My New Home

The class I am taking this summer will be taught in the proper Oxford, England style of conferring with one's tutor, defending one's papers, and taking a comprehensive oral examination at the end. I say "Oxford", because my professor's daughter did a study abroad in Oxford, and learned this way, which is very different than the mainstream model here. My professor was duly impressed, and I can't blame her.

I have learned the "Oxford way" while in Poland, and I can hold my own in a conversation. I also know what I know, and know what I don't know, and don't usually confuse the two. I don't confuse reading a book with understanding its content. It's simple really: if I can explain and teach it to somebody else, I got it. If I read it, but am unable to teach it to somebody else, I haven't internalized it; I don't KNOW it. Theory of relativity, for example. I have read it all right, but couldn't teach it to LM, I couldn't explain it well enough, nor answer his insightful questions. Therefore, you will never here me say I know theory of relativity. So don't ask. Go to Oxford instead. Somebody there is bound to know it.

I was told I need to spend a lot of time in the library. With pleasure!!!
It is going to be interesting...

PS. We can call it "Cambridge way" also. ;-)