>>>>>>It must be cozy in whatever dimension you reside.
>>>>
>>>>I tend to reside in at least 4 dimensions, though I wish the 4th one would go away at least some of the time (if that's not a circular statement)
>>>
>>>If it is a circular statement, then you know some temporal physics that we don't. In that case, I wonder which tense would be appropriate for the previous sentence. As Douglas Adams said, the trouble with time travel isn't the physics, it's the grammar.
>>
>>Static physics is the new bane of my younger daughter's existence. She is a freshman engineering major at Wisconsin-Madison. The first semester it was a math class she was placed into based on high school work and test scores. It turned out to be the most flunked class at Madison and the first washing-out point for engineering majors. School was always easy for her right through high school and she didn't believe me when I warned her this was not going to be an easy gig. A month into fall semester, she believed me. She called me in St. Louis one evening, or I called her, one or the other, and she said Dad, I'm afraid I'm going to flunk this class. She worked really hard on it, went to tutoring sessions Monday and Wednesday evenings, and wound up getting a B. She said when I saw that grade I was literally jumping up and down. She's sweet on the outside but also competitive.
>>
>>(And in case anyone thinks I am going for reflected glory, I'm not. I have known and said for a long time that she is WAY smarter than me).
>
>A small bit of unsolicited advice for your daughter: As a math major way back when, I took a course called Abstract Algebra. The class had about a dozen students. The prof rattled on through the first session and then asked for questions near the end of the hour. I, alone, raised my hand and said, "Sorry, but you lost me about 30 minutes ago. Would you explain that again?" The prof asked if anyone else had had the same trouble. All of the other students raised their hands....
>I've long ago forgotten everything I ever learned about abstract algebra, but I've never forgotten that life lesson: Never be afraid to ask questions -- even if you think you might look stupid doing so.

Good advice. It is said the only stupid question is the one you don't dare ask.

I had a couple of brain-draining college math classes myself, not a bit of which I have used since. I guess sometimes the point is the mental rigor of learning something hard, not the material itself.

Actually I did ask a question in one class. It was about i, the square root of -1, and that was a hyperspace I couldn't follow. The professor answered that it seems strange but it makes some very interesting proofs possible. That was way too abstract for me. The conceptual mathematicians, they have my admiration.

With this one it's hard to give her advice. She had kept her own counsel for a long time now. I have not given up on it because you never know when she might be taking it in. Sometimes she will ask a followup question days later. She just won't give me the satisfaction of admitting it ;-)

I have noticed one interesting thing. It's true of her sister as well. The car is the best place to have good conversations. Maybe it's the boredom of the passing miles. But we really do have some good talks in the car, honest without being heavy. They say things that are usually clammed up. Have any other parents here had the same experience? Of course I know that children drift away from their parents, setting their own course. That is nature's way and was no different when we were that age. The car just seems to be a good place.