CST 370 Algorithm - Week 6

The material of week 6 is also straight forward and easy to understand. However, similar with other previous material, the algorithms are hard to implement. However, in this weekly journal, I would like to talk about something else rather than the course's material itself. For me, not all knowledge comes from one sole source, and Algorithms course is no different. This time, it comes from daily life, the life of a college student, or a programmer.

It sounds weird, doesn't it? But that is what make this week's lesson important in my point of view. Many people tend to underestimate or ignore it completely. We are talking about: Personal Health. 

On a daily basis, college student or programmers tend to work on a long run and throughout nights. They try to push through the exhaustion, hopefully to wrap up before the next day or the deadline is approaching. That, for me, is unwise. I learned that exhaustion block our mind, and we cannot think straight anymore, effecting our production. Therefore, it is best to avoid the tight schedule, allowing some time for resting in between worktime. But if the deadline is unavoidable and we end up in that situation again, then taking a short break from time to time is necessary. Just ensure you don't fall asleep for too long though.

Back to my case, I did not have a tight schedule this week, but there was an issue: I caught a cold. The programming assignments include Heap and Hashing Table. While working on Heap, I was influenced by the cold. As the result, I could not think straight, structure my program step by step, and everything fell apart halfway through. On the opposite, after recovering, I worked on the Hashing Table quickly and professional, with everything wrapped up with just less than 3 hours. That comparison is such an obvious but powerful example of how the Health Issue is a crucial key to success in programming and in college.