Automata and Complexity Theory was one of my hardest classes at Stanford. The “Complexity” in the title was very fitting because I found everything in this course to be complex beyond belief and beyond comprehension. But it was a required course, and I had to overcome this obstacle. I decided to take the course on a pass/fail basis rather than a graded one. (We were allowed to take a certain number of courses on a pass/fail basis). Even then, I was very doubtful if I could even pass.
The midterm came. As expected, it was complex beyond me. I tried to struggle through the haze but could see nothing. I left the exam hall knowing I had bungled.
The dreaded time came to collect our exam papers from the bin along the corridors of the professors’ offices. I reluctantly made my way there, grudgingly dragging my feet along. The only question that remained was just how bad it was.
With nervous fingers, I picked my paper among the bundle of exam papers. I couldn’t bear to see my result, but I had to. So I took a little peek: my score was a whopping 61 out of 100! Incredible. Another miracle!
But I knew it couldn’t be; I had done much too badly to achieve a score of 61. I summed up the subtotals, and the total was only 38. My elation quickly subsided. I checked with a calculator, and it was still a disappointing 38.
I had to be honest. I had to tell the professor, but the thought of keeping mum did occur to me. After all this was a really hard course for me. A score of 61 would drastically increase my otherwise slim chances of passing. I had to pass this course to graduate. And that venerable Stanford degree was waiting for me . . .
Stop it, I told myself. A degree, even from Stanford, wasn’t everything. God wanted me to be honest. Besides, I had been relying on God all these while. If God wanted me to have the degree, He would help me do so even if my score was only 38 for the midterm exam. I had to trust Him.
So I went to the professor’s office and told him about the error. He told me to tell the Teaching Assistants (TAs) which I did.
I thanked God for giving me the courage to be honest. A degree from Stanford is nothing without the moral character to go with it.
A few days later, I received an email from one of the course TAs. Hmm . . . Another bad news? Maybe another calculation had shown that my score was even lower than 38? With nervous fingers again, I clicked on my email.
Thank you for informing us about the error. The other TAs and I discussed your situation. We have decided to give you a score of 50 for your midterm exam.
Sincerely,
XXX
Praise God for His kindness. A score of 50 was much better than 38. I was touched by the generosity of the TAs. I replied with an email thanking them and saying that honesty was indeed the best policy.
P.S. I eventually passed this course :) |
