Statement of Purpose
“How do we ask the turtle to trace out a circle? Remember, it only knows how to walk in straight lines and turn around.” Playing with the Logo turtle on screen in sixth grade was my first exposure to computer science. I was immediately fascinated by the idea of approximating a smooth circle with a regular polygon of, say, 360 sides. Staring at the “circle” on screen, I could not quite digest the fact that it was something produced in a fundamentally different way compared to the one I could draw with a pair of compasses, though neither of which was ever close to being the perfect, mathematical circle that probably does not exist in the physical world.
I love pondering stuff in my head or on a piece of paper, whether it be a hard problem or a novel concept. Although ruminating …show more content…
I still remember myself delightedly and diligently going through the readings for my Minds, Bodies, and Persons course multiple times, highlighting central ideas and scribbling down confusions and random thoughts at the margin. I remember laying out the central arguments and supporting details on a piece of blank paper and weaving arrows around as if I were analyzing a mathematical proof. And I remember discussing and exchanging ideas (sometimes fervently) with the professor and classmates in and after class. I look back very fondly on my first encounter with philosophy at Cornell, and look forward to taking Philosophy of Mind and other world-class philosophy courses under the unique tutorial system at Oxford. Moreover, I have long dreamed of being able to speak fluently in a proper British accent. In fact, I always began my First-Year Writing Seminar reading assignments by reading them out loud with my best British accent. Living in Oxford, United Kingdom for nearly a year will for sure help me get closer to my
“How do we ask the turtle to trace out a circle? Remember, it only knows how to walk in straight lines and turn around.” Playing with the Logo turtle on screen in sixth grade was my first exposure to computer science. I was immediately fascinated by the idea of approximating a smooth circle with a regular polygon of, say, 360 sides. Staring at the “circle” on screen, I could not quite digest the fact that it was something produced in a fundamentally different way compared to the one I could draw with a pair of compasses, though neither of which was ever close to being the perfect, mathematical circle that probably does not exist in the physical world.
I love pondering stuff in my head or on a piece of paper, whether it be a hard problem or a novel concept. Although ruminating …show more content…
I still remember myself delightedly and diligently going through the readings for my Minds, Bodies, and Persons course multiple times, highlighting central ideas and scribbling down confusions and random thoughts at the margin. I remember laying out the central arguments and supporting details on a piece of blank paper and weaving arrows around as if I were analyzing a mathematical proof. And I remember discussing and exchanging ideas (sometimes fervently) with the professor and classmates in and after class. I look back very fondly on my first encounter with philosophy at Cornell, and look forward to taking Philosophy of Mind and other world-class philosophy courses under the unique tutorial system at Oxford. Moreover, I have long dreamed of being able to speak fluently in a proper British accent. In fact, I always began my First-Year Writing Seminar reading assignments by reading them out loud with my best British accent. Living in Oxford, United Kingdom for nearly a year will for sure help me get closer to my