<p>Yeah... I kind of feel like I owe Gordon and Betty Moore bigtime.</p>
<p>The funny thing is that Gordon Moore didn't even get an undergraduate degree from Caltech. He went to UC Berkeley, and alumni gifts usually go to their undergraduate institution.</p>
<p>He did get a Ph. D. in Chemistry and Physics in 4 years though, which is rather remarkable.</p>
<p>Dumb guys probably don't found Intel ;-)</p>
<p>I suspect Moore may have picked Caltech because its purpose and mission struck him as more worthy of support than Berkeley. (Also that kind of gift made a big splash at Caltech, but at Berkeley nothing is really noticed.)</p>
<p>But Jack</a> Kilby invented the integrated circuit at the same time or before Intel co-founder Robert Noyce, and didn't even have a Ph.D.</p>
<p>Moore is also a Caltech trustee, which might have something to do with it.</p>
<p>mike brown discovers planets. we have a professor at caltech whose profession is to discover planets.</p>
<p>my interest in astronomy was at its peak in fourth grade, when we never really did anything much in school, and so i read the mix of bad science fiction and outdated astronomy books which constituted the classroom's library -- a collection which amounted to two shelves of tattered paperbacks. i do distinctly remember reading the account of pluto's discovery.</p>
<p>it's funny that we have a guy whose job is to do that, except faster. (recently, he discovered an object orbiting the Sun which is larger than Pluto, so he's going to be responsible either for a tenth planet or for Pluto ceasing to officially be one.) he's happy to tell you about it, too, if you drop into his office. (and before the discovery was announced to the world, he told some undergrads i know who were taking Ge1 from him.) this is i think why you come to a place like this. to find people who do world-changing things, and are so excited about it that they'll tell any busy-tailed undergrad who is willing to listen.</p>
<p>i serve on an institute committee with mike. at our last meeting, some circumstance or other induced him to remark that he was a redneck. "i didn't know rednecks discovered planets," i said.</p>
<p>"only when it's not squirrel season. gots to keep busy somehow."</p>
<p>^lol (10 char)</p>
<p>"Hahahaha, lizzardfire, did you see this thread from yesterday?</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com...ad.php?t=177179%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com...ad.php?t=177179</a>. Start at post #14."</p>
<p>LOL well I guess it's a small world. Sorry I didn't respond earlier but I've been very busy with school (AP Exams start monday!!)</p>
<p>AP exams are the suck. I don't recommend them. ;-)</p>
<p>Caltech has made me very un-motivated for APs/IBs. ;-) Save my math and physics tests (surprise, surprise), I can't really convince myselt to care a whole lot.</p>
<p>i have learned more in the last two years than i did during all the preceding years after the age of ten. that is all.</p>
<p>i always complain that there isn't enough time to do all the things i'd like to. (oh, to get up early in the morning, do research and write for three hours, go to class, do work during the day, have fun in the evening.) but there's another way of looking at this. it's pretty cool -- a blessing, in fact -- that i now have more things i'd like to do than i'll ever have time for. so many people have the opposite problem that it's important to remember to feel lucky.</p>
<p>I do not read these posts very frequently, so my comments may be a little late, but what Ben Golub posted about being a special case is very important (post #68). In my imperfect paraphrase, Ben indicated that what has greatly amplified his career at CalTech is forcing himself to get up the courage to chat with professors about ideas (without worrying about their responses), attending seminars, etc. in other words, bouncing his ideas off others and growing from the academic community. From first hand experience, I can assure you that this makes a HUGE impact on your undergraduate experience and your later career, no matter which school you decide to attend (unfortunately, I have been a counter-example).</p>
<p>I did not attend CalTech as an undergrad (my daughter just went to Pre-Frosh at CalTech, but she has not made up her mind yet where she will attend), but I was likely of the same caliber as a student at CalTech. I grew up in Florida, had two parents who never attended college, and I initially went out of state to the University of Virginia. For financial reasons, I transferred to the University of Florida for the last three years. In my engineering courses, I would study the material on my own, working through all of the course material and studying to make sure I understood even the parts of the chapters we did not have time to cover in class. I never once went to a professor to ask about any aspect of the material covered in any course. I did not miss a single point on any exam in my major, graduated with straight As, had a near perfect GRE and perfect GRE advanced subject test in engineering. I also had substantial research experience as an undergrad, but in each research project I selected something that was technically challenging but which I would work on my own. I had a National Science Foundation Fellowship, and received my PhD at MIT in Mechanical Engineering. At MIT, in nearly every course I was the top student in the class on exam scores, and after graduating I received an appointment as a faculty member at University of Michigan. Academically, I believe the individual effort I spent on making sure I understood the fundamentals as an undergrad allowed me to master all of the material at MIT. However, even while I was at MIT I was somewhat of a loner. No one would have considered me a nerd, because I played sports, had many friends, and even got married between MS and PhD. However, I was definitely an academic loner. This allowed me to think about problems in many unique ways, and possibly led to faculty position offers at all universities where I applied (because it was clear that I did not simply parrot my advisors ideas, but rather came up with them on my own). But this lone wolf mentality has DRAMATICALLY limited my enjoyment of my own career. I left academia to become a consultant. I have been moderately successful financially, but I have not experienced much enjoyment of interacting with others on interesting scientific problems. I have developed a number of unique approaches to problems in photogrammetry, computer graphics, animation, etc., but I have not had the time to completely develop many of these ideas. I am now in the process of, at the age of 45, trying to develop some more scientific peer relationships so I can bounce ideas off of others. No matter how bright you are, if you have a scientific bent you can be substantially more efficient and enjoy your studies and career much more by interacting with others. </p>
<p>I provide the above only to show how my own ARROGANCE has led to a less than satisfying career. Excuses for shyness, etc., are equivalent to thinking that you can be just as good without interacting with others. Whether or not you attend CalTech, make sure to bounce your scientific ideas off of friends and faculty members. Although there will likely be more of an opportunity to do this at CalTech, you can accomplish this at any school. You could even try e-mailing or calling a CalTech professor about a problem if you are not a CalTech student. Do not allow your own arrogance to limit you scientifically.</p>
<p>That is an incredibly useful post. Thanks for the insight.</p>
<p>so you mail the little letters today or tomorrow. (postmark by may 1!)</p>
<p>life is amazing because you can control where you end up. we are not (purely) tossed by the winds of fate. the unexpected happens, but the expected happens more. within certain parameters, you get to decide what kind of person you want to be, what you want to do, what you want to know.</p>
<p>as you survey your choices, keep that part in mind. at caltech, your mind and your capacity for hard work will be pushed probably harder than anywhere else, and you'll come out smarter and probably wiser for it. but you'll give up some things, too. a little sleep, some leisure, a lot of ego. what do you want in life?</p>
<p>don't pick caltech because it's highly ranked, or because it leads into a certain profession someone told you to pursue, or any reason like that. pick it if, and only if, it will take you closer to being the person you want to be someday.</p>
<p>hopefully this thread has given you at least some insight about what kind of person that might be. if you come to caltech and work hard, you'll be able to think about and do research in any field of science (including social science) or mathematics or engineering that you want. you'll develop your very own independent scientific mind. you'll have a lot of crazy times with peers who are like you. you will probably find a living group that you love being a part of. you'll live in a safe and beautiful place. you'll interact as equals (!) with the foremost scientific minds in the world, in a community where the ratio of undergrads to graduate students to Ph.D.'s is 1:1:1. you'll learn to do things that you never imagined were within your reach.</p>
<p>there is the sad truth that all the resources in the world will never bring out the potential in someone who doesn't have much; finding out how much you have in you is, maybe, a downside (or maybe an upside) of this kind of real education which is fast disappearing in our world. </p>
<p>but if you have a spark of an able and creative scientist in you, caltech will nurture it (as no other place quite can) into a burning flame that you will carry forth into the world.</p>
<p>it is not a particularly snuggly experience or vision and appeals to only a few hardy, adventuresome, and slightly unreasonable souls. if you are one of them, welcome home.</p>
<p>Just a quick note of thanks, Ben, your last post brought tears to my eyes. My son has decided Caltech is the place for him and when I reflected on who he is as I read your last post, I know Caltech is the right place for him. Thanks again for this post as well as all your help and words of advice as I watched my son go through the process of applying and now deciding Caltech is right for him.</p>
<p>I'm sorry!!
I chose MIT... </p>
<p>I felt really bad, so I wrote an apology note to admissions.</p>
<p>Hahaha, don't apologize. You'll be happy. : ) Good luck to you.</p>
<p>aw, MIT is stealing all the girls!</p>
<p>did you know the world is filled with rustles? shuffles, squeaks, whispers and the letter s. listen sometime.</p>
<p>congratulations on making your decisions, whatever they ended up being. to those joining us, welcome.</p>
<p>if you find yourself bored between now and your matriculation, here is a reading list you will enjoy. the first two need no commentary. just read them. you'll thank me later.
[ul]
[li] freakonomics. steven levitt and stephen dubner.[/li][li] the tipping point. malcolm gladwell. [/li][li] practical ethics. peter singer. find out why you are an immoral monster, and learn to think about philosophy.[/li][li] a mathematician's apology. g. h. hardy. learn what real math is, why you probably don't want to do it, and why those who do it do it. also hear someone very charmingly and straightforwardly say that most people are idiots.[/li][li] sound and sense. arp and johnson. a poetry anthology. shows you beautiful poems and teaches you to understand and appreciate them. if you don't read it for the right reasons, then at least read it because it'll help you get girls (it will!)[/li][li] calculus, volumes 1 and 2. tom apostol. i respect GracieLegend's opinion a lot, but I maintain that this is good for the soul. core math. (math 1)[/li][li] principles of mathematical analysis. walter rudin. this recommendation isn't very serious, but if you want to learn almost everything apostol says about analysis in one fifth as many pages, then read this book instead.[/li][li] electricity and magnetism, berkeley physics course, volume 2. edward purcell. core physics. (phys 1bc)[/li][li] abstract algebra. dummit and foote. math 5; very good for your mind. (textbook in the first "real" math course for math majors)[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>woof. this reading list, i should say, is subjective. that is to say, i think the books are good, but others might disagree. that is because they are mistaken. ;-)</p>
<p>high school is (for all serious purposes) over, so you must take custody of your own mind. treat it well. it will thank you a few months from now.</p>
<p>Thanks Ben! I've been thinking about what I want to read this summer. </p>
<p>If I read Caltech's textbooks and then go to Caltech (I'm a junior, so I don't know yet) will I be bored in class at Caltech? In the math class I'm taking at SW Minnesota State, if I read the section in the book before class, I'm bored for an hour while the professor repeats what the book said.</p>