h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was signing up for classes this year, and I had this conversation with my advisor:

[M] I don't know if I want to take this Math Modeling course. I'm not sure I have the background for it.

[A] It'll be OK- they'll teach you the programming skills you need.

[M] OK

Fast forward about six weeks later: I'm sitting in Math Modeling lab (on an empty stomach), and we're supposed to write a program that looks at the salinity in a salt marsh over the course of a year given a sinusoidal variation in surface water salinity. Now, this isn't difficult mathematically: Use Fick's law and the conservation of mass, with a couple of little calculus tricks thrown in there for utility. However I have no idea how to program it. The last programming experience I had was BASIC on an Apple IIGS. So I go ask for help from one of the professors after the lecture when people are working on their programs.

[M] I can do this model on pencil and paper, but I have no idea how to program it. Can you help me?

[P] What do you mean?

[M] I mean, I don't know how to do this.

[P] Well, you should: this is a very easy model, one of the easiest we'll be doing. If you can't do this, you should drop the class.

[M] I signed up for this class under the impression that you would teach us how to do these things.

[P] But you have to have some programming experience- most people usually get this by now, whether it's through a high school class, a college class, a club...

[M] Are you kidding me?!? We were lucky to have word processors in high school!

[P] Well, tell you what. Try some of the tutorials in the program and ask yourself for help from some of your colleagues this weekend. But if you can't get through this, I advise you to drop.

I went back to my seat. I was . I can't believe he did that! He's supposed to be teaching this ing class, and he won't take time to help someone who asks for it?!? If we were supposed to know how to program before, why wasn't it a required course? Granted, it was recommended, but still- I can write a calculator program that will take numbers you input and spit you out an answer for a given formula. I can write some nice code for webpages, and GuideML like there's no tomorrow. I have programming experience, but not this kind of experience!

After he had left, I asked the remaining people in the lab if any of them had any actual programming experience. Out of ten people, I saw three hands. Apparently, other people are having problems. For having the kahones to get up and ask for help, I got embarrassed in front of my prof and my classmates (probably unintentionally, but embarrassed all the same).

I wrote what I could of my model at a cafe- it's a neat little problem, and I think I have a way to get at a solution once I get some advice on initial and boundary conditions, and figure out how to make MATLAB do it.

I'm still pi$$ed. But I can't let this beat me. I will learn how to program. I will figure out 'for' loops- how to make them, and what they do. I will finish this model. And I will resist the urge to turn the full force of my Irish temper on this particular prof- after all, he is on my committee.

Thanks

sorry but i hav'ent been around of late,but when a is needed i'm there

OK... I've gotten some help, but I still can't figure out why this is working! At least I've got the for loops and indexes down...