Last week in the internship, we received a generalized presentation about externships from Urszula Zalewski. The reason I say generalized is because there were differences in the presentation in how we would be evaluated compared to directions received previously. As an aside, I realized in my first math class here–Linear Algebra–how important generalizations are, and how easy they make explanations of many similar things, so I was used to that. Back to the internship, we learned we have a Faculty advisor and a Supervisor for this course, and the differences between their functions. Essentially, the first helps and second ensures we are learning. The point is to be able to keep track of our progress.

A large part of the presentation was about the differences in formal and informal communication, from a business perspective. An example that stuck out to me was the use of personal cell phones. I had originally been under the idea that if a phone is used for work purposes, that should be legitimate. While sometimes valid, that isn’t always the case. After asking other people I knew that worked, I came to this general conclusion: you should be able to ‘get a feel’ for if something is permitted. As an alternative, asking directly is always a possibility. Essentially, a phone could be used if the purpose is obvious, such as taking a picture of a problem or for note-taking. However, if there is any doubt to that, best to not bother with the phone.

The reason I stress on this technicality is because I enjoy the strictness of formality seen in mathematical proofs (in some cases), but most systems are not so formal, for ease of understanding. The grey areas must then be filled in by questions or from experience. This is true for anything.