1 Media Software Design DIG 3134 April 15, 2014 Lecture 20: The Last Lecture J. Michael Moshell University of Central Florida Original image* by Moshell

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Media Software Design

DIG 3134

April 15, 2014

Lecture 20: The Last LectureJ. Michael Moshell

University of Central Florida

Original image* by Moshell et al .

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I started teaching in 1969

2 years in High School, in Malaysia

I taught 1975-1984

at the University of Tennessee

I taught 1984 - 2014

at the University of Central Florida

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Today I'm going to tell youwhat I learned from my students

Because I will graduate on the first of July, 2014.

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Because I will retire on the first of July, 2014.

But let's not be serious like Polonius (in Hamlet)

lecturing Ophelia:

"To thine own self be true..."

You might remember what happens to him.

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Thing 1: Nobody remembers whatI say, anyhow.

But they might remember a good STORY.

Why?

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Thing 1: Nobody remembers whatI say, anyhow.

But they might remember a good STORY.

Why?

Our minds seem to be

made out of stories.

Original art by Jim Story. Used by permission.

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Thing 2: I started out seeking wisdom ...

groups.yahoo.com

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Thing 2: I started out seeking wisdom ...

and quickly discovered: what wereally need is

NOT BEING STUPID.

owengreaves.com

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So ... I will tell you stories about

* STUPID and SMART programmers

* STUPID and SMARTstudents and humans I've known

* The Shape of my Life ... thus far ...

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Dumb things that (new) programmers do:

1. Try to build a housebefore you have the bricks.

aurobindo-vllage.com

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Dumb things that (new) programmers do:

1. Try to build a housebefore you have the bricks.

Translation: try tobuild a complexprogram, and

THENdebug it.

modestarcade.com

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DIG 2500 (Flash) – Spring 2014 (last week!)

Student laid out a 20 – room "dungeon" maze, with elaborate artwork

* But: Had not figured out how to

- go from room to room- pick up objects- make actions conditional on possessions- integrate sound and video

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DIG 2500 (Flash) – Spring 2014 (last week!)

Student laid out a 20 – room "dungeon" maze, with elaborate artwork

* AND (!) Asked me to help fix the script30 minutes before the end of the lab!

Let's analyze the dumb-osities:

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House before bricks: Why?

1. Student deferred the hard parts

(Why? avoiding discouragement, maybe.)

Eat the frog first.Get the hard part behind you.

Practical version: build a small prototypeof each activity. Then COPY ITinto all 20 scenes, as you build them!

stuff.co.nz

boxc.sourceforge.net

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2. Wrong kind of optimism

"I can do it!" (good)

but

"I can do it NAIVELY!" (bad)


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Naive Stupidity can kill you.

Camping in the Taman Negara

* 5 PC volunteers

* prepared for 6 months

* stayed within 3miles of HQ

* spoke the locallanguage


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Along came these Americans ...

* wearing shorts!

* carrying canned goods!

* headed for Gunung Tahan mountain(25 miles into the jungle)

* without a map OR a guide


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Along came these Americans ...

* wearing shorts!

* carrying canned goods!

* headed for Gunung Tahan mountain(25 miles into the jungle)

* without a map OR a guide

-- came back 24 hours later, covered inleeches and bruises


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Moral:

* Figure out what is needed

* Get it before you need it


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Moral:

* Figure out what is needed

* Get it before you need it

Be honest with yourself. Do I know what is needed?

If not, find out!


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Dumb Idea #2:

Working in the Dark

DIG3134 – last week – (and every semester)

- student tries program, sees blank screen- says "I haven't a clue", blindly tries something

else- this is the FOURTEENTH WEEK of course

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Dumb Idea #2: Working in the Dark

Remedies:

1. You GOTTA see the error messages.If you aren't seeing them, why?-- find out, and fix it.

"Sharpen your tools"

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Remedies:

2. Print out the variables

"Find out what's wrong"

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Remedies:

3. Simulate your code

"Find out whatSHOULD happen"

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Why:

I didn't have enough time to do it RIGHT,so now I gotta do it OVER.

-- Bad strategy ... bad time management(Stupid? No. Ignorant, yes.)

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Why:

I didn't have enough time to do it RIGHT,so now I gotta do it OVER.

-- Bad strategy ... bad time management(Stupid? No. Ignorant, yes.)

STUPID is when you do it OVER and OVER.

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Dumb Idea #3: Thinking you can't do it.

"My brain is not made for programming"

www.dumpaday.com

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PHP (Basic, Flash, Java) is a bad language

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I could do it if I had a better teacher!

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I don't yet know how to do HARD STUFF.

But I'm going to learn how to do it.

-- we will revisit this issue laterwhen I discuss my HEROES --

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www.wallsave.com

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You don't know enough yet toevaluate a language. Use what you have!

www.wallsave.com

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www.ign.com

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Maybe you DO need a coach.Are you using the ones you have?

www.ign.com

cbslocal.com

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Remedy:Get a mentor.Don't try to do it alone.

When you get stuck, they will un-stick you.

A mentor is not your substitute.A mentor is your launching-pad.

usfbap.org

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II. STUPID and SMART people I've known

www.crestock.com

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1. ME, at the age of 16

I was a geek before weknew the word ...

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1. ME, at the age of 16

-- boys and Jeeps shouldn't go together

* Sliding into the ditch* Driving across a pond* Running off the road

www.crestock.com

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2. MY DAD, all the time.His favorite quotation:

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2. MY DAD, all the time

One ship sails East, And another West,By the self-same winds that blow,

'Tis the set of the sails And not the gales, That tells the way we go. Ella Wheeler Walcox, 1916

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Alice meets the Cheshire Cat

Which way shall Igo? Asked Alice.

Depends on whereyou want toget to! Said the Cat.

digitalstampdesign.blogspot.com

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Alice meets the Cheshire Cat

I don't really KNOW, Said Alice.

Then it doesn't matterwhich wayyou go, does it?

Said the Cat.

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So, I decided to set some GOALS

I want to understand wisdom.

I want to help the human race become wiser.

Before we trash the place.

(That's Hagia Sophia, "Holy Wisdom"a church/mosque/museum in Istanbul") istanbultoursonline.com

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How to understand wisdom?

Read a whole lot.Go live with other people,

see how THEY live.

So – I worked my way outward.

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How to understand wisdom?

Read a whole lot.Go live with other people,

see how THEY live.

So – I worked my way outward.

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Working my way outward:

Emory University (Summer Science 63)

French

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Georgia Tech, 1964 - 1968:

Amsterdam & Europe, Summer 1967

FrenchGermanDutchLinguisticsChinese

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Georgia Tech, 1964 - 1968:

Amsterdam & Europe, Summer 1967

Homesickness! (Utterly surprised me!)

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Peace Corps, 1968 - 1970

Hawaii for Training, Sept-Dec 1968Malaysia teaching – 1969, 1970

ChineseMalay

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The Arrogant Young Physicistin the Waipio Valleyof Hawaii

hawaiigaga.com

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The Arrogant Young Physicistin the Waipio Valleyof Hawaii

Got his butt kickedby the Peer ReviewProcess

Caught a tropical fever

Thought about it ...

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And realized ..maybe THOSE OTHER PEOPLE

Were whatreally mattered.

Maybe they didn't need to know (or care) howawesome I was ... (or thought I was)

So I just shut up, and listened to them.

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And they turnedout to be fascinating.

They knew a wholelot of stuff that I needed to know.

In fact, they had some wisdom mixed in with their youthful exuberence.

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US: (Physics majors from Georgia)

- Scientists in the Sputnik age- Highly selected, elite- We all thought "we're hot stuff!"

THEM: (Liberal Arts Majors, Yankees)

- Much more liberal than us nerds- Anti-war movement was underway- Committed to social change, progress

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So the stupid was ME

But, pretty soon, the stupidwas THEM (-- and me, too --)

When we gotto Malaysia,we discovereda complex webof racism.

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Understanding a racist culturewithout judging the people

Malays vs. Chinese – race riots of 1969

Suddenly we Southerners had insights that the Yankees didn't.

Lesson: Everybody's perspective has something to offer.

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What did I learn from the Peace Corps?

* How to listen to people, in their own terms

Chinese place enormous emphasis on the family

(Little Mermaid)

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What did I learn from the Peace Corps?

* How to listen to people, in their own terms

Chinese place enormous emphasis on the family

(Little Mermaid)

versus

(Beauty and the Beast)

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That theme again ...

* Quit thinking about ME

and think about US

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That theme again ...

* Quit thinking about ME

and think about US

Don't think "What am I going to do about my career?"

Think "Who has a NEED that I can fulfil?"

That's not altruism. That's Customer Orientation.

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Fast forward 45 years ... many adventures ...

I'm getting dumber,

and the students are getting smarter

smarts

time

me you

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I'm getting dumber,


smarts

time ... to retire ....

me you

me you

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I'm getting dumber,


BUT – humans are still capable of REALLY dumb stuff!

smarts

time

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Here are my favorite

anti-dumb tools:

1. Be PROACTIVE. Do it before the last minute.

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anti-dumb tools:

1. Be PROACTIVE. Do it before the last minute.

2. Save 10% of your income. Starting NOW.

How?

'tis the set of your sails, and not

the gales..

Who's in charge here? YOU need to be!

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anti-dumb tools:

3. Get busy failing. If you always succeed,you're not aiming high enough.

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anti-dumb tools:


* 90% of proposals not funded? Submit 20 of them!

(The un-submitted proposal is NEVER funded)

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anti-dumb tools:


* 90% of proposals not funded? Submit 20 of them!

(The un-submitted proposal is NEVER funded)

* Afraid a startup won't work? What's the worst that

can happen? You learn, and start over!

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anti-dumb tools:

4. When choosing a wife, husband, business partner

- skip the pretty; it'll fade

- skip the brilliant; somebody else is smarter

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anti-dumb tools:

4. When choosing a wife, husband, business partner

- skip the pretty; it'll fade

- skip the brilliant; somebody else is smarter

- ask yourself:

DO THEY KEEP THEIR PROMISES?

What is their fundamental character?

(Hint: lazy is cute ... in puppies)

How do they treat other people?

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Bottom line:

What have I learned?

What REALLY matters in life?

... the treasures of the earth are

movement, courage, laughter and love.

Mark Helpern, Winter's Tale

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Movement: My daughters are dancers

A worldwide

community of

people who

take care of

one another

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Movement: My daughters are dancers

A worldwide

community of

people who

take care of

one another

And who appreciate

knees, while they

still work!

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Courage: No guns required

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Courage: No guns required

Many students are "smart" ... quickly master

subjects. So what? Somebody else is smarter still.

Many students run into hard subjects ... and give up.

So what? Many people fail every day.

The ones who impress me are the ones who

DO NOT GIVE UP.

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Who gets the better recommendation letter?

? The brilliant programmer, contemptuous of his peers?

? The shy kid, who comes to my office AGAIN and AGAIN

despite the fear and pain, walking into the dark

despite not understanding what is going on

Which one would you want, guarding your back

when the chips are down?

The one who will STAY ON COURSE

and KEEP ON TRYING

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Yesterday, a former student came to me ...

... he just got an internship in New England.

.. he was NOT the brightest star in the sky

but he applied for more than 50 internships

When I first met him, he was convinced he would fail.

His wife wouldn't let him.

So he came, again and again and again

And he learned how to make a website.

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Laughter

blog.timesunion.com

Life is too important not to laugh about it.

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Love(Back to my origins...)

What did I learn, when I was your age?

* How to think about other people's needs

* How to speak Chinese and understand Asian cultures

which ... turned out to be ... the KEY to my life's biggest

success:

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(That's a traditional Vietnamese wedding costume)

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Carole Huynh Bachtuyet Mann

In 1980 at the University of Tennessee

I met a young Vietnamese widow with

three children.

Many guys wanted to court her, but I was the only one who

could speak Chinese and French

and - who understood her enormous, OVERSEAS CHINESE

family!

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Carole Huynh Bachtuyet MannWe were married in 1982 and have had a wonderful life.

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What's next?

I plan to start over and learn new things.

Play with my grandchildren.

Travel a lot (especially on trains)

and I hope that you will stay in touch

and tell me about YOUR adventures!

Documents

1 Media Software Design DIG 3134 April 15, 2014 Lecture 20: The Last Lecture J. Michael Moshell University of Central Florida Original image* by Moshell