Joseph41

I am of the opinion that what major you study is generally irrelevant for Arts degrees (minus a select few exceptions), though I'm curious to know your thoughts as I've never spoken to a linguistics major about this. Would you say linguistics is a bit more technical than most Arts majors (eg. philosophy, sociology, politics, history, criminology etc) where the skills you learn is a lot more specialised? Are there any specific aspects from your undergrad (incl. honours) which you found to be helpful in your career in the education sector?

What is one oddly specific advice you would give to someone who recently graduated from an arts degree and is still a newbie in the workforce? (totally not asking out of self interest).

Mains for each NxN and favourite PLL?

      hums_student Hey, nice to hear from you. Thanks for the interesting questions!

      I am of the opinion that what major you study is generally irrelevant for Arts degrees (minus a select few exceptions),
      Why is that, out of interest?

      though I'm curious to know your thoughts as I've never spoken to a linguistics major about this. Would you say linguistics is a bit more technical than most Arts majors (eg. philosophy, sociology, politics, history, criminology etc) where the skills you learn is a lot more specialised?
      I guess it's somewhat hard to say having only majored in linguistics and international studies (double majored), though I did also do units from bioethics, philosophy, psychology, human rights theory, gender studies, and the like. I'm inclined to agree that linguistics was perhaps a bit more technical than those other areas I studied, but even in writing this I'm not sure that that's exactly right, or at least framed correctly. Every area has specialised knowledge, of course - that's why it's a major in the first place, I guess - but at least some units in linguistics felt quite technical. I'm not sure if I learnt more technical skills in linguistics than in other areas, but I also tended to opt for more sociolinguisticsy units rather than what I consider to be the more technical areas (things like phonology, syntax).

      I'm really happy with my linguistics major. If I had my time again, I'd probably change international studies for something like gender studies (although from memory this wasn't available to me as a major at the time) or philosophy. If you're looking for a career in a linguisticsy area, I think having majored in it would be very helpful indeed.

      Are there any specific aspects from your undergrad (incl. honours) which you found to be helpful in your career in the education sector?
      You could tenuously say general knowledge about writing and grammar and things like that, though I don't think you need to have that knowledge to be good at it. I learnt a lot about writing through my thesis, which has been helpful with work for sure - but that probably would have been the case in writing a thesis from any area.

      I think more helpful has just been general analysis stuff, and a general attitude of clarity being the number one goal over and above "correctness".

      What is one oddly specific advice you would give to someone who recently graduated from an arts degree and is still a newbie in the workforce? (totally not asking out of self interest).
      Don't undersell what you have. I think Arts degrees are very employable, which I think you agreed with in your other thread. When people asked me what I studied, I used to say things like "just Arts", but that "just" really isn't helpful at all, and minimises what you've taken out of the course.

      Mains for each NxN and favourite PLL?
      Now we're talking! Might need to make a new cubing discussion area haha. I'd also be interested in your answers to the same questions!

      • 2x2: Meilong 2M
      • 3x3: GAN Mini M Pro, though more recently I've been using the MoreTry Tianma V3, and that's a real contender (though much too loud). Past mains have included the GAN 11 M Duo, Valk Elite, RS3M 2020, MeiLong M, Dayan TengYun V1, and GAN 354M. I switch fairly often, but I'd say GAN Mini M Pro for sure if pushed.
      • 4x4: Meilong 4M
      • 5x5: Meilong 5M
      • 6x6: YJ YuShi V2 M
      • 7x7: YJ YuFu V2 M

      Of the above, I only ever do long sessions with 3x3 (and mains in other NxNs probably reflect that). The others are cool but don't appeal to me as much, and I'm not as good at them.

      Favourite PLL is definitely H perm, but I use the beginner method still, despite cubing for 10+ years on and off lol. It's been a long-term thing for me where I've been trying to motivate myself to learn CFOP, but I've just never done it, and now my muscle memory is so hard to break. Current PBs:

      • Single solve: 10.01 (GAN Mini M Pro)
      • Mean of 3: 16.87 (MoreTry Tianma V3)
      • Average of 5: 17.79 (GAN Mini M Pro)
      • Average of 12: 19.09 (MoreTry Tianma V3)
      • Average of 100: 21.37 (GAN Mini M Pro)
      • Average of 1,000: 22.59 (GAN Mini M Pro)
      • Average of 5,000: 23.06 (GAN Mini M Pro)
      • Average of 10,000: 23.32 (GAN Mini M Pro)

      Thanks again for the questions! 😀

          Joseph41
          Hey Nick! So exciting to see this AMA on the new site 😃

          Joseph41 I didn't get my Ps until I was 24.

          So glad to hear I'm not the only one with a similar experience! I also didn't get my Ls straight away and it took me a few years of on-and-off driving to accumulate my hours after that.

          I actually have my driving test next week, a week shy of my 22nd birthday, so wish me luck! I was going to do it earlier this month but then I caught COVID which really threw a spanner in the works.

          Joseph41 I have cubes from 2x2 (smaller than the regular Rubik's cube) up until 7x7 (obviously a fair bit larger), and also puzzles called the pyraminx, megaminx, kilominx, skewb, square-1, mirror block, and possibly some others.

          That's a very impressive collection! I only have the 2x2 up to 5x5, the pyraminx and the mirror block. I have to say, the mirror block is so gorgeous — it's a beautiful dynamic sculpture that changes with every scramble! And it's very satisfying seeing how the same algorithms which work on the regular 3x3 by colour can be used on the mirror block but with shape instead. What colour is your mirror block? Gold or silver? I have both but I'm partial to the gold one...

          Do you have any picture 3x3s? As a huge Swiftie, I have a custom-ordered 3x3 where the 6 faces are the covers to Taylor's first 6 studio albums! Very fun to solve.

          Joseph41 Favourite PLL is definitely H perm, but I use the beginner method still, despite cubing for 10+ years on and off lol. It's been a long-term thing for me where I've been trying to motivate myself to learn CFOP, but I've just never done it, and now my muscle memory is so hard to break

          The beginner method is still sort of modelled from CFOP though, right? I follow the CFOP structure too but I use intuitive F2L and 2-Look OLL because I don't think I could memorise all those algorithms haha! Have you ever considered learning an alternate way of solving the cube such as the Roux method?

          Lastly, when will Lauren and you come visit Sydney? I've gotten to meet Ollie, David and Alvin over the years but the rest of the Victorian team remains a mystery...

                    Joseph41

                    I am of the opinion that what major you study is generally irrelevant for Arts degrees (minus a select few exceptions),
                    Why is that, out of interest?

                    I found that with most Arts subjects, the importance of soft skills like research and academic writing outweighed the content itself, also the content had huge overlaps between different majors. And in terms of careers, most majors aren’t particularly specialised / lock you into certain fields (eg. no one would bat an eye if a history major worked in international relations). Of course you could say the same for many other degrees but I feel this is especially true for Arts. Curious to know whether you agree/disagree? And why do you think if you rewind the clock you would change IR for gender studies or philosophy?

                    I think Arts degrees are very employable,

                    PREACH!

                    Now we're talking! Might need to make a new cubing discussion area haha. I'd also be interested in your answers to the same questions!

                    I am very down for a cubing discussion thread.

                    I’ve mained the RS3M 2020 as well – still think it’s the best value for money! Are you a fan of mini cubes in general? (seeing you also mained GAN 354M). It is impressive that you can have an almost sub-10 PB using the beginner method – you must have insane TPS!

                    Oh and A Perm for favourite PLL – with U Perm being a close second.

                        leotlion Best of luck for your test! Hope it all goes well and there's a favourable result. 😃

                        What colour is your mirror block? Gold or silver? I have both but I'm partial to the gold one...

                        Neither! I went for the GAN Mirror Block, which is purple and shiny and magnetic haha. I think they all look wonderful, though - I agree with you!

                        Do you have any picture 3x3s? As a huge Swiftie, I have a custom-ordered 3x3 where the 6 faces are the covers to Taylor's first 6 studio albums! Very fun to solve.

                        No, not at this stage. Where'd you find the picture cube?

                        The beginner method is still sort of modelled from CFOP though, right? I follow the CFOP structure too but I use intuitive F2L and 2-Look OLL because I don't think I could memorise all those algorithms haha! Have you ever considered learning an alternate way of solving the cube such as the Roux method?

                        There are similarities, yeah. I'm slowly working my way through intuitive F2L - the algs are a bit overwhelming. I considered Roux, but CFOP just seems like a pretty safe bet overall, y'know?

                        @hums_student made a cubing discussion - join us here.

                        Lastly, when will Lauren and you come visit Sydney? I've gotten to meet Ollie, David and Alvin over the years but the rest of the Victorian team remains a mystery...

                        I'm not too sure! With COVID over the last few years, interstate travel has become a lot more difficult, but we'll see! 😁

                            hums_student Yeah, I think I would tend to agree with that re: Arts majors and content etc. I don't have any personal experience studying other areas, but that seems like a fair summary to me based on what I know.

                            Re: international studies (not international relations), I enjoyed it at the time, but ultimately it just felt like a combination of a bunch of different areas, and I'd probably prefer to have just studied one of those specific areas in hindsight. I think as I've aged, I've also just become more interested in philosophy/gender studies (and they'd have been more relevant for my thesis).

                            P.S. TPS isn't amazing. I was extremely lucky with that 10.01 second solve (last layer skip). Aside from that solve, I haven't had any sub-13 solves, and only about five 13s.

                              Any tips on writing essays I am failing english

                                XZY Hey there! Thanks for the question. What specifically are you struggling with? Forming arguments? Writing fluently? Finding enough to write about?

                                    Joseph41 I struggle with sentence fluency and also grammar while writing essays. As English is my second language.

                                        XZY Also the thing is I don't get what is wrong with my writing, any tips on how I could improve?

                                            Joseph41

                                            Joseph41 Best of luck for your test! Hope it all goes well and there's a favourable result. 😃

                                            Thanks Nick! I had my test yesterday and....[drumroll] I passed! 🥳 Actually so happy right now, I finally have my Ps after all these years! Regarding the actual test, I think I kind of messed up my kerbside stop by parking too far away from the kerb because I was overly anxious that I would hit it. And I made a few minor positioning errors with the car as well. But the rest went pretty smoothly, even the reverse parallel park! I'm just relieved my performance overall was still good enough to pass which is what matters! Now can I be one of those people who can say they passed on their first go 😁

                                            Joseph41 I went for the GAN Mirror Block, which is purple and shiny and magnetic haha

                                            Oh, that one is gorgeous! The magnetism must make for a pretty smooth experience as well! My biggest issue with my gold mirror block is that it can be a bit stiff to turn. Do you solve it the same way you would a normal 3x3? I can only use the beginner's method on the mirror block because I have yet to figure out how intuitive F2L translates when you are dealing with shape/size not colour haha.

                                            Joseph41 Where'd you find the picture cube?

                                            I custom-ordered it from V-Cubes! Here are some photos if you were interested:

                                            Joseph41 @hums_student made a cubing discussion - join us here.

                                            Cool, will definitely check that out!

                                            Joseph41 I'm not too sure! With COVID over the last few years, interstate travel has become a lot more difficult, but we'll see! 😁

                                            Would be so keen for an interstate meet-up in the future with everyone!

                                                        XZY Thanks for your questions. I guess it's a bit difficult to know without seeing your extended writing, but my main question is:

                                                        If you're not sure what's wrong with your writing, what makes you think there is something wrong with it? Have you received feedback from your teacher to that effect?

                                                        My very generic advice (and keep in mind this is coming from somebody who is monolingual, so probably not the greatest source on this matter) would probably be to read "good" examples of what you're trying to write. For example, if you're trying to write a creative essay piece, try to find a few high-scoring examples (perhaps your teacher could help here, or other members on ATAR Notes) and see how they're written.

                                                        Another idea is to go back to your previous essays, and simply re-write them under no time pressure. By doing this and being quite analytical about it, I think you might be able to better identify which parts of your writing seem confusing or not as fluent as you'd like them to be. I think you're also more likely to get something out of your essays when you go back and review them to see where you could improve for next time.

                                                        I'm not sure how helpful any of that will be (as mentioned above, I don't have experience writing in a second language), but I think there's certainly no harm in going back over your past writing - even alongside your teacher.

                                                          @leotlion Thanks Nick! I had my test yesterday and....[drumroll] I passed! 🥳 Actually so happy right now, I finally have my Ps after all these years! Regarding the actual test, I think I kind of messed up my kerbside stop by parking too far away from the kerb because I was overly anxious that I would hit it. And I made a few minor positioning errors with the car as well. But the rest went pretty smoothly, even the reverse parallel park! I'm just relieved my performance overall was still good enough to pass which is what matters! Now can I be one of those people who can say they passed on their first go 😁

                                                          That's great! Congratulations - I'm very happy for you. 🥳 I don't think I had to reverse parallel park in my test, so consider me extremely impressed!

                                                          @leotlion Oh, that one is gorgeous! The magnetism must make for a pretty smooth experience as well! My biggest issue with my gold mirror block is that it can be a bit stiff to turn. Do you solve it the same way you would a normal 3x3? I can only use the beginner's method on the mirror block because I have yet to figure out how intuitive F2L translates when you are dealing with shape/size not colour haha.

                                                          It really is a nice puzzle! And yep, same method for me. I think my recognition for F2L cases would be horrible, so I'm fine sticking with what I know for now haha.

                                                          @leotlion I custom-ordered it from V-Cubes! Here are some photos if you were interested:

                                                          V-Cube really takes me back to my early days of cubing haha. I don't think I've ever used a V-Cube product, but they have such a vibe about them.

                                                          The Taylor Swift cube looks great!

                                                          @leotlion Would be so keen for an interstate meet-up in the future with everyone!

                                                          This sounds excellent. 😄

                                                          Also, I think I previously saw a question in here about how much to study for Prelims. I didn't study in New South Wales, so didn't have Prelims in the same way (slightly different system in Victoria), but in general, I tried not to be too bothered about Year 11 marks.

                                                          To clarify, I tried my best to get the best marks I could, and I studied for them accordingly, but I tried not to let the actual outcome bother me too much (with varied success). I think there's no good answer to "how much should I study for Year 11 exams?", but I studied to the point where I felt comfortable with every subject.

                                                          I know that's not an easily quantifiable answer - but that's intentional. In the end, I guess I just tried to trust my gut in terms of balancing getting good marks in Year 11, but also avoiding burn-out in Year 12.

                                                          Here are some questions!

                                                          1. What's your favourite part about working in education?
                                                          2. What is one hobby that you used to have but don't have now?
                                                          3. Top 3 musical artists?
                                                            1. Hardest VCE Subject?
                                                            2. Scores for each subject?
                                                            3. Favourite Cuber?
                                                            4. Favourite book?
                                                            5. Type of Phone you Have?
                                                            6. How did you come across AN?
                                                            7. Favourite drink?
                                                            8. Plans for the future?
                                                            9. How happy you are on a scale of 1-10?
                                                            10. Second favourite Cricket Team after Australia?
                                                            11. How to become a MOD?
                                                            12. Coolest thing in the world?
                                                            13. Hardest concept in the world?
                                                            14. Most relevant invention?
                                                            15. How much you hate me for asking you this many questions on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being annoying and 10 being annoying?

                                                            Sorry for bombarding you with all these questions but if you could, it would be nice if you could answer at least 1 question.

                                                              ArtyDReams Thanks for the questions!

                                                              What's your favourite part about working in education?

                                                              I guess I was drawn to it initially because I just wanted to help people, and ultimately I think that's probably still the case. It's nice working in an area that feels genuine and wholesome in many respects, so I think I'll go with that. I'd like to stay in education for the indefinite future at this stage.

                                                              What is one hobby that you used to have but don't have now?

                                                              I used to draw and do design stuff a lot more than I do now - I think just due to time constraints. And I also used to write a lot of poetry (varying quality), which I don't really do now, either.

                                                              Top 3 musical artists?

                                                              A clear number one for me is The Avett Brothers, which has been the case since 2009 haha. For number two, I'll have to go Orla Gartland. Number three is a bit trickier - maybe Josh Rouse?

                                                                somebody8442 Thanks for the questions!

                                                                Hardest VCE Subject?

                                                                Tough one. I didn't really study any of the stereotypically "hard" (I don't like that terminology, as it's so subjective) subjects. Of the subjects I studied at 3&4 level, in my view Visual Communication Design was the most demanding and difficult to excel in - but this would change from person to person very much.

                                                                Scores for each subject?

                                                                Raw study scores:

                                                                • HHD: 50
                                                                • Psych: 48
                                                                • BusMan: 48
                                                                • Further: 45
                                                                • EngLang: 44
                                                                • VCD: 44

                                                                Favourite Cuber?

                                                                I have to go with Feliks Zemdegs, but there are so many great cubers right now. I particularly enjoy seeing content and solves from Matty Hiroto Inaba, Tymon Kolasiński, and Max Park.

                                                                Favourite book?

                                                                Keep The Aspidistra Flying, by George Orwell.

                                                                Type of Phone you Have?

                                                                A mobile! 😉

                                                                How did you come across AN?

                                                                I think one of my teachers first mentioned it in like 2011. I stumbled upon the previous version of the forums, made an account, and went from there.

                                                                Favourite drink?

                                                                Water, but if that's too boring, I'll go with coffee. I love a good juice, though.

                                                                Plans for the future?

                                                                Hopefully travel a bit, work a bit (education), study a bit. I think it's a nice combination. I'd definitely like to get back to study at some point.

                                                                How happy you are on a scale of 1-10?

                                                                Super hard to quantify - it changes all the time! But I'm going very well, thank you. 😄

                                                                Second favourite Cricket Team after Australia?

                                                                I'll go with New Zealand, but I always enjoy watching India play, too.

                                                                Coolest thing in the world?

                                                                I think the concept of language is pretty neat.

                                                                Hardest concept in the world?

                                                                Probably just existence!

                                                                Most relevant invention?

                                                                Relevant to what? There are so many inventions to choose from. I guess the internet has been pretty influential when you look at modern society!

                                                                How much you hate me for asking you this many questions on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being annoying and 10 being annoying?

                                                                Not at all! Thanks for the questions - I hope my answers have been suitable haha.