Self-Study classes

So for a while now I have had quite the list of MIT OCW http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm courses that I have been interested in taking. I have the list saved off under google tasks in a someday list, but someday hasn't seemed to come. I have used and made come progress on the signal processing class http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-011-introduction-to-communication-control-and-signal-processing-spring-2010/ but I have never been motivated enough to keep going. It takes quite a bit of self-control and drive to learn to get through a course like that. I have done something similiar a few times in the past. In high school I wanted to take Physics BC my senior year but that required concurrent enrollment in Calc BC and I where I was I would only take Pre-Calc my senior year. So after my freshman year of high school(I had planned ahead quite a bit) I checkout out a geometry book from the school district and studied all summer, in an attempt to test out of geometry and get ahead that year in math.

Well it turns out to test for advancement you have to score a 90 or above on the test( as opposed to credit, which is where you took the class but failed it and are trying not to take it again). Well you might guess but I earned an 89 on that test. :( although that did mean that math class that year was exceptionally easy. It was a good thing as I enjoyed doing the proofs which is where I had lacked the most in learning it myself. Well the next summer I did a correspondance course for Algebra II, and this time I got credit and was able to get into the math cna physics classes I wanted. I also skipped Biology in college, by borrowing a book and studying over a christmas break. When I went to pick up the score I had passed(B-, :( but skipping it let me take one more Chinese class before I graduated), and the lady at the desk had to call someone else to figure out what to do. She had never had someone pass it before, apparently there are many people that try and test out and very few make it.

Anyway the point is I have some idea of the effort needed to learn a subject on your own and it is hard. Well just this week I saw something that really lit a fire for me. I have been thinking recently about learning more about AI(Artificial Intelligence) and NLP(Natural Language Processing) as it combines two on my interests. Computing and linguistics. I love playing with computers every day but I also enjoy learning and speaking Chinese. I haven't been sure how to pursue learning more about these topics until I saw this http://www.ai-class.com/ It is an ai class taught but some of the leaders in the field. Rather than just being an OCW like resource it is an actual class with deadlines and graded assignment. Perfect.

So over the next month or so I will be reviewing my Linear Alg. and Probability. I might even throw in a little bit of lisp or functional programming, and then I will be taking this class. I am hoping to really take advantage of the class and learn the material well, and then I hope to progress in the field and learn more. I think my next post will be some linear Alg. brush up information.