u/Desperate_Pool_641

​

Hey everyone,

I’m currently a master's student in math. Over my degree so far, I've covered a solid chunk of standard grad coursework—Galois theory, functional analysis, commutative algebra, measure theory, and I have a decent familiarity with abstract nonsense.

But here’s my weird habit: I constantly find myself gravitating back to solving problems in group theory, point-set topology, and ring theory. These were my bread and butter in undergrad, and I worked through a ton of problems from standard texts back then.

For example, I just spent 2-3 days speeding through the group theory and ring theory sections of Aluffi. When I finished, I sat back and wondered, "What did I actually learn from this?" The answer was... honestly, not much. I breezed through it just because I had already done it before, and the familiarity felt good.

Now I’m trying to plan my upcoming work. I'm thinking of setting up a reading course on Lam’s Lectures on Modules and Rings and Matsumura’s Commutative Ring Theory. But at the same time, I have this strong urge to re-do point-set topology using a completely new book—even though I already survived Munkres and similar texts, and I'm taking Algebraic Topology next semester anyway.

My questions for the other grad students/researchers here:

Is it fine that I keep spending time solving concepts I’ve already mostly mastered?

Is this a common form of productive procrastination, or is it a trap that’s keeping me from actually advancing?

Do you guys do this too, and how do you balance reviewing the foundations vs. pushing into new territory?

​

Hey everyone,

I’m currently a master's student in math. Over my degree so far, I've covered a solid chunk of standard grad coursework—Galois theory, functional analysis, commutative algebra, measure theory, and I have a decent familiarity with abstract nonsense.

But here’s my weird habit: I constantly find myself gravitating back to solving problems in group theory, point-set topology, and ring theory. These were my bread and butter in undergrad, and I worked through a ton of problems from standard texts back then.

For example, I just spent 2-3 days speeding through the group theory and ring theory sections of Aluffi. When I finished, I sat back and wondered, "What did I actually learn from this?" The answer was... honestly, not much. I breezed through it just because I had already done it before, and the familiarity felt good.

Now I’m trying to plan my upcoming work. I'm thinking of setting up a reading course on Lam’s Lectures on Modules and Rings and Matsumura’s Commutative Ring Theory. But at the same time, I have this strong urge to re-do point-set topology using a completely new book—even though I already survived Munkres and similar texts, and I'm taking Algebraic Topology next semester anyway.

My questions for the other grad students/researchers here:

Is it fine that I keep spending time solving concepts I’ve already mostly mastered?

Is this a common form of productive procrastination, or is it a trap that’s keeping me from actually advancing?

Do you guys do this too, and how do you balance reviewing the foundations vs. pushing into new territory?

​

Hey everyone,

I’m currently a master's student in math. Over my degree so far, I've covered a solid chunk of standard grad coursework—Galois theory, functional analysis, commutative algebra, measure theory, and I have a decent familiarity with abstract nonsense.

But here’s my weird habit: I constantly find myself gravitating back to solving problems in group theory, point-set topology, and ring theory. These were my bread and butter in undergrad, and I worked through a ton of problems from standard texts back then.

For example, I just spent 2-3 days speeding through the group theory and ring theory sections of Aluffi. When I finished, I sat back and wondered, "What did I actually learn from this?" The answer was... honestly, not much. I breezed through it just because I had already done it before, and the familiarity felt good.

Now I’m trying to plan my upcoming work. I'm thinking of setting up a reading course on Lam’s Lectures on Modules and Rings and Matsumura’s Commutative Ring Theory. But at the same time, I have this strong urge to re-do point-set topology using a completely new book—even though I already survived Munkres and similar texts, and I'm taking Algebraic Topology next semester anyway.

My questions for the other grad students/researchers here:

Is it fine that I keep spending time solving concepts I’ve already mostly mastered?

Is this a common form of productive procrastination, or is it a trap that’s keeping me from actually advancing?

Do you guys do this too, and how do you balance reviewing the foundations vs. pushing into new territory?

I want to watch Dragon Ball, from where I can download it?