Wrapping Up/Reflection - Week 15

This will be my final blog, I intend to reflect upon the topics we have covered and how they have enhanced my knowledge thus far.

Before China

Before I left for China we spent a lot of time looking into detailed topics, this phase of the class is where I felt that I learnt the most.

Endeavours into the topics of Ontology and Epistemology opened my eyes up to the nature of research methodologies & practices. The brief dive into scientific paradigms helped me understand exactly what a scientific paradigm is and how a paradigm shift can heavily affect the world as we know it as it has many times before in human history.

Overall the topics we covered before the 2-week break were very educational and all new to me. This period was of high value to me and I enjoyed writing blogs for these topics.

There were some comical moments in class when we got into group discussions regarding the meaning of specific words e.g. true vs truth. I found that some people had opinions on the meaning of words that did not seem to be based on some sort of widely understood definition but instead what they had just assumed it meant, it is likely I had some of this going on too but I have selectively erased that from my memory, maybe. Point being, do not assumptions are bad.

After China

I was a little fatigued at this stage of the course but after a few weeks or maybe more than a few weeks I became a little more in-sync with the world and continued to operate as normal.

Following the break and return from China, we moved into finishing off assignment two and our blogs took a turn towards reviewing classmate blogs but more importantly researching what we were interested in specifically. Looking at other blogs helped me understand some of the different perspectives on offer, even if I didn't agree with all of them.

(Vincent, 2019)

We began to delve into a chosen topic in which I chose "Quantum Computing", this allowed us to use some of the techniques and concepts we learnt earlier in the course to enrich the learning process of this chosen topic. I found my topic enjoyable to research and it inspired me to take it further into assignment 2, unfortunately, due to China fatigue and aiming too high, I missed the mark on that assignment but learnt a lot none-the-less! The last two lessons involved some less information heavy topics but still important concepts to understand in regards to the topic of the class.

Going into assignment 3 I have chosen to continue more into the world of Quantum Computing except for this time with more of a focused approach. Thanks to the feedback given to me after assignment 2 I am able to steer my proposal in a better direction, this is greatly appreciated.

Oh, Lars, if you see this there is one thing I would say to improve on it is to speak louder or somehow make sure your voice reaches the back of the class consistently. I discovered early that I had to sit near the front to understand what you were saying in a consistent manner haha.

Summary

Overall this class has been of great benefit to me giving me tools that empower me in the endeavour of not only researching but learning anything of my desire in general. I believe that Lars is a very suitable tutor for this topic, I greatly appreciate the attitude and enthusiasm towards the topics involved.

References

Vincent, J. (2019, January 8). IBM’s new quantum computer is a symbol, not a breakthrough. Retrieved June 11, 2019, from The Verge website: https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/8/18171732/ibm-quantum-computer-20-qubit-q-system-one-ces-2019