HELPP : Frustrated with University

[pjoa09]

Came back here to write again.

I just don't get it at all anymore.

I had a General Physics exam today.

I showed up to every class. Tried to participate every time. The lecturer thought I was on a roll too.

I tried spending all yesterday studying for it. But I just stared at my slides all damn day. Look at my phone. Think about dumb shit.

I'd be thinking about a girl or an abandoned car that intrigued me. Absorbed with the thought of it.

I slept a few hours woke up again, went to the library at 5 in the morning. Struggled with it till 10 am.

I still did shit.

I think I am going to fail the course.

On the other hand someone else didn't show up all term to any of the lectures asked for the slides that were handed out in class I think ended up doing pretty damn well.

Is there something I am missing?

Its this shit all across the board.

I feel like I would've been better off working albeit depressed.

I even doubt I am an INTP. I am pretty fucking retarded tbh.

 

[Andronas]

To me, you sound depressed more than anything else. It could be that something is bothering you.

 

[Tannhauser]

If I would judge only from what you have written here, I would say you focus too much on all the superficial aspects of studying: showing up in classes, going through all of the curriculum, maximizing the number of hours spent reading etc.

Learning and understanding is mostly about one thing only: how deeply you think about the stuff you are reading (related to the concept of level-of-processing)

 

[Pyropyro]

INTP's doesn't make us supergeniuses, just people who have a certain knack for processing things.

Anyways, I think cramming isn't the best idea for subjects like Physics. Like good ol' Calculus, you got to try to practice with the principles and its associated equations rather than simply memorizing them.

 

[redbaron]

Welcome back pjoa09, missed you *brofist*

You'll be fine if you just keep chipping away (I think). Are you second or third year? I know people who've dropped out or failed parts of uni degrees and just recompleted them later when they're in a better mindstate. It's pretty hard to complete a degree if you're suffering from mental or physical health issues, maybe if you can take care of that you'll fare better in the future.

Pretty standard advice, but I doubt you're as bad at this stuff as you believe. Just going off what I remember, you were pretty hard on yourself when it came to setbacks so I'm inclined to think you're not as bad off as you think.

Take a chill, maybe talk to some people who've gotten through similar courses as you (Pyropyro) and see what they say.

Good luck man.

 

[Teax]

If I would judge only from what you have written here, I would say you focus too much on all the superficial aspects of studying: showing up in classes, going through all of the curriculum, maximizing the number of hours spent reading etc.

Learning and understanding is mostly about one thing only: how deeply you think about the stuff you are reading (related to the concept of level-of-processing)

This.

Here's how to learn (could be INTP related, I can't keep track who is INTP in this forum anymore): record everything you see on video, lend one of the books that was recommend at the beginning of the lecture, buy a couple of packs of your favorite non-alchoholic (duh?) foodstuffs and beverages and watch it at home with your feet kicked up on the table. Keep your finger over the "pause" button at all times.

INTPs are not super-geniuses and don't have a knack for processing things fast. They have a knack for getting lost in thought. That's what the pause button is for.

 

[pjoa09]

@redbaron good to know I made a presence when I was more active. It is pretty bad, I feel like I am getting Ds where I could've gotten As for the time.

@Andronas I am not too sure. I am happier now than before. Though to be honest, less engaged with proper thoughts. Just retarded banter. I sometimes just don't want to engage in anything.


@Teax I try to think about it and when I do it's great but often I just can't care before an exam. I feel disengaged entirely.

 

[EditorOne]

Good to see you in here again, PJ.

Other stuff is covered. Let me ask: Food and exercise? I get the gloomiest moods with low blood sugar, it's like "Paint it Black" is playing in my soul at 100 decibels. Everything is not always mental. I'd say just pay attention to what you're eating (or if you're even eating enough) and make sure to get some walking in every day beyond what it takes to get around campus. See if that helps the other stuff.

 

[Happy]

It sounds to me as if you're not engaged with the content. My suggestion would be to find a way that you can become more engaged. For instance, reading slides will get you nowhere. You won't retain the information. It'll just go in one ear and out the other. You need to find some way to make the information interesting.

My favourite method is to turn the content into questions, which you have to subsequently find answers for. For me, this engages Ne and I'm suddenly interested in the content because I'm able to search for more connections, which leads me to understand the topic in more depth than just what's covered on the slides.

But, I'm ENTP, so engaging Ne is best for me. Maybe you need to find some way to engage Ti in order to connect with the content.

 

[QuickTwist]

It sounds to me as if you're not engaged with the content. My suggestion would be to find a way that you can become more engaged. For instance, reading slides will get you nowhere. You won't retain the information. It'll just go in one ear and out the other. You need to find some way to make the information interesting.

My favourite method is to turn the content into questions, which you have to subsequently find answers for. For me, this engages Ne and I'm suddenly interested in the content because I'm able to search for more connections, which leads me to understand the topic in more depth than just what's covered on the slides.

But, I'm ENTP, so engaging Ne is best for me. Maybe you need to find some way to engage Ti in order to connect with the content.

This is good advice and prolly works for most people. The idea is to make it a situation where you are engaged. I hate to say this because I know exactly how it will sound to you, but I have to say it because its the best way to learn and that is to make it fun. If you can make it fun for yourself (or at least enjoyable) to learn the material then it will make it much more painless. Also, the more you can get your whole body physically engaged while studying it will help you remember.

There is also a reward system you can give yourself to motivate you. This is kinda hit or miss though, because for it to work it depends a great deal on the person. Tell yourself "I will study for an hour and then after that I will __________ for 10-20 min." It could be anything to fill that time slot that you would really look forward to.

Last piece of advice is to try and teach someone what you are learning. If you can teach it, you will know it.

FYI, these are tricks I learned from my mom who has her masters in education and did her thesis on brain based learning.

 

[Tannhauser]

This is good advice and prolly works for most people. The idea is to make it a situation where you are engaged. I hate to say this because I know exactly how it will sound to you, but I have to say it because its the best way to learn and that is to make it fun. If you can make it fun for yourself (or at least enjoyable) to learn the material then it will make it much more painless. Also, the more you can get your whole body physically engaged while studying it will help you remember.

There is also a reward system you can give yourself to motivate you. This is kinda hit or miss though, because for it to work it depends a great deal on the person. Tell yourself "I will study for an hour and then after that I will __________ for 10-20 min." It could be anything to fill that time slot that you would really look forward to.

Last piece of advice is to try and teach someone what you are learning. If you can teach it, you will know it.

FYI, these are tricks I learned from my mom who has her masters in education and did her thesis on brain based learning.

The reward thing is probably not a good idea. It has been generally shown in studies that whenever you are learning things for a future reward, your engagement with the material decreases. When working for a reward, the brain wants to minimize effort and risk, so it kills focus and creativity. The cases where rewards increase one's chances of success, are more brute-force, non-cerebral tasks like moving furniture.

 

[QuickTwist]

The reward thing is probably not a good idea. It has been generally shown in studies that whenever you are learning things for a future reward, your engagement with the material decreases. When working for a reward, the brain wants to minimize effort and risk, so it kills focus and creativity. The cases where rewards increase one's chances of success, are more brute-force, non-cerebral tasks like moving furniture.

Makes sense. Its the one thing I listed that I took from a different source. Thought the source was reliable and it was used in the same context as this meaning studying.

 

[sushi]

the college system is still based on the prussian model and is a total failure.

The only thing you can do is take fewer courses, and lessen your workload, and develop your own method of studying.

 

[pjoa09]

Good to see you in here again, PJ.

Other stuff is covered. Let me ask: Food and exercise? I get the gloomiest moods with low blood sugar, it's like "Paint it Black" is playing in my soul at 100 decibels. Everything is not always mental. I'd say just pay attention to what you're eating (or if you're even eating enough) and make sure to get some walking in every day beyond what it takes to get around campus. See if that helps the other stuff.

Good to see you never left.

I definitely eat sufficiently. Maybe not enough veggies. I recently turned sort of pescetarian with a slight inclination to vegetarianism. So that may help. I don't know how long would I keep up with it.

I walk a lot. I think thats how I combat my moods mostly. I walk everywhere. It's probably my only line of defense against female issues. That and occasionally binge smoking. I end up throwing away the entire carton after 5 of them.

I think I am starting to realize that I can't simply show up to class, understand, and expect myself to do my homework and exams perfectly.

Leaning on the Tannhauser, Teax thing here. My friend seems to get it at the first go but perhaps some of us just need to learn it on our own time and pace to get good retention.

 

[Teax]

My friend seems to get it at the first go but perhaps some of us just need to learn it on our own time and pace to get good retention.

There are mostly two kinds of people who get it on the first go around you:

1. People who have a shallow understanding of the matter. Such people often memorize parts of the curriculum and cannot solve any problems except the ones presented in class.
2. People who have a massive enough amount of foreknowledge and, more importantly, experience due to hobbies/history, such that they can just pick up everything on the fly. Because they already did the "hard work" before.

In both cases, I don't think you want to measure yourself against them. The second group of people actually learned it in a relaxed environment on their own terms/pace.

 

[QuickTwist]

Good to see you never left.

I definitely eat sufficiently. Maybe not enough veggies. I recently turned sort of pescetarian with a slight inclination to vegetarianism. So that may help. I don't know how long would I keep up with it.

I walk a lot. I think thats how I combat my moods mostly. I walk everywhere. It's probably my only line of defense against female issues. That and occasionally binge smoking. I end up throwing away the entire carton after 5 of them.

I think I am starting to realize that I can't simply show up to class, understand, and expect myself to do my homework and exams perfectly.

Leaning on the Tannhauser, Teax thing here. My friend seems to get it at the first go but perhaps some of us just need to learn it on our own time and pace to get good retention.

I had a very smart man once tell me that there is really no shortcuts. He was like a class away from getting his doctorate in Mathematics and his whole thing as being the dean of the school I was attending was that to really "get it" to really understand it is necessary to put the time in to really learn it. His position was perhaps a little too Si for the INTP, but the principle was you have to know the stuff like the back of your hand and you only do that by putting in the time. Math is one of those things that the more numbers and equations you see, the more you take the time to do things like showing your work, the better off you will be in the long run.

You can go ahead and take what I say with a grain of salt because I am not really qualified to answer, but I am taking it from someone who does in fact know their stuff.

 

[Analyzer]

the college system is still based on the prussian model and is a total failure.

This. Although it seems like a hopeless cause for reform. The model attempts to develop people into "useful" citizens which is beneficial to hierarchical organizations. I think alternative and online education models are the future.