Three individuals will be chosen at the beginning of each class to update these three daily blog categories.

Students providing updates to the category of “muddiest point” should make an attempt to share with their peers content from the class meeting that was most confusing to either themselves or their peers. The objective here is to initiate a discussion that will (hopefully) eventually clarify even the most confusing points that arise in class.

There are two important ways you can phrase your contributions to this category:

1. Try to elaborate, in as much detail as possible, what you find confusing about your “muddiest point.” Explain the parts that you do understand, and try to demonstrate HOW you understand these parts, then add in the parts that you don’t understand. How do these additional parts interact with the parts you do understand? Here is your chance to share your intuition and informal understanding, and try to overcome situations that break down in your intuition.
2. Try to clarify, in as much detail as possible, what you think you understand that you’ve heard your peers identify as their “muddiest points.” Please be respectful of your peers and try to identify carefully the intuition that leads to their confusion, then try to demonstrate how you think about the situation so that there is no confusion.

*** DISCLAIMER: Many posts in this category will be incorrect. Recall that a major theme in this course is identifying situations where intuition breaks down, so that we must turn to precise logical methods and analytic structures. Read through these posts carefully and critically, and comment liberally when you feel like you find an error. I will only cut off online discussions if I feel that personal feelings may be hurt in the process of addressing discrepancies. Try to separate your intuition and understanding from your personal ego. It is the truth we are after here, not personal glory. ***