Why Did You Go to College?

Why did you go to college? My subconsciousness sent me to college because I stuck my fingers into everything, and wanted to touch and destroy everything. It thought that keeping me busy would likely save me from being molested by this old lady (I think she is a farmer):

Figure 1: "You're next, buddy"

If your sense of danger does not ever fully kick in after you are born, your brain is then likely to develop missing this function throughout the entire life. Could this theory explain some apathetic and perhaps even artistic approach of some people to the topic of their own death?

Autobiography - Who am I?

Let's rewind waaay back! In the reverse logarithmic time progression, it basically goes like this: college->odd hobbies->love->odd hobbies->immigration->odd hobbies->childhood->odd hobbies->birth)

Today, I had a final exam for the mind-twisting electrical engineering course called the Electromagnetic Waves. Even though my average mathematical abilities have had a negative effect on my grades in this calculus- and physics- centered course, now I know how to use light to cut stuff up with unprecedented precision and minimal amount of energy loss. It is epic.

About a week ago, I finished writing a final proposal draft for our senior design project that will be executed next semester.

A month ago I had a really nice Thanksgiving holiday break with my family.

Half a year ago, I started my internship at Samsung Electronics, where I learned the true potential of computer processing power (versus the human processing power). This was achieved by working on a text-based machine learning algorithm (this project is incomplete - check my Projects page for any updates as well as the open-source code).

A year ago, I was working on a differential steering algorithm (see Projects page), which was completed and produced the results identical to the theoretical model.

Two years ago, there was some sort of modification or reorganization in the way I interpret life. I was no longer afraid of death or failure. I started to try living life as if the last day of my life was very near.

Four years ago, I decided to study Electrical Engineering.

Eight years ago, it was unbearably frustrating being bullied in school for simply not knowing how to speak English.

Sixteen years ago, I was about eight or nine. My curiosity led to a third electrocution accident. This one led to a temporary full-body paralysis which lasted an hour or so, followed by a limp-limb fun for the next twelve hours. Motor-control circuit (cerebellum) and other parts of the brain sustained a significant damage. It seems that most of the functional abilities were naturally repaired.

Twenty four years ago -- I was born.

Input Ramen Noodle Soup, Output High Power Laser Beam.

I don’t really want to go to a graduate school. The thing is that the graduate school is based on the same flawed system of reward and punishment methodology as is the undergraduate. I think that looking at the current state of our employment and education system and the challenges it is faced with, it appears that in the future I would only work for money to sustain the basic survival needs. The actual work of my life will be on the side, for fun, to see how far the limit of science and engineering can be stretched with the minimum amount of resources in my possession. The system of GPA has a flaw that unintentionally destroys the very thing it was designed to create and protect: the motivation to achieve.

How?

Back in December of 2009 I started working on a project to design a differential steering algorithm from scratch and test it on an custom-built hardware unit. The ambitious goal was to allow it to navigate on the uneven extraterrestrial terrain and thus perhaps help allow cheap robotic extra-planetary exploration possible. It barely held together mechanically, and had a couple of enormous bugs hanging out in the code, but it taught me something one can neither learn in school nor can find in the book. I documented the progress at http://newmech.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.htm, but then college kicked my ass.

Nowadays I don’t have time to work on the projects that I want to work on at all. I learn a great deal at school, but not as much as if school dedicated at least 50% of my time to work on whatever projects I feel are important.

Why?

There are quite a few challenging, relatively cheap, and quite very useful projects on my list that sit idle with little to no progress. This is no bird house building step-by-step stuff. Some of the projects require some formal exposure to the study of electromagnetic properties of materials, optics, electronics, programming, and high-level mathematics.

Random Project.

For example, today we have no cheap and portable rapid prototyping systems available to the regular citizens like you and me. A high power infrared laser sources are quite cheap these days, so one of the next projects would have to include high-power laser cutting applications. A 5 watt infrared laser diode can be purchased for less than a hundred bucks. If done properly, a single diode can quickly cut through most hard plastics and even some metals.

To me, electromagnetism is interesting, profitable, and above all, useful. I believe that the future will be dark and expensive without advancement and improvement of the high power laser technology. I know that a whole lot more research in this field is necessary in order for us to begin the era of truly automated gadget manufacturing and asteroid mining (an infinite number of applications).

When I get my undergraduate degree within this Spring, I will finally be able to work on these. What I hope to gain from the huge chunk of my life devoted to the study of the electromagnetism is important to me. As the popular TV commercial proudly announces, "there are some things money can't buy...".