I was recently talking to an undergraduate student who mentioned his numerical analysis course at the University of Colorado.  It’s odd that even after six years of doing almost nothing with my thesis work, how eager I am to jump in and think about it again.  More than once over the last few months, I’ve had this urge to nestle in with my thesis and relax…

One of the things I liked about my thesis was just the writing of it.  While it’s difficult for me to write consistently (blogging twice a week is actually quite a challenge!), I get a lot out of writing with a purpose.  Having done the research and compiled my proofs, organizing my thoughts in writing and getting everything down in a coherent matter was one of the easier tasks.  Writing my introduction and conclusion…  …Well, those were a lot more difficult (I’ve always sucked at “say what you’re going to say” and “say what you said”).

Overall though, I have become exceptionally rusty in my numerical analysis skills.  The obvious reason for this is that I haven’t done any real numerical analysis work in about five years.  This got me thinking about whether there was a good way for me to keep those skills sharp.  I certainly have a few options – I could easily spend some time in my own library and mix in a numerical analysis book in my regular reading rotation.  This would allow me to reinforce the concepts that I already know and would be a minimal time investment.  Alternately, I would audit some graduate numerical analysis classes on campus (again).  This would help me keep involved with the department, keep me sharp, but would require a fair time commitment to attend the classes and, at the very least, sketch the homework.  Finally, I could spend some time becoming re-acquainted with  current research by subscribing to a journal or two. This would give me the best chance to further my own research and possibly get something published, but would require additional investment in journal subscriptions; something I’m not sure I’m ready for just yet.

At any rate, I’ll be kicking this around over the next few months to see if there’s something I want to commit to as my best option going forward.