“This Computer Science class is so unproductive. Every time I come in I feel like I’m wasting time. The only thing that is really improving is my hand-eye coordination.” These comments were made by a Computer Science student to his fellow classmates after he was given a very interesting assignment to solve a particular problem in the class. His task was to design a program which would generate sequences of random numbers, in an attempt to create the fastest possible polygon.
To this end, he was required to build a maze with turnarounds and ramps in order to let the robot travel through it without getting stuck or running into any walls. Along the way, he would also have to solve a series of arithmetic problems, all while designing the desired software, and ensure that it functioned properly before being submitted for evaluation. Sadly, however, he never completed his assignment. Instead, he got so carried away with solving the assignment that he forgot to eat lunch! This went on until a classmate lent him the time to finish his food.
After much laughter and confusion, his teacher, Ms. Challina, demanded that he complete his assignment. Frustrated, however, he replied that he would finish it later that day, as he was going to visit his girlfriend for dinner. Much to his teachers’ disappointment, he failed to show. But this did not stop him from giving his final exam a funny twist: instead of mazes and riddles question, he came up with a game called “Computer Chess” in which he had to answer mazes containing one or more chess pieces and see how well he solved them.
When his computer chess scores came out, Ms. Challina erupted with laughter. He told him that if he had programmed the game to contain certain chess pieces, then he would have achieved success. To make matters even more amusing, he set the difficulty level to “one hit kill”. His students were amazed at his ability to solve the difficult task.
He also has a degree in applied physics, so naturally, he applied to study at MIT, where he pursued his master’s degree. However, since he was living in Massachusetts, where everyone was accepted to the university regardless of whether you could check here they had a master’s degree or not, it was only natural that he went to work for NASA. There, he became an engineer. Eventually, he landed a position as a computer analyst at the University of Illinois, Champaign.
During the summer vacation when he got his job at NASA, he realized that he wanted to go back to college and study computer science. However, since he was already married, his wife’s mother always talked him out of it. So he decided to change his last name to Challin, which is actually an Indian word meaning wicked or suspect. Thus, he avoided any association with his former life as a fisherman and laborer. He felt that he would be happier if he pursued his dream.
Surprisingly, his plans did not fall through because there is actually a department in the University of Illinois called the Computer Science and Institute. Here, what they offer is basically a minor in Computer Science. The funny thing is that this department is completely dedicated to computer-related fields. This means that anyone who wants to pursue a computer-related career can actually major in it. It is even listed on the roll of the school’s academic honor roll.
Once his family learned about his new job and his new studies, they were thrilled. His wife said that he was actually a computer whiz, but they didn’t know that because he was working in NASA. Needless to say, his dream career didn’t materialize because his wife made him promise never to look inside a computer again. But, he did. He now enjoys working on new Apple computers, which give him more time with his two little girls.