The book, written by J. Tolkien, is a fantasy trilogy and was finished in 1949. The title of the book, “Lord of the rings”, implies to the main antagonist in the story, Lord Sauron, and to his ring, in particular. This magical ring has the power to control all the other rings among the other rulers, and has enormous power. It is used to destroy the world as it was known and transform it into a reign of chaos and evil.
The story begins with the Frodo Baggins, the main protagonist, as his uncle, Bilbo Baggins, is planning to leave and take on his last journey. The setting is located in the Shire which is the land of the hobbits. Bilbo has the ring of the rings, and thanks to it, he has lived for more than one hundred years. As he leaves the Shire, he also leaves the finger there to Frodo, who should take care of it and finally destroy it in the great fires of Mordor, the kingdom of Sauron. Gandalf the Grey, an ancient wizard, so old, that no one knows his exact age, explains to Frodo his mission. Sam Gamgee overhears the conversation, so he gets involved as well. As additional help, Frodo takes two of his cousins, Merry and Pippin.
This is where their journey begins. Their first challenge is to reach the house of Elrond who is an Elven, and from there they would take on to Mordor. The Council of Elrond is formed, and it takes the decision that the ring should be sent as fast as possible to Mordor and destroyed. Thus, the Fellowship of the Ring forms.
After many battles against Orcs and other mystical creatures, the Fellowship is divided into several smaller groups. Frodo, who has the ring hanging on his neck, goes together with Sam and they alone proceed to Mordor, while the others go and search for more help. Eventually, Frodo reaches the borders of the evil land, feeling the urge to destroy the ring as fast as possible. At that time, Sauron is fighting the people of Gondor, the last men kingdom.
On the edge of the volcano, just above the fire, Frodo hesitates about letting the ring go. Gollum, the previous “owner” of the ring, bites off Frodo’s finger along with the ring and falls down in the Great Fire of Doom. When the ring melts, Sauron’s power vanishes and the peace is finally reached again.
The book is considered to be one of the masterpieces of the twentieth century. Tolkien has managed to create a world that captivates the mind of the reader right after the first few pages. Despite the story is completely fictional, it is so plausible that it just as well might have been the real course of history.
25 January 2010
24 January 2010
Personal statement
I have always been fascinated by computers. Ever since my fingers touched the keyboard keys, I knew that my future life would lie in computers. For the last nine years I have worked hard and tried to gain knowledge that would go beyond that of the average user. As I discovered more and more applications of this astonishing technology, I found that there is one field that is still not widely known – artificial intelligence. The thousands of new implementation that would arise from a brain made out of silicon and wires makes me want to devote all my strength to studying and further exploring the subject.
Using computers just for work or fun was not enough for me; I felt the need to understand how all the programs that looked simple at first sight actually work. I started delving into that area when I was thirteen. The IT technician at my mother’s work introduced me to programming, and it was then that I began realizing the enormous potential of computers. Day after day my ambition to become a professional programmer grew stronger. However, a few years later, when I was around sixteen, I understood that the simple writing of programs was not as difficult as it seem. I wanted something more complicated.
Last summer I worked for a school designing their online catalogue. It was a difficult task, bearing in mind all the requirements that the school directors had. It was also a learning experience for me. I learnt a lot of new techniques in programming and algorithm design; apart from that, I discovered some abilities that I never thought I had before. I understood that when I have a deadline, I will do everything that I possibly can to meet it. Procrastination is something that I despise. It is important to do everything right on time, or even a little bit before that, because otherwise others will not have trust in me and my work.
At school the Informatics teacher once asked me to teach someone some basic programming skills, because she had to take an exam. It was a great responsibility, but a great honour as well. I did my best to teach that person in such a way that she would understand everything that I said. Later, during the actual exam, she received an A. This made me realise that great responsibility goes with great pride, because this was exactly the way I felt when I heard the good news – proud of the effort that I had put in earlier.
Designing the complicated algorithms for the school catalogue, thinking of a strategy to introduce a complete novice into the complex world of programming convinced me that simple “code-writing” is not for me. I want to think of what programmers should write. The idea that it might be possible to create a machine that would think all this on its own fascinates me. It is exactly what Artificial Intelligence in its essence is: a computer that understands its surrounding and takes decisions on its own conditions, not through human instructions.
My lifelong passion for computers and their way of working, and the “need” to design complex systems make me choose Artificial Intelligence as my field of further development. I chose to apply to the UK, because of what it offers in terms of AI research and programmes.
Using computers just for work or fun was not enough for me; I felt the need to understand how all the programs that looked simple at first sight actually work. I started delving into that area when I was thirteen. The IT technician at my mother’s work introduced me to programming, and it was then that I began realizing the enormous potential of computers. Day after day my ambition to become a professional programmer grew stronger. However, a few years later, when I was around sixteen, I understood that the simple writing of programs was not as difficult as it seem. I wanted something more complicated.
Last summer I worked for a school designing their online catalogue. It was a difficult task, bearing in mind all the requirements that the school directors had. It was also a learning experience for me. I learnt a lot of new techniques in programming and algorithm design; apart from that, I discovered some abilities that I never thought I had before. I understood that when I have a deadline, I will do everything that I possibly can to meet it. Procrastination is something that I despise. It is important to do everything right on time, or even a little bit before that, because otherwise others will not have trust in me and my work.
At school the Informatics teacher once asked me to teach someone some basic programming skills, because she had to take an exam. It was a great responsibility, but a great honour as well. I did my best to teach that person in such a way that she would understand everything that I said. Later, during the actual exam, she received an A. This made me realise that great responsibility goes with great pride, because this was exactly the way I felt when I heard the good news – proud of the effort that I had put in earlier.
Designing the complicated algorithms for the school catalogue, thinking of a strategy to introduce a complete novice into the complex world of programming convinced me that simple “code-writing” is not for me. I want to think of what programmers should write. The idea that it might be possible to create a machine that would think all this on its own fascinates me. It is exactly what Artificial Intelligence in its essence is: a computer that understands its surrounding and takes decisions on its own conditions, not through human instructions.
My lifelong passion for computers and their way of working, and the “need” to design complex systems make me choose Artificial Intelligence as my field of further development. I chose to apply to the UK, because of what it offers in terms of AI research and programmes.
A Trip to Cambridge
It was early Tuesday morning when I had to leave my house and go to the airport. I was going to England for a second time, and I was really excited about it, because the first time I visited that country I truly fell in love with it. I am going to skip the part with the actual trip, because nothing really special happened either at the airport, or in the airplane. After I left the Luton airport, I had the feeling that I was in another world. All the roads were perfect, there were no giant holes that would break the car’s suspension, all the sidewalks are clean… It’s like a dream world. It was strange, in the beginning, when cars stopped and let the people cross the road.
Anyway, I took the bus to Cambridge. I had never been there before, and I didn’t know what to expect. Two hours later the bus finally slowed down and stopped (busses in England drive really fast and often it looks scary). The bus stop was located next to a huge grass park, with two or three trees just sticking out of the ground. My hotel was on the other side of the park, just five minutes on foot.
The hotel was awesome. My room had a huge couple bed, a teapot with teabags, and some delicious biscuits. Also, there was a nice big bath-tub in the bathroom. It was very strange that there were two separate water sources – one for hot water on the right, and one for cold water on the left. Eventually I got used to this.
Outside everything was different from anything that I had seen before. All the buildings were old, gothic style, and all of this, combined with the clouds that were in the sky, created the feeling of mysticism. All of the things that I saw, the old universities and churches, made me want to go and study there. However…
When the night came, I decided that I would go out and have some fun somewhere in a bar or something. Much to my surprise, there was only one pub in the whole city, and it closed at half-past ten in the evening. There was no one outside on the streets, everything seemed too strict. As it turned out, the only thing that could’ve been done in Cambridge was studying or site-seeing.
Apart from the little disappointment in the evening, all the rest was totally great. England didn’t disappoint me again.
Anyway, I took the bus to Cambridge. I had never been there before, and I didn’t know what to expect. Two hours later the bus finally slowed down and stopped (busses in England drive really fast and often it looks scary). The bus stop was located next to a huge grass park, with two or three trees just sticking out of the ground. My hotel was on the other side of the park, just five minutes on foot.
The hotel was awesome. My room had a huge couple bed, a teapot with teabags, and some delicious biscuits. Also, there was a nice big bath-tub in the bathroom. It was very strange that there were two separate water sources – one for hot water on the right, and one for cold water on the left. Eventually I got used to this.
Outside everything was different from anything that I had seen before. All the buildings were old, gothic style, and all of this, combined with the clouds that were in the sky, created the feeling of mysticism. All of the things that I saw, the old universities and churches, made me want to go and study there. However…
When the night came, I decided that I would go out and have some fun somewhere in a bar or something. Much to my surprise, there was only one pub in the whole city, and it closed at half-past ten in the evening. There was no one outside on the streets, everything seemed too strict. As it turned out, the only thing that could’ve been done in Cambridge was studying or site-seeing.
Apart from the little disappointment in the evening, all the rest was totally great. England didn’t disappoint me again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
