Return-Path: william@bourbon.usc.edu Delivery-Date: Thu May 3 22:28:36 2007 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.1.3 (2006-06-01) on merlot.usc.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.3 required=5.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, NO_REAL_NAME autolearn=ham version=3.1.3 Received: from bourbon.usc.edu (bourbon.usc.edu [128.125.9.75]) by merlot.usc.edu (8.13.5/8.13.5) with ESMTP id l445Sath007341 for ; Thu, 3 May 2007 22:28:36 -0700 Received: from bourbon.usc.edu (localhost.localdomain [127.0.0.1]) by bourbon.usc.edu (8.13.5/8.13.5) with ESMTP id l445ReGY025365 for ; Thu, 3 May 2007 22:27:40 -0700 Message-Id: <200705040527.l445ReGY025365@bourbon.usc.edu> To: cs551@merlot.usc.edu Subject: Re: lecture 16 Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 22:27:40 -0700 From: william@bourbon.usc.edu Someone wrote: > I am just wondering, do we have to remember all the equations > provided in a lecture ? Are you going to ask to write an algorithm given > in slide 37 ? This slide is the RED pseudocode. Some of the equations are explained in the slides 38 and 40. I will *not* ask you to write any pseudocode for the final exam. I don't think you need to *memorize* any equation. If you understand what's going on with an equation, you should be able to derive the important part of the equation. I'm not saying that you don't have to memorize anything. For example, in physics, the force of gravity is inversely proportional to the square of distance. So, you have to memorize the "square" part. So, you have to memorize something, and that's okay because that's part of the "understanding". (I hope this is a good analogy of something.) Also, not all equations are equally important. I tend to ask questions about what I think are important equations, if I ask questions about equations at all. -- Bill Cheng // bill.cheng@usc.edu