Freewheelin’

Well, folks, that’s it. The Fall 2006 semester is over and done with. I turned in my last report, came home, and took a shower to wash it all away. Tomorrow the fun stuff (i.e. research) starts. But, first, some amusement courtesy of my CFD professor. This is essentially the conversation we had as I turned my report in. I apologize for the technical terms, but you don’t have to be a fluid mechanicist to appreciate it–actually, it’s more helpful to know some programming 😛

Prof: What method did you use?
Me: I did a FTCS method for the first half and used a conserving upwind approach for the convection terms in the second half.
Prof: Did you use the upwind method I presented in the notes? The one with the absolute values?
Me: Definitely. I didn’t want to evaluate all the conditionals. I’d much rather have a slightly messier looking equation.
Prof: I’m glad that you were listening in class. I’ve spoken to three people now who used if statements.
Me: There’s a little note to myself in the class notes pointing to that equation that says, “Avoids if statements”
Prof: Good. And how did you handle the velocities? Did you store them separately?
Me: Yep. I calculated them ahead of time and kept them in their own array so I could just pull appropriate values when needed.
Prof: Clearly, you are a logical person.