AP Calculus. The epiphany was "I have a very bad teacher and this is really easy stuff. The rest of the class will fail because they didn't realize this earlier. :( :( "
Linear Algebra. The epiphany is difficult to explain and remember. It involved the elegance and coolness of eigenvectors.
How damned important and awesome physics is to life. The epiphany came after actually predicting precisely how a projectile would fall and where it would hit when launched. My only thought was "Oh my god, why didn't they tell me I could predict the future long before I got sucked into CompSci? I would be a physics major had they shown me this stuff earlier. Why isn't teaching better? How many other people never discover this and abandon interest?"
Why people tried hard at all in school. Epiphany: "Because people really do reward you for excellence after school. Even if doing well in school feels like you're being penalized and singled-out, all those other people will be slacking off after school while you're naturally being successful."
Linear Algebra. The epiphany is difficult to explain and remember. It involved the elegance and coolness of eigenvectors.
How damned important and awesome physics is to life. The epiphany came after actually predicting precisely how a projectile would fall and where it would hit when launched. My only thought was "Oh my god, why didn't they tell me I could predict the future long before I got sucked into CompSci? I would be a physics major had they shown me this stuff earlier. Why isn't teaching better? How many other people never discover this and abandon interest?"
Why people tried hard at all in school. Epiphany: "Because people really do reward you for excellence after school. Even if doing well in school feels like you're being penalized and singled-out, all those other people will be slacking off after school while you're naturally being successful."