DELA CRUZ, JOANA ROSE G.

MAY 3, 2018

2015 – 01985 MATH 112 – W

A Change in Perspective

These past few semesters, I have been studying Modern Algebra I (MATH 111) and

Modern Algebra II (MATH 112) with Mr. Herbert Palines as our instructor. Studying concepts

that are new to me was of course, difficult. It took a lot of my time to be able to adjust and it

took many failures for me to even think that maybe this course was not for me. MATH 111

was easier than MATH 112. The first one is not easy, but it is not as difficult as MATH 112.

However, along with this high level of difficulty, came lots of realizations that just dawned

upon me while I was writing this reflective essay. I think that unlike other courses, studying

Abstract Algebra was not just for the purpose of having a prerequisite for another course. I

think that through this course, I began to have a deeper understanding and a wider

perspective on how abstraction works.

With the help of Abstract Algebra, concepts that I have learned from my previous

courses were unified and reinforced. Concepts such as matrices, vector spaces, rings, fields,

and a lot more were not unfamiliar to me. However, only during my Abstract Algebra courses

have I realized how these principles can be related to each other, and for me, this unifying

property of Abstract Algebra is amazing.

Initially, I was afraid of exploring unfamiliar topics. Symmetries, modular arithmetic,

modules, and a lot of topics discussed in Abstract Algebra were all too alien for me. But, as

time went by, I have learned to become brave and welcome new information. This habit of

mine, as I have noticed, was not only applied to my other Math courses but it was applied to

the way I face my daily life. With the help of Abstract Algebra, I have learned to live by the

quote of Henry Miller. That is, “The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a

blade of grass becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself”.

 I think that my perspective and outlook in life took a positive turn as I have studied

Abstract Algebra. I now pay attention to things even if at first I am significantly uninterested.

This is to help me find something in that particular thing that might make me interested in it.

Also, I began to have this outlook in life that all things that are happening to me and to others

are connected or similar. I began to take measures and I have learned to become careful in

whatever I think, say, and do. I have learned this from the topics in Abstract Algebra that

does not seem to have a connection at the topics I have learned from another Math course,

say topology, and in the end, the topics really are related to each other. I began to persevere

and put a lot more effort in every single thing that I do. I have learned this habit from Abstract

Algebra and from other courses. At first, I might have a difficult time in answering the

problem I was presented with. If my current approach is going nowhere, then I would try

another approach. However, if I have exhausted all approaches that I initially thought of,

then I will take a rest and have a break. More often than not, the answer to the problem will

dawn upon me once my body relaxes and my brain takes a break.

All of these lead to a better approach in problems that I encounter in a daily basis.

With Abstract Algebra, I think I have learned significantly, not just about Mathematics, but

about life as well. The lessons I have learned about matrices, rings, fields, symmetries, and

others might be forgotten after a few years or so, but the habits, attitudes, and outlooks in life

that I have learned to adapt through Abstract Algebra, would never fade easily. I have

brought these useful and more permanent lessons into my life, and for that, I am thankful

and I think I made the right choice in studying Abstract Algebra.