User:Bentheredonethat

Hello to whomever is actually reading this! I've decided to actually (attempt to) describe myself on this page, as opposed to just including the previous list of objective information about me.

First off, my name is Ben Passer, and I live in room 311 on 3rd West with Chris Spencer. I have a tendency to take frequent naps, so if you're looking for me, I will probably be in my room sleeping. This is an unfortunate result of staying up to unacceptable (but amusing) hours, justified by my reasonably late-starting schedule. Actually, now that I think about it, I would probably still be sleeping even if I didn't stay up, simply because I like sleep.

My perception of the Missouri Academy is a highly positive one, but if prompted with the right kind of statement, I will often go into rants about various idiocies contained in the program. This is an unfortunate consequence of my overly pessimistic tendencies.

As for my academic interests, these change greatly over time. Although I've almost always known mathematics or computer science would be my major, my considerations of other disciplines have fluctuated considerably. For example, before attending the Missouri Academy, I had a fairly strong interest in the physical sciences and only disgust for just about any field not significantly tied to mathematics. Now, I find myself more deeply interested in philosophy, linguistics, government, politics, and history, despite my inherent inability in some of those subjects, and the physical sciences seem appalling. In the end, however, mathematics is my true talent and interest, which I know will not change anytime soon.

I've decided to apply to only four colleges for after the Missouri Academy: University of Missouri-Rolla, Stanford University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University. I chose these four with the mentality that I would try for a few of the big schools, but if that didn't work out, UMR would be just fine, and perhaps I could try again for graduate school. All in all, I'm still trying to decide if this was a good decision, or if I should have applied to more colleges. I guess I'll see in early April when the decisions finally arrive. Independent of where I attend for undergraduate study, I hope to go to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for graduate work in mathematics.

I tend to take a fairly challenging course load each semester, but I try not to overdo it. This term, I'm taking 20 credit hours (my previous terms were 15, 18, and 19). I was fortunate enough to take a graduate-level mathematics course this semester (Complex Analysis), and if all works out well, another one will be offered in May (Number Theory).

Class Schedule:

American Literature: 1865 to the Present (3 credits) w/ Dr. Shively MWF 11-12

Complex Analysis (3 credits) w/ Dr. Sadek M 6.5-9.5

Fundamentals of Classical Physics II and Laboratory (5 credits) w/ Dr. Richardson MWF 1-3

Introduction to American Government and Politics (3 credits) w/ Mr. Smith TR 9.5-11

Introduction to Philosophy (3 credits) w/ Dr. Field TR 11-12.5

Logic of the Exact Sciences (3 credits) w/ Dr. Haile MWF 10-11