, I have responsibilities for dealing with problems users have with the site and fixing them, fixing general bugs and errors that may come up and updating content when required. Through it I have developed time management skills and people skills. I also participated in a college chess tournament of roughly sixty people and won, going undefeated with one draw and six wins. The games were played with twenty second move time limits and an overall time limit of fifteen minutes for a game, which required me to work clearly and confidently under pressure and helped develop skills to overcome problems.

At college, I was part of the poetry and creative writing club, which I found an enjoyable experience for improving my literacy skills and helping me continue to be creative despite my logical subject choices. I also engage in programming outside of school, implementing concepts such as Dijkstra’s Shortest Path and the A* algorithm [A* is also a path finding algorithm] in a Pascal [programming language] based language and have experimented with artificial intelligence in the form of an IRC [a bit like MSN] chatbot [program that talks] that uses Markov Chains [used to make decisions on a future event using the current state and previous states, ie if it’s sunny, 50% chance of going to the beach sort of thing] to (sometimes) produce realistic replies (written in Python using a MySQL database for storage). I do enjoy maths outside of classes as well and have used calculus to produce a basic proof for the Maximum Power Theorem and looked at the mathematics behind Spirographs, which simplified down beautifully in parametric form. I thoroughly enjoy solving problems, be them mathematical or computationally based. This leaves me a little dissatisfied with some areas of my study, yet makes me optimistic towards a higher level where it is the norm. I’m part of an online chess community and engage in the odd game when I can, which I feel has helped me cope well under pressure and develop my determination in the face of tough challenges. [During summer holiday, I’m planning to gain oral Japanese skills. I also hope to learn a musical instrument and see if I can get some of poetry or prose published in a book. A last goal is to publish some commercial software for a device such as the iPhone or Android. If any/all my goals are accomplished, I will add in details by September.]