Week Five: "I'll Understand It, Oh By & By"

This has been a challenging week! I’m doing as much as I can manage to comprehend and internalize concepts from previous weeks, while ironically, the newest material (functions, translations, objects) seem far more intuitive to me than the work we’ve been doing exclusive to the draw() loop.

For the last two weeks, I’ve been taking an online course in Java Script on Codecademy.com. My supplemental study of Java Script has really been helpful toward clearing up some of my difficulty, as diving into P5 without any prior knowledge has been the equivalent of learning to write Spanish lyric poetry without knowing a lick of Spanish. Now that i’m developing some fundamental grip, I need to dive back into the logic of p5 from where we started, lest my varying levels of comprehension fall out of phase from one another.

I’m overwhelmed. I went to two help sessions this week, one of them was damaging, the other restorative. I wish this were the only class on my schedule, because only then could I give this the necessary time and attention!

For this week, while I’m not certain it meets the parameters of the assignment, I’m submitting a pattern of ascending rainbow text “I’ll understand it, oh by and by”, a phrase from the old-timey gospel song “Farther Along.” During these weeks of the Jewish high-holidays, I’ve found myself contemplating the divine in moments of profound frustration. While I don’t seek any spiritual guidance, I pray that I’ll get the hang of this and my other work at ITP.

link to sketch: https://editor.p5js.org/djg509/sketches/N6pTCLjwp

I regret missing class this week, but I enjoyed being a guest in Allison’s section. I was struck by her comprehensive breakdown of the structural dimensions of code, as she broke down the process categorically: 1) Presentation 2) Logic 3) Data. I’ve been digging her example-integrated notes from her HW page on github, and I look forward to having those to reference instead of repeated viewings of the Coding Train videos! I look forward to returning next week with a sketch I’m proud of, and hopefully can demonstrate some meaningful understanding of the material.