"Contrary to what we usually believe, moments like these, the best moments in our lives, are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times---although such experiences could be enjoyable, if we worked hard to attain them. The best moments usually occur when a person's mind or body is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile."

Although that makes perfect sense, I never even thought about this. I usually just do whatever's in my comfort zone and that gives me a sense of being happy and content, but honestly it's just that: a sense. It's not true happiness or contentment.

"The foremost reason that happiness is so hard to achieve is that the universe was not designed with the comfort of human beings in mind."

This is a very interesting observation. It's also true. What kind of universe would be "designed with the comfort of human beings in mind"? Is that even possible? In an alternate dimension, are human beings and animals happy all day, every day, regardless of the circumstances?

QQC (50 Life Secrets and Tips)

Remember people’s namesso that they feel appreciated and for your own future benefit when you want something from that person. To do this, say their name back to them when they introduce themselves. Then repeat the name in your head a number of times until you are sure you have it. Continue to use their name in conversation as much as possible to remove any chance of forgetting it. If you’re still having trouble, make up a rhyme about their name: “Dan the Man” or “Natalie flatters me.”This one was huge to me. It really stood out because I make an effort to remember peoples' names, and to see it on a list like this kind of solidified my efforts.
I have a question about the whole article. What inspired this person to write this article? Did he just one day sit down and go, "You know, I'm going to try and change people's lives!"? I think it's noble and the fact that I've been thinking about this article for days since I read it really speaks to its impact. I wonder how many others feel like that.

Lecture Notes 3-3-11

Lecture notes 3-1-11

Senior Project Ideas

I would really love to do a project on how concepts that seem abstract (limits, extrema, linear approximations, etc.) are actually most common in nature and science than the easily grasped (addition, subtraction, multiplication, other basic functions). People tend to assume that calculus is some huge ethereal concept that can't possibly be connected to anything in the real world. In this project, I would apply this concept to common things like how a toilet flushes, what happens when a light fades on, or even what your couch is doing when it has a person sitting on it. These things all involve calculus, but anyone who wasn't looking probably wouldn't notice it. I want to expose the hidden numbers in these seemingly commonplace and everyday things.

QQC Chapter 1

"There are so many superstitions behind the number one, and some even have a little sense behind them." How do people assign superstition to numbers? That seems like a useless endeavor.

"'Perfect numbers, like perfect men, are very rare'". Even though this quote comes from another person, I feel like it's very true. Numbers are often fragmented and tough to understand because of their properties.

"While perfect numbers were considered to be like mystical columns that held up the universe, amicable numbers were treated like perfect partners, indicating two things meant to be together". Why are people so fascinated with viewing numbers in this way? I don't think I'll ever understand, but maybe because I come from a world where we take numbers for granted and don't celebrate them as much.

QQC Chapter 0.000000001

"While we got used to the idea that numbers might not always define a whole thing--a number might be a fraction of a whole--the idea of a decimal point took longer to enlarge. This was despite the widespread use of the abacus, which nearly expressed fractions in the way we know today."
Just putting a period in between wholes and decimals took that long to come up with? It's amazing to think that people who invented such complex things such as mathematics and numbers overlooked things we think of today as simple and commonplace.

"So fractional numbers have transformed our ability to think small and understand the dimensions of things like atoms." Fractions may seem like littlwe jerks, but it looks like without them we'd be stuck in the stone age. I wonder why they're so difficult to work with. Maybe they're just too abstract to0 grasp easily.