This is Hayden and Rahul for our final blog together!
Complicated Math
Today was probably our most intense purely Mathematics class
thus far as Dr. Hutson gave us a statistics lesson. We started off in what was
familiar territory for most, talking about linear regressions and lines of best
fit. We got a little more technical as we talked about the interpretation of
the slope-intercept form and how to make predictions using this information.
And just like that we were using multivariable calculus to derive the formula.
Dr. Hutson did a great job of making the derivation very accessible
to the entire class. We then moved onto an alternate derivation using Linear
Algebra which was significantly more complicated (yes, what’s on the whiteboard
is the easy version of the derivation). Although it was more convoluted, it had
interesting implications on how to extend regression to non-linear functions.
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| Dr. Hutson derives the slope-intercept formula for Linear Regression |
After this, we toned down the technical mathematics and
moved back to the more applied math with a discussion on t-tests, a statistical
hypothesis test. This led into our next side project: analyzing the FastPass+
system that Disney has recently put into place. The FastPass+ system was put
into place ostensibly to reduce wait times both for guests who reserved FastPasses
and for those who use the standby line by. Although clearly advantageous for
users of the system, it remains up for debate if this actually reduces times
for standby users. Tomorrow we will see
if this is indeed the case on two attractions in Magic Kingdom, Pirates of the
Caribbean and Winnie the Pooh. We will split up in groups of two and record
wait times for these ride at different times throughout the day tomorrow.
Project Update
The team in charge of measuring distances completed
gathering and entering the data. The only hitch was Fantasyland, which having
been redesigned recently did not have recent satellite images online to
estimate distances. Tomorrow we will physically walk between attractions in
this area of the park to gather this missing data. The algorithms team
completed a program to find the shortest path between any two arbitrary
attractions, given the above data. They also completed the design phase and
began coding the Genetic Algorithm approach to solving Traveling Salesman
Problem.
This afternoon we went to the Animal Kingdom for our second
time. As luck would have it, as soon as we entered the park it began to pour!
We decided to make the trek to the It’s Tough to be a Bug show and wait out the
rain there. After we were sufficiently scared by giant bugs and the feeling of
insects crawling across our seats, the rain had stopped and we made our way to
some of the outdoor attractions. We had to repeat favorites from our last
visit, like Expedition Everest and the Kilimanjaro Safari. This time after we
finished the Safari, we continued our animal encounter on the Pangani Forest
Exploration Trail. Here we got an up-close view of Western Lowland Gorillas,
Naked Mole Rats, Okapis, and many other animals native to Africa. Luckily the
Dung Beetles in the Research Station were much smaller than those in It’s Tough
to be a Bug!
We finished out our day at Animal Kingdom with a ride on the
Kali River Rapids. After our last time on the ride some members of our class
developed a theory that the heavier side of the raft is more likely to get wet…
Well, after our ride today the theory seems to be true, and I will remember to
always try and sit by an empty seat. On our way back from the park, the
students decided they would try to play some of their own music, but Dr. Hutson
didn’t seem to enjoy this. After about fifteen seconds of Miley Cyrus, he
turned off the stereo. Next we tried “Ridin’ Solo” by Jason Derulo to which Dr.
Hutson replied he wished he was “riding solo.” We weren’t able to please him
until Jamey brought out some Pearl Jam.
Animal Kingdom
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| Real Dung Beetle |
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| Activity patterns of gorillas |
Birthday Party
Today was William’s 2nd Birthday (Dr. Bouzarth’s son)! And
we all know what birthdays mean -- birthday cake! Dr. Bouzarth was kind enough to
share birthday cake with the class, which was greatly appreciated.
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| Happy Birthday William! |
Need a Laugh?
While eating cake, we learned that in high school Joey made
a Friday parody for his calculus class. You won’t regret watching this video,
featuring our own Joey Iannetta rapping about derivatives:
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