From 16bf946209c393c71a3b37ab638b9c64f1151077 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Holden Rohrer Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2020 20:53:52 -0400 Subject: final tech application yay and back to schoolwork --- application/06_tech_essays | 25 ++++++++++++------------- 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+), 13 deletions(-) (limited to 'application/06_tech_essays') diff --git a/application/06_tech_essays b/application/06_tech_essays index 99b8c92..34d7519 100644 --- a/application/06_tech_essays +++ b/application/06_tech_essays @@ -14,7 +14,8 @@ Project Euler's "challenges" require experimentation, careful critical thought and develop general and domain understanding. I have worked with much more complex systems than the mini-problems Project Euler presents, but the identify-fix-check debugging modality -fits the "problem" paradigm remarkably, as does exploratory mathematics. +fits the more general math and programming "problem" paradigm +remarkably. I want to major in Computer Science and Mathematics at Georgia Tech because both subjects deal in this sort of problem, and I want to continue innovating and exploring in this analytical paradigm. @@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ class conference to help develop our focused combinatorics knowledge. The project and the conference let me dig deeper into a topic which I'm still very interested in---how cryptography works. The effort Tech professors give is very supportive. - + I've also been part of a few groupchats run by Tech students for specific classes and for this year's online-only situation, and I have seen one of the most supportive and honorable student groups I could @@ -61,7 +62,6 @@ I like (1). >> Is this a bit too ideologuey or is that appropriate to the question? I love freedom. Not exactly a controversial statement, I know. ->> "I'm aware"? But my view of freedom does appear to be fairly unpopular. I believe firmly in free software---programs that can be edited, distributed, and run however the user chooses. @@ -72,14 +72,12 @@ I've contributed to free software code by using (as exclusively as possible) free software, participating in and contributing to forums, mailing lists, wikis, and writing small freely licensed components. But software freedom isn't all about the code. -My current favorite project is OpenStreetMap (OSM)---a freely licensed, -globally editable cartographic database marking up trees, farms, -streets, paths, buildings, businesses, and everything in between that -can fit in an objective map. +One project I've worked on in the past four months is OpenStreetMap +(OSM)---a freely licensed, globally editable cartographic database +marking up trees, farms, streets, paths, buildings, businesses, and +everything in between that can fit in an objective map. Two years ago, I used Google Maps and Yelp, two leading proprietary -services for geographic information and business listing. -I even contributed reviews to Yelp and answered questions for Google -Maps. +services; I even contributed reviews and answered questions. But then I learned about free software and began using it, entrenching myself in its ethos and valuing privacy and accessibility more. Both Yelp and Google Maps have shady and abusive agreements with @@ -89,9 +87,10 @@ client but realized that the data in my area is thin. So I began contributing to the data source because I believe in its mission to make maps available to everyone. +I've traced thousands of buildings and marked hundreds of points of +interest, with a lot left to do. OSM "democratizes" map data in the same way Wikipedia opened up encyclopedic information, and because of the tangible value these -projects create, I want to continue helping with both of these -philanthropic projects and enhance my ability to contribute to projects -like these. +projects create, I want to continue contributing and enhancing my +ability to contribute to these projects and projects like these. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- cgit