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Can you guess who the mathematician of the semester is?

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Inhoudsopgawe:

1. Die herlewing van `n legende: Aktua 3 2. Who gets what? 3 3. The Doomsday Argument 5 4. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries 2005 Education Strategy 7 5. A Word on Exemptions 9 6. The million dollar question 11 7. How to pass actuarial examinations 12 8. Gelukwensing aan Prof Ströh 13 9. Beurse vir die voornemende aktuaris 14 10.Raai raai riepa 14 11. Dosente en hul streke 15 12. Daardie een vraag… 19 13. The joke warehouse 20 14. Opedag avontuur 24 15. What not to miss next time 25 16. Uit agie se magie 27

Mathematician of the semester Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), a Swiss mathematician, was born in 1707 and made valuable contributions in the field of pure mathematics. Euler was born in Basel and studied at the University of Basel under the Swiss mathematician Johann Bernoulli, obtaining his master's degree at the age of 16. In 1727, at the invitation of Catherine I, empress of Russia, Euler became a member of the Faculty of the Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg. He was appointed Professor of Physics in 1730 and Professor of Mathematics in 1733. In 1741 he became Professor of Mathematics at the Berlin Academy of Sciences at the urging of the Russian king, Frederick the Great. Euler returned to St Petersburg in 1766, remaining there until his death. Although hampered from his late 20s by partial loss of vision and in later life by almost total blindness, Euler produced a number of important mathematical works and hundreds of mathematical and scientific

memoirs.

- Adopted from Microsoft Encarta 99

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Die herlewing van `n legende: Aktua The year is 2004 A.D. and The Department is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely…one small village of the indomitable Aktua still hold out against the invaders. And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camps of Café41, Rapshody’s and Joolplaas… All perilous missions are immediately entrusted to The Actuarial Students , the hero of these adventures, who gets his superhuman strength from the magic potion brewed by the druid Johan. This venerable village druid gathers mistletoe and brews magic exemptions. His speciality is the potion that gives the drinker superhuman strength, but he has also other recipes up his sleeve… a formal dinner, a Gold Reef City day and a t-shirt. The Aktua Committee is Aktua’s inseparable Friend, a menhir delivery man by trade, addicted to socials. The Committee is always ready to drop everything and go off on a new adventure with The Actuarial Students – so long as there’s wild boar to eat, and plenty of parties. His constant companion is The VSR, the only known money supply, who howls with despair when a tree is cut down. Finally, Ströhtistix, the chief of the tribe. Majestic, brave and hot-tempered, the old warrior is respected by his men and feared by his enemies. He has only one fear, he is afraid the sky may fall on his head tomorrow. But as he always says, tomorrow never comes. Lets give the Romans a good thumping…

-Trecia Vermeulen

Who gets what ? Section 37C(1) of the Pension Funds Act reads: “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law or in the rules of a registered fund, any benefit payable by such a fund in respect of a deceased member, shall, subject to a pledge in accordance with Section 19(5)(b)(i) and subject to the provisions of Section 37(A)(3) and 37D, not form part of the assets in the estate of such a member, but shall be dealt with in the following manner:” Section 37C is a social security type measure. It places the benefit payable on a member’s death under the control of the retirement fund (and in effect the trustees of the fund) with the discretion to pay it to the member’s dependants in such proportions as it deems equitable. In this fashion (at least in theory), the State ensures that the monies in respect of which it allowed major tax concessions are utilised for the benefit of the deceased member’s surviving spouse, children and other persons dependent

on him or her, thereby reducing the State’s liability in this regard. The board of trustees of a retirement fund in South Africa oversee all aspects of the fund and is responsible for the proper management of the fund. The Pension Fund Act states that “notwithstanding the rules of a fund, every fund shall have a board consisting of at least four board members, at least 50% of whom the members of the fund shall have the right to elect.” In practice this means that many pension fund trustees are normal employees of the associated company or organisation, without formal training in finance. Trustees have a huge responsibility on their shoulders and can be liable in their personal capacity should the wrong decisions be made or if the fund is mismanaged. A member of a retirement fund has the right to nominate beneficiaries, to whom benefits should be paid on his or her passing away.

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This is done by way a beneficiary nomination form that can be changed at any time by the member. Section 37C(1) of the act comes into play in that even though members can nominate beneficiaries, the trustees of the fund has a fiduciary responsibility to make sure that all dependants of the deceased receive their equitable share of the deceased’s benefits. The problem that frequently arises in our modern South African society is when the wishes of the deceased and the responsibilities of the board of trustees are not in line. With combination marriages, polynogomous marriages, ex-wives and modern living arrangements it sometimes happen that a pension fund member wishes to give more to some of his or her dependants and very little to others. In cases like these the trustees have the responsibility to equitably divide the benefits amongst beneficiaries and in extreme cases go against the wishes of the deceased member. Many of these cases land on the table of the pension funds adjudicator, who has to try to salvage the situation. Section 37C(1) is a subject of much debate and in the June/August Edition of the Pensions World Magazine a creative article appeared highlighting the point of view of the deceased member. The article is written in the form of a letter from a deceased member form the “other side” to the pension funds adjudicator. The letter starts with the following paragraph: “I wish to lodge a complaint with the Pension Funds Adjudicator in terms of Section 30A …” (The Pension Funds Act has many sections!) “… of the Pension Funds Act. I have confirmed from the Act that I qualify as a complainant (a former member of a pension fund), and I feel

that my complaint satisfies the definition of the Act.” The letter continues to discuss the dissatisfaction of this member about the decisions of the trustees made after his death, and ends with the line: “I rest my case. Let me now rest in peace.” In typical “Thinking ahead…” fashion Sanlam has developed the Section 37C Internet Based Benefit Calculator, to help solve the problem. The determination of the right to maintenance is done in accordance with the jurisprudence and principles laid down in motor vehicle accident claims. With the help of the powerful Internet based calculator, trustees can make this calculation in a matter of seconds. It first determines the total income of the household and projects the future needs of the surviving spouse, the children and other dependants. It then places the trustees in a position to exercise their discretion based on proper information in a way that is not only equitable but also consistent and properly considered. Johan Sauer was part of the team involved in the software development of the Section 37C Calculator. More information can be obtained at the following URL: http://www.sanlam.co.za/eng/aboutus/employeebenefits/news/news+sanlams+benefit+calculator.htm Much of the information in this article was adapted from The Manual on South African Retirement Funds and other Employee Benefits of which Prof. Rinus Du Plessis was also a co-editor.

-Johan Sauer

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The disturbing doomsday argument Are we heading for 'doom soon', or 'doom late'?

This article has been adopted from The Actuary, the magazine of the International Actuarial Profession. We thought some of you might find it interesting… (Although we are still trying to understand and solve it in our midnight committee meetings). Rarely does philosophy produce empirical predictions. The doomsday argument is an important exception. From seemingly trivial premises, it seeks to show that the risk that humankind will soon become extinct has been systematically underestimated. Nearly everybody's first reaction is that there must be something wrong with such an argument. Yet despite being subjected to intense scrutiny by a growing number of philosophers, no simple flaw in the argument has been identified. It started some 15 years ago when astrophysicist Brandon Carter

discovered a previously unnoticed consequence of a version of the weak anthropic principle. Carter did not publish his finding, but the idea was taken up by philosopher John Leslie, who has been a prolific author on the subject, culminating in his monograph The

End of the World (Routledge, 1996). Versions of the doomsday argument have also been independently rehearsed by other authors. In recent years there have been numerous papers trying to refute the argument, and an approximately equal number of papers refuting these refutations. I shall explain the doomsday argument in three steps.

Step I Imagine a universe that consists of 100 cubicles. In each cubicle there is one person. Ninety of the cubicles are painted blue on the outside and the other ten are painted red. Each person is asked to guess whether they are in a blue or a red cubicle (and everybody knows all this). Now, suppose you find yourself in one of these cubicles. What colour should you think it has? Since

90% of all people are in blue cubicles, and since you don't have any other relevant information, it seems you should think that there is a 90% probability that you are in a blue cubicle. Let's call this idea, that you should reason as if you were a random sample from the set of all observers, the self-sampling assumption. Suppose everyone accepts the self-sampling assump tion and everyone has to bet on whether they

are in a blue or red cubicle. Then 90% of all people will win their bets and 10% will lose. Suppose, on the other hand, that the self-sampling assumption is rejected and people think that one is no more likely to be in a blue cubicle; so they bet by flipping a coin. Then, on average, 50% of the people will win and 50% will lose. The rational thing to do seems to be to accept the self-sampling assumption, at least in this case. Step II Now we modify the thought experiment a bit. We still have the 100 cubicles, but this time they are not painted blue or red. Instead they are numbered from 1 to 100. The numbers are painted on the outside. Then a fair coin is tossed. If the coin falls heads, one person is created in each cubicle. If the coin falls tails, then people are only created in cubicles 1 to 10. You find yourself in one of the cubicles and are asked to guess whether there are ten or 100 people.

Since the number was determined by the flip of a fair coin, and since you haven't seen how the coin fell and you don't have any other relevant information, it seems you should believe that there is a 50% probability that it fell heads (and thus that there are 100 people). Moreover, you can use the self-sampling assumption to assess the conditional probability of a

number between 1 and 10 being painted on your cubicle, given how the coin fell. For example,

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conditional on heads, the probability that the number on your cubicle is between 1 and 10 is 10%, since one out of ten people will then find themselves there. Conditional on tails, the probability that

you are in number 1 to 10 is 100%; for you then know that everybody is in one of those cubicles. Suppose that you open the door and discover

that you are in cubicle number 7. Again you are asked, how did the coin fall? But now the probability is greater than 50% that it fell tails. For what you are observing is given a higher probability on that hypothesis than on the hypothesis that it fell heads. The precise new probability of tails can be calculated using Bayes's theorem. It is approximately 91%. So after finding that you are in cubicle number 7, you should think that with 91% probability there are only ten people.

Step III The last step is to transpose these results to our actual situation here on Earth. Let's formulate the following two rival hypotheses: 'Doom soon' Humankind becomes extinct in the next century and the total number of humans that will have existed is, say, 20bn. 'Doom late' Humankind survives the next century and goes on to colonise the galaxy; the total number of humans is, say, 200 trillion. To simplify the exposition we will consider only these hypotheses - using a more fine-grained partition of the hypothesis doesn't change the principle, although it would give more exact numerical values. 'Doom soon' corresponds to there only being ten people in the thought experiment of Step II. 'Doom late' corresponds to there being 100 people. Corre sponding the numbers on the cubicles, we now have the 'birth ranks' of human beings - their positions in the human race. Corresponding to the prior probability (50%) of the coin falling heads or tails, we now have some prior probability of 'doom soon' or 'doom late'. This will be based on our ordinary empirical estimates of potential threats to human survival, such as nuclear or biological warfare, a meteorite destroying the planet, self-replicating nano-machines running amok, a breakdown of a meta-stable vacuum state resulting from high-energy particle experiments, and so on (presumably there are dangers that we haven't yet thought of). Let's say that based on such considerations, you think that there is a 5% probability of doom soon. The exact number doesn't matter for the structure of the argument. Finally, corresponding to finding you are in cubicle number 7

we have the fact that you find that your birth rank is about 60bn (that's approximately how many humans have lived before you). Just as finding you are in cubicle 7 increased the probability of the coin having fallen tails, so finding you are human number 60bn gives you reason to think that doom soon is more probable than you previously thought. Exactly how much more probable will depend on the precise numbers

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you use. In the present example, the posterior probability of doom soon will be very close to 100%. You can with near certainty rule out doom late. That is the doomsday argument in a nutshell. After hearing about it, many people think they know

what is wrong with it. But these objections tend to be mutually incompatible, and often they hinge on some simple misunderstanding. Be sure to read the literature before feeling too confident that you have a refutation. And the point is…? Aktua does not want to advocate the demise or otherwise of our human civilisation, but we do want to stimulate this kind of challenging thoughts in actuarial students at Tuks.

Institute and Faculty’s New Education Strategy 2005 will see the introduction of a new structure for the actuarial examinations - one of the most far-reaching changes for many years. Not only are the exams being updated to reflect the broadening range of areas in which actuaries are involved, but there has been a real focus on what knowledge and skills - including business skills - are needed at each stage.

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The new model

In broad outline the new model comprises: Core technical stage The core technical stage is drawn from the current 100 series subjects. There will be eight examinations plus a business awareness module. Core application stage During this stage the student will learn about the key actuarial concepts and approaches in solving actuarial problems, assisted by examples from a variety of traditional and non-traditional areas. Specialist stage At the specialist stage each student will take three assessments, one of which will be testing higher-order skills and may take an alternative form, eg a dissertation. A key consideration is that the profession wishes to maintain or reduce the number of examinations taken by each student. This means that it will only be possible to study a single specialism in depth. The specialisms being developed are:

? Life insurance ? General insurance ? Pensions and employee benefits ? Health and care ? Finance ? Investment

Syllabus Names and Coding Core Technical Stage / 100 Series: Coding New Subject Old Subject CT1 Financial Mathematics 102 CT2 Finance and Financial Reporting 108 CT3 Probability and Mathematical Statistics 101 CT4 Models 103 & 104 CT5 Contingencies 105 CT6 Statistical Methods 106 CT7 Economics 107 CT8 Financial Economics 109 CT9 Business Awareness Module Candidates have to complete all 9 Core Technical Subjects. Core Applications Stage / 201 Series / 300 Series: Coding New Subject Old Subject CA1 Core Applications Concepts

CA11 1 paper assets (3-hour paper) 301 CA12 1 paper liabilities and asset-liability

management (3-hour paper) 302 or 303 or 304 CA2 Modelling course - CA3 Communications 201 Candidates have to complete all 3 Core Application Subjects. Specialist Technical Stage / 300 Series: Coding New Subject Old Subject ST1 Health and Care Specialist Technical -

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ST2 Life Insurance Specialist Technical 302 ST3 General Insurance Specialist Technical 303 ST4 Pensions and other Benefits Specialist Technical 304 ST5 Finance and Investment Specialist Technical A 305 ST6 Finance and Investment Specialist Technical B CiD (CiD is Certificate in Derivatives) Candidates have to complete 2 of the Specialist Technical Subjects. Specialist Applications Stage / 400 Series: Coding New Subject Old Subject SA1 Health and Care Specialist Applications - SA2 Life Insurance Specialist Applications 402 Paper 2 SA3 General Insurance Specialist Applications 403 Paper 2 SA4 Pensions and other Benefits Specialist Applications 404 Paper 2 SA5 Finance Specialist Applications - SA6 Investment Specialist Applications 401 Candidates have to complete 1 of the Specialist Application subjects. Further information on the new strategy is available on the profession’s website: www.actuaries.org.uk

A Word on Exemptions… (and all that goes with them!) The Department of Insurance and Actuarial Science maintains agreements with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in London by which students of our Department can be exempted from the professional examinations of the Institute and Faculty. These professional examinations are part of the long road to qualification as an Actuary in South Africa. By satisfactory performance in the University of Pretoria’s equivalent modules students gain exemption from the Institute and Faculty examinations. The exemption agreements with the Institute and Faculty has to be renegotiated annually and our Department has to prove the following:

? Size and intake to the programme ? Quality of intake to the programme ? Number of actuaries on the teaching staff split by full-time and part-time ? Details of actuarial research and consultancy ? Employment statistics for graduates ? Completion rates on programme ? Completion rates for graduates within the profession ? Results of the periodic UK Quality Assurance Review

The process of negotiation of an exemption agreement is long and involved. The level of control that the Institute and Faculty exercises differs between subjects. To secure Core Application or 300-Series level subject exemptions is much more difficult than it is for Core Technical Subjects. Preparation of documents start months before submitting an exemption request. We also have to provide details of external examiners and annually prove their worthiness to the Institute and Faculty. For many exemption equivalent subjects we have to provide the Institute and Faculty with old examination papers, detailed memorandums and years of statistics about the performance of our students.

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The Department of Insurance and Actuarial Science realigned our syllabi to more closely reflect the syllabi of the Institute and Faculty. The exemption renegotiation document for the Core Technical Stage subjects for 2005 was submitted on 1 July 2004. This document set out our proposed University of Pretoria equivalent modules for the Core Technical Stage that can be seen in table 1. Table 1: Proposed University of Pretoria equivalents for subjects of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in 2005.

Institute/Faculty Core Technical subject

Univers ity of Pretoria subjects

CT1 Financial Mathematics IAS 282

CT2 Finance and Financial reporting FBS 110, FBS 120

CT3 Probability and Mathematical

Statistics

WST 111, 121, 211, 221

CT4 Models IAS 382, WST312

CT5 Contingencies AKM 705

CT6 Statistical Methods WST322, WST321

CT7 Economics EKN 113, EKN 123

CT8 Financial Economics WTW 354, WTW364 Recently, the Institute and Faculty decided to exercise significantly more control over the exemption recommendation process than in the past. Firstly, students should realise that our exemption recommendations must only be based on examination marks in equivalent modules and not semester or final marks. Only the main examination can be considered and not re-examinations or supplementary examinations. In addition, future exemption marks will be set by external examiners for all Core Technical subjects except for CT2, CT3 and CT7. External examiners will in most cases have to be qualified actuaries. We will have to make room for the new Core Application Stage subjects in the Honours programme in future. Herein, our aim was to allow our students to obtain as many Core Technical exemptions, as early as possible. This will shorten the time taken to qualify as an Actuary and fastens our pace to be similar to that of the other prominent Actuarial Departments in South Africa. It is important to note that final approval of the above exemption agreement is still pending, but should it be approved, students will note that less University of Pretoria modules will be needed for certain exemptions, most notably Core Technical 3 (Old Subject 101 – Probability and Mathematical Statistics). These are the consequences of more precise syllabi that closely reflect the topics of the Institute and Faculty. We are still in a process of negotiation with the Institute and Faculty on how we will recommend exemptions in the case where more than one University of Pretoria equivalent module provides for an Institute and Faculty exemption. It seems as though different agreements will have to be set-up for each Institute and Faculty exemption. Another important aspect to remember that will still be enforced in future, is that although the Department will make exemption recommendations, the Institute and Faculty will still have the final say, and may not grant an exemption even if the exemption is warranted by our agreed guidelines.

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We at the Department of Insurance and Actuarial Science at the University of Pretoria is very proud that we were able to obtain an exemption agreement for Subject 301 (Investments) in 2004. We are now one of only a few Universities in the world that has an exemption agreement for 300 Series subjects of the Institute and Faculty. According to Institute and Faculty publications the others are: The University of Cape Town, the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Stellenbosch and City University (London). We are working hard at negotiating exemption agreements and planning for our Honours programmes in 2005 and 2006. Further information on these will be published on the Department’s notice board as soon as it becomes available. The Department of Insurance and Actuarial Science will continue to strive for the best training and value in terms of exemptions of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. We will also keep our standards high in order to keep exemption agreements in tact and satisfy BIG, Big Brother (the Institute and Faculty). Happy exemption hunting!!!

-Johan Sauer

The million dollar question Are you bored this holiday? Do you want to earn some extra cash? Well, just solve one of the Millennium Prize Problems and get paid an appreciable $1 000 000. These are seven mathematics problems that no one has ever been able to solve and so the Clay Mathematics Institute put a million dollars on the head of each of these problems. They are 1. The Hodge Conjecture, 2. The Poincare Conjecture, 3. The Riemann Hypothesis, 4. The Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture, 5. The solution of the Navier-Stokes equations, 6. The formulation of Yang-Mills theory and lastly 7. The determination of whether NP-problems are actually P-problems. For a detailed description on each of these problems visit www.mathworld.wolfram.com or www.claymath.org . For any solution to come into consideration, the solution should be published in a world renowned mathematics journal and subject to criticism for a period of two years. There has already been a claim on the prize money for the solution of the Poincare Conjecture. The proposed solution was formulated by Mr. Grigori Perelman in November 2000. The result of the investigation into the correctness of the proof is expected soon. Only time will tell whether the world will have one more mathematics millionaire or yet another disappointed enthusiast.

-Regard Budler

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How to pass the exams This article appeared in the June 2002 edition of The Actuary Magazine and relates specifically to the examinations of the Institute and Faculty, that students normally start with after finishing their formal University degrees. However we felt this advice applies to University examinations as well. Helen Riding offers some personal tips. This article is intended for all those actuarial students who are struggling to make progress with the actuarial exams and for those who are new to the game. I have plenty of personal experience to base it on, having spent more than ten years as a postgraduate 'student'. I can now finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and feel inspired to offer to others advice that might have benefited me earlier. I believe that, to succeed in this field, perseverance is just as important as intelligence. Furthermore, I believe that there are three key factors necessary for success. It may be common sense, but sometimes we need it spelled out to us. Adequate preparation for the exams

? Detailed knowledge of the subject matter is a given. ? Plan your studies well in advance and stick to your plan. If you can keep ahead so much the

better, as there are always contingencies that won't be allowed for, such as an invitation to a party or a crisis at work! The Institute and Faculty have issued guidelines for students on the number of hours to be spent studying each subject (refer to Education Notice board September 1998).

• Make use of all the tuition materials available and spend as much time recalling and applying your knowledge as reading the notes (active studying).

• Don't throw away the easy marks in the exam by not knowing your bookwork. Devise mnemonics to help you to remember your bookwork and to generate ideas in the exam.

• If you get stuck on a particular concept, make a note and move on. You will save yourself plenty of time and anguish. It will probably become clear to you as you read on or it could be a mistake!

• Make your own notes and summaries as you read (more active studying). Good exam technique In case you haven't realised, these exams are not marked in the same way as school or university exams. The pass standard is much higher. The examiners expect you to demonstrate a good overall understanding of the subject matter plus higher order skills for the later subjects. Here are some tips for the actual exam: • Pace yourself, and move on if you get stuck. • Don't panic! • Attempt every single question. • Read the whole question carefully before you answer any part of it. Highlight key words and break the question up into different sub-questions. Make your answer relevant to the question and work through the details given systematically. • Plan your answers to longer questions on the scrap paper provided. • State the obvious - and the not-so-obvious! • Don't be too dogmatic - you may be wrong and anyway this is not an exact science. • Leave an audit trail for the examiners explaining what you are doing. State all assumptions and define all symbols and abbreviations used. The right attitude Juggling a career, family, social life and part-time studies is far from easy. I don't buy the modern myth that you can have it all at the same time. Nobody should take up actuarial studies unless they fully understand the sacrifices involved in the short to medium term. If you are half-hearted about your studies, you are wasting your own precious time and everyone else's.

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Many people underestimate the power of the mind. If you believe you can do something, you are halfway there already. If you keep telling yourself you can, you will start to believe it. My favourite slogans are 'Just do it' and 'I can do it' (apologies to Nike on both counts). Don't expect others to make it easy for you. Your studies will invariably conflict with something else and you must set your own priorities based on cost versus benefit. We must take control of our own lives and do what is necessary to achieve our own goals. Goals are important, so set them realistically. I suggest that you break the exams up into stages -

each of the four series in the new syllabus - and focus on one stage at a time. If you are not achieving your goals, reassess your goals, your approach or your career choice! Priorities and circumstances can change too, resulting in unrealistic goals in need of review. Socialise with other students and encourage each other. It helps to talk to other people who

understand what you are going through and it stimulates healthy competition. Avoid negativity - it will neutralise your positivity. Lastly, write to pass. Your chances of success might not be great, but if you don't buy a ticket you can't win the lottery!

In nuwe hande sal die fakulteit op die hart gedra word Die fakulteit Natuur- en Landbouwetenskappe het `n nuwe stuurman aan die wiel. Die fakulteit is vereer met die aanstelling van Prof. Anton Ströh as die amptelike Dekaan. Hiermee ook die amptelike gelukwensing van Aktua.

Prof. Ströh het sy BSc-graad in Wiskunde (met onderskeiding), sy BSc(Hons) (met onderskeiding), sy MSc (met onderskeiding) en PhD by die Universiteit van Pretoria voltooi. Prof. Ströh het by die Universiteit begin as junior lektor en homself oor die jare bewys as waardig vir sy profesoraat wat hy in 2000 in ontvangs geneem het. In 2000 is Prof. Ströh as hoof van die Departement Wiskunde en Toegepaste Wiskunde aangestel. Sedert 2002 het Prof. Ströh as waarnemende Hoof van die Departement Aktuariële en Versekeringswetenskappe opgetree. Sedert die begin van 2004 is hy ook die waarnemende Dekaan van die Fakulteit Natuur- en Landbouwetenskappe. Hierin het Prof. Ströh homself bewys as die beste persoon vir die pos. Prof. Ströh het deur die jare vir alle soorte studente, eerstejaars tot selfs meestersgraadstudente, betower met sy vermoë om die Wiskunde op `n entoesiastiese wyse oor te dra. Hy het ook menigte artikels in geakkrediteerde internasionale wiskundige joernale gepubliseer. Om

maar net van Prof. Ströh se merkwaardige prestasies te noem is die feit dat hy in 1999, 2001 en 2002 die Mellon Foundation toekenning vir sy leidende rol vir nagraadse studente, ontvang het. In 2001 ontvang Prof. Ströh ook `n goue medalje by die Suid-Afrikaanse Wiskunde Vereniging vir sy navorsing. Prof. Ströh word internasionaal erken as `n meester op die gebied van Funksionele Analise. As bestuurder en administratiewe beampte is Prof. Ströh ‘n ware inspirasie en beïndruk op `n daaglikse basis verskeie van sy kollegas. Daar bestaan geen twyfel in die feit dat Prof. Ströh homself uitstekend van sy taak sal kwyt, en dat hy ‘n ware ambassadeur vir die Wiskundegemeenskap en ook die Universiteit van Pretoria sal wees nie. Weereens geluk aan hom en ons almal sien uit na sy leierskap in die jare wat voorlê.

- Regard Budler

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Beurse vir Aktuariële Studente Na menigte navrae rondom beurse wat aan aktuariële studente aangebied word, het ons die volgende lys saamgestel van maatskappye wat moontlik beurse aanbied. Sommiges bied egter slegs studielenings aan. Beurse is ongelukkig skaars vir aktuariële studente omrede daar `n groot risiko is dat `n student nie finaal sal kwalifiseer as aktuaris nie. General Cologne Re, HR Department PO Box 444, Cape Town 8000 Hannover Re Insurance, HR Department PO Box 10842, Johannesburg 2000 Investec, HR Department PO Box 666, Johannesburg 2000 Liberty Life, HR Department PO Box 10499, Johannesburg 2000 Metropolitan Life, HR Department PO Box 2212 , Bellville 7535 NBC, HR Department PO Box 78756, Sandton 2146 Old Mutual Actuarial Resource Development PO Box 66, Cape Town 8000 Sage Life, HR Department PO Box 290, Johannesburg 2000 Sanlam, HR Department PO Box 1, Sanlamhof 7532 Swiss Re, HR Department PO Box 72209 Parkview, 2122 Ons hoop dat die lys van waarde is en wens elke aansoeker alle sterkte toe.

-Regard Budler

Raai Raai Riepa:

In die figuur is gegee twee sirkels met identiese radii. Area Z kan bepaal word as (100v 3 -225)/(18v3). F is `n willekeurige punt op boog AD sodanig dat AD F met 120o onderspan. Die lengte AB is die minimum natuurlike waarde van y – x as 17x + 103y = 1803. Bereken die area van driehoek ABC. (LW: Die skets is nie op skaal nie en onthou die stelling dat die middelpuntshoek twee maal die omtrekshoek is, verder is geen meetkunde kennis nodig nie). Plaas jou oplossing in die posbus voor die kantoor Versekerings en Aktuariële Wetenskappe. Voeg ook jou kontakbesonderhede by sodat ons die wenner se prys vir hom kan gee. Die prys is `n Dros Hatfield etekaartjie wat sal sorg vir `n feesmaal.

A B

D C

E

F

Z G

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-Regard Budler

DOSENTE,DOSENTE,DOSENTE,DOSENTE…

Ons het bietjie onder die dosente gaan rondsnuffel en hulle ‘n paar vrae gevra, vir die wat hulle beter wil leer ken om te sien met wie hulle rêrig te doen het, of dalk vir dié wat ietsie soek vir ‘n ”blackmail” poging… Johan Sauer het April as Aktuaris gekwalifiseer, waarop ons hom baie gelukwens. Wat is jou geboortename en hoe oud is jy? Johan Jacobus Christoffel Sauer (moes julle nou dít vra!) 26 Het jy enige byname? Waar kom dit vandaan? Van my vriende noem my Sauboy Waar was jy op skool? Waterkloof Waar het jy voorheen gewerk en waar het jy gestudeer? Ek is ‘n oud Tukkie en het hoofsaaklik konsultasie werk vir The Health Monitor Company/The Risk Monitor Group gedoen. Van die plekke waarvoor ek gekonsulteer of by gewerk het is Hollard, Alexander Forbes, Daimler-Chrysler Financial Services, Natsure, Sanlam, Santam, CSIR Medical Scheme, Umed, Bestmed, Truworths Credit Division, Road Accident Fund en Prokureursfirmas.

Wat was jou gunsteling vak op universiteit of skool? Gunsteling: Investments (301) Slegste: Ek het nie baie van Rekeningkunde gehou nie. Wat het jy tussen jou af periodes op univers iteit aangevang? Ek en my vriende het nogal gehardloop en baklei om te sien wie eerste by die studiesentrum kan wees. Waar sien jy jouself oor 5 jaar? Ek geniet die navorsing in die akademie en die geleentheid om met jong mense te werk. Ek hou egter ook baie van die besigheidswêreld en geniet die privaatwerk wat die Universiteit my toelaat. Die akademie bied my die beste van beide wêrelde op hierdie stadium en ek mag dalk nog lank hier wees. As jy jou rigting kon verander, wat sou jy eerder wou gaan swot? Ek het Bedryfsingenieurswese ook oorweeg, maar gou besef ek is nie ‘n ingenieur nie. Watter beroep sal jy glad nie wil volg nie? Waarom?

Johan Sauer

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Enige beroep wat nie intellektueel stimuleurend is nie. Daar is vir my niks lekkerder as om innoverend te wees, om sin te maak van iets, en te voel dis ‘n uitdaging nie. Waarmee ry jy rond en besit dit enige “stickers”? ‘n BMW 3 reeks, dit het nie stickers nie, maar wel ‘n naam… Wat is jou gunsteling film? Cast Away, The Firm en One fine day. (seker maar ‘n hopelose romantikus) Waar is jou gunsteling vakansieplek? Ek hou van die kaap Na watter musiek luister jy graag? Ek het ‘n wye musieksmaak en luister graag radio. Wat lees jy graag? Weereens nogal wyd: Boeke oor besigheid, programmering, sake koerante, selfverbeteringsboeke en soms fiksie. Wat is jou gunsteling dis en drankie? Seekos en goeie rooi wyn (maar nie saam nie) Het jy huidiglik ‘n verhouding? Nee Het jy enige slegte gewoontes? Ek is geneig om te veel te bekommer, maar werk daaraan om te ontspan. Wie beskou jy as jou rolmodel? Ek het nie regtig een rolmodel nie, maar sien gereeld goeie eienskappe in mense wat ek graag sou wou hê. Beplan jy om eendag oorsee te gaan? Ek sal die wêreld wil sien en daar vakansie wil hou, maar nie noodwendig daar wil werk of bly nie. Wat is jou motto in die lewe? “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!” Hoe lyk jou loopbaan se vooruitsitgte? Ek dink die geleenthede vir ‘n gekwalifiseerde aktuaris is uitstekend, maar ek dink baie mense besef nie dat jou genot uit jou loopbaan hoofsaaklik deur jouself bepaal word nie. Ek geniet my werk ongelooflik en as ek alles tot dusver moes oordoen sou ek dit netso gedoen het, of kom ons sê 95% daarvan. Waar is jou gunsteling uithangplek? Ek het nie regtig so iets nie, maar is ‘n kind van die voorstede en spandeer baie tyd in winkelsentrums. Wat doen jy in jou vrye tyd?(Indien enige???) Ek hou van fliek, die kunste en kuier graag saam met vriende. Watter troeteldiere besit jy? Wat is hulle name? Ek het nie op hierdie stadium troeteldiere nie, ‘n vorige meisie het gereeld vir my visse gekoop, maar dankie tog die goed het gevrek! Ek mis nog soms my hond, Orca, wat dood is.

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Wat staan jou glad nie aan nie? Onregverdigheid, waar mense beheer daaroor het – die lewe is soms maar onregverdig. Neem jy deel aan enige sport? Ek ry graag fiets en speel soms muurbal. Watter rugbyspan ondersteun jy? Die bulle (…soos ‘n broer in die tronk) Wat was jou gunsteling speelding toe jy klein was? Ek het die lelikste, oranje, gehekelde kombersie saam met my gedra en almal ouer as 20 gedwing om koe-ie te speel! Gee vyf beskrywende woorde oor jouself.

- Doelgerig - Gedetermineerd - Liefdevol / ‘n sagte hart - Gebalanseerd - Innoverend

Wat is jou ideal in die lewe? Dit klink dalk soos ‘n cliché, maar om gelukkig te wees en vervul te voel - tevrede Waarvoor is jy die bangste? Nee wat, ek is ‘n dapper muis. Miskien om te voel dat ek nie meer ‘n verskil maak aan mense se lewens nie, vir die mense naby aan my, in my werk, en elders. Het jy enige stokperdjies? Ek is nogal ‘n tegnologie “junkie” en dit kan my nogal besig hou. Ek is veral lief vir fotografie. Het jy enige raad/boodskap vir die studente? Bitter min dinge in die lewe wat die moeite werd is kom maklik, so hou moed. Sorg net dat jou lewe nie by jou verby gaan intussen nie.

Wat is jou geboortename? Dietmar Heinrich Böhmer Waar was jy op skool? Eldoraigne Waar het u voorheen gewerk en waar het jy gestudeer? UP Wat was jou gunsteling vak op universiteit? Gunsteling: AKT 780 Slegste: COS 130 Wat het jy tussen jou af periodes op universiteit aangevang? Bib, ja dis sad ek weet Waar sien jy jouself oor 5 jaar? Nee, ek weet nie, dink nie sover vooruit nie.

Dietmar Böhmer

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As jy jou rigting kon verander, wat sou jy eerder wou gaan swot? Medies Watter beroep sal jy glad nie wil volg nie? Waarom? Skrywer/Digter, want ek kan nie spel nie Waarmee ry jy rond en besit dit enige “stickers”? Golf, daar’s ‘n Blou Bul sticker op my kar Wat is jou gunsteling film? Momento Waar is jou gunsteling vakansieplek? Clifton Na watter musiek luister jy graag? Rock – Linkin Park, Staind, etc Wat lees jy graag? Koerant Wat is jou gunsteling dis en drankie? Steak & Chips, met ‘n koue bier of whiskey Het jy huidiglik ‘n verhouding? ??? Het jy enige slegte gewoontes? Nee Beplan jy om eendag oorsee te gaan? Nee Wat is jou motto in die lewe? Blonds are more fun Beplan jy om aktuaris te word? Hoeveel vakke het jy nog oor? Ja, nog 6 om te gaan Waar is jou gunsteling uithangplek? Herr GÜnthers (Dis in die square vir die wat nie weet nie) Wat doen jy in jou vrye tyd?(Indien enige???) Fly Fishing Watter troeteldiere besit jy? Wat is hulle name? Hond – Staffie, sy naam is Hitler Wat staan jou glad nie aan nie? Mense wat aansit Neem jy deel aan enige sport? Gholf, touch rugby

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Watter rugbyspan ondersteun jy? BLOU BULLE!!! Wat was jou gunsteling speelding toe jy klein was? My rattle Beskryf jouself in `n paar woorde. Oppervlakkig, perfeksionisties Wat is jou ideal in die lewe? Om eendag ‘n gelukkige familie van my eie te hê en obviously moet ek ‘n Porche ry Waarvoor is jy die bangste? Slange Het jy enige stokperdjies? Flyfishing Het jy enige raad/boodskap vir die studente? Study hard and play harder

-Marguerite Fevier en Divan van der Watt

Daardie een vraag… Ons almal ken daardie drie vrae in ons eerstejaar. “Wat is jou naam, van waar af kom jy, wat studeer jy?” Nou dit is eintlik hierdie laaste vraag waarby ek so ‘n bietjie wil stilstaan. Klink die volgende gesprek dalk vir jou bekend? “Ek ‘swot’ Finansiële Wiskunde.” “Aah, so jy is een van daardie slim mense.” Dan wil ek uit frustrasie sommer antwoord: “Nee, eintlik is ek Pieter en ek dink ek’s mal.” Dit is die reaksie (indien enige) wat ons op hierdie spesifieke vraag se antwoorde kry. Daar word gesê dat 90% van alle statistieke op die daad opgemaak word. (Soos hierdie een). Maar ek wil myself uitlaat deur te sê dat daar ‘n wanbegrip oor meer as die helfte van ons samelewing heers, wat die werk van ‘n aktuaris behels. Toe is dit tyd vir ‘n bietjie prêt. In eerstejaar statistiek het Prof. Smit vir my van gelykkansige, sistematiese, tros, gestratifiseerde en geriefsteekproefneming geleer. En nou kan ek uiteindelik hierdie nuwe kennis van my gebruik. Na baie lang oorweging het ek toe op geriefsteekproefneming besluit. Hier volg so klein monstertjie van gesprekke uit my navorsing: Argitek (2de jaar): “Oh Aktuarieël, ek het dit ook ‘n rukkie ‘geswot’ maar dit was te maklik” Ten minste het hulle nog ‘n sin vir humor. Biokinetika (1ste jaar): “Act-chuja…ac-tu… What? I can’t even say it! Regte(xde jaar): “As jy jou kliënte se belastingvorms verkeerd invul, sal ek jou

prokureur wees.”

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Biologiese Wetenskappe(1ste jaar) “Ek dink hulle smous met polisse.” Onderwys(4de jaar): “Bring gou ‘n woordeboek!” Dit is vir my vreeslik snaaks, dat met alles wat ons moet deurmaak dat mense so min van ons dink en weet. Onder ons eie span het ek die die volgende al gehoor: “Ek weet nog nie, vra my weer oor ‘n paar jaar” “hy werk baie hard” “Nee, ek weet nie, al wat ek weet is dat dit baie lank vat om een te word.” Die gevolgtrekking uit my navorsing, is dat ons dalk maar soos daardie mense by die verkeersligte, pamflette moet uitdeel, met ‘n tietel soos “Tien dinge wat jy behoort te weet oor ‘n aktuaris.” Laat ek julle gou vertel wat ek weet. ‘n Aktuaris is ‘n ou wat premies van polisse bereken, JOU lewensverwagting bepaal en baie geld verdien! Van my kant af, baie sterkte daar is al baie voor ons daardeur. “Rough paths often lead to desirable destinations”

-Divan vd Watt

The joke warehouse Stelling: 4 = 5 Bewys: -20 = -20 16-36 = 25-45 42 – (9 x 4) = 52 - (9 x 5) 42 – (9 x 4) + 81/4 = 52 - (9 x 5) + 81/4 (4 – 9/2)2 = (5 - 9/2)2

4 – 9/2 = 5 – 9/2 4 = 5 How to refrigerate elephants Number Theory:

1. First factorize, second multiply 2. Use induction. You can always squeeze a bit more in.

Algebra

1. Step1. Show that the parts of it fit into the refrigerator. Step 2. Show that the refrigerator, is closed under addition.

2. Take the appropriate universal refrigerator and get a surjection from refrigerator to elephant. Topology:

1. Have it swallow the refrigerator and turn inside out. 2. Make a refrigerator with the Klien Bottle. 3. The elephant is homeomorphic to a smaller elephant. 4. The elephant is compact, so it can be put into a finite collection of refrigerators. That’s usually

good enough.

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Linear algebra

1. Put just its basis down and span it in the refrigerator. 2. Show that 1% of the elephant will fit inside the refrigerator. By linearity, x% will fit for any x.

Numerical Analysis

1. Put just its trunk and refer the rest to the error term. 2. Work it out using the Pentium

Statistics:

1. Bright statistician: Put its tail in as a sample and say “Done!” 2. Dull statistician: Repeat the experiment pushing the elephant to the refrigerator. 3. Our new study shows that you CAN’T put the elephant in the refrigerator.

An actuary is in a bar when a woman ask for his phone number. He stops to think for a moment and then replies, “I’m sorry, I’ve seen so many numbers today. I just can’t remember the exact number, but I can probably estimate it to within 10%.” Sêgoed vir elke geleentheid ‘n Gevolgtrekking is die punt waar jy moeg raak vir dink. As jy nie die eerste keer geslaag het nie, vernietig alle bewyse dat jy probeer het. Drank is nie ‘n oplossing nie, maar dit help. Ondervinding is iets wat jy eers kry nadat jy dit nodig het. Almal kry die voorreg om onnosel te wees, net jammer party maak misbruik daarvan. Armoede is nie ‘n skande nie, dis net vreeslik ongerieflik. As jy vir jouself kan lag, dan het jy altyd iets om oor te lag. Universiteit: R300 per handboek, R8000 om te bewys jy’t dit gelees.

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A Story about infinity A very large mathematical convention was held in Las Vegas. The convertioneers filled two hotels, each with an infinite number of rooms. The hotels were across the street from each other and were owned by brothers. One evening, while everyone was out at a barbeque, one of the hotels burned to the ground. The brothers got together and worked out a plan. In the remaining hotel, they moved all guests to twice their room number – room 101 moved to 202, room 1234 moved to room 2468, etc. Then all the odd number rooms were empty, and there were an infinite number of odd rooms. So the guests from the other hotel moved into them. The CEO of an insurance company loses his Chief Actuary and hires a firm of headhunters to find a new one. After a while they contact him to say they have five candidates to interview. To their surprise he asks if any of them has only one arm. After checking the files they indeed find one who has only one arm. The CEO immediately says, “ok I’ll take him.” When asked why, the CEO replies “I want an actuary who can make a decision. I’m

fed up with actuaries who keep saying “but on the other hand…” Hoesstroop in die konsistorie Op ‘n plattelandse dorp waar die inwoners hoofsaaklik Afrikaans magtig is en gedurende ‘n wintermaand toe verkoue erg in die omloop was, was die predikant baie omgekrap dat sy aandag gedurende eredienste onderbreek word deur gemeentelede se hoesbuie. Hy bespreek toe die probleem om ‘n oplossing te vind met sy koster wat Engelssprekend is. Die koster gaan koop toe ‘n groot bottel hoesstroop by die apteek. Die volgende Sondag as iemand hoes, staan die koster op en gaan gee vir die persoon ‘n lepel hoesstroop in en sê vir hom iets in sy oor waarna die persoon opstaan en uit loop. So hou dit aan en die kerk is later byna leeg. Na die diens vra die dominee vir die koster wat hy dan vir die mense gesê het dat hy later vir ‘n byna leë kerk moes preek. Die koster sê hy net vir hulle gesê, “For cough”.

??? PROOF OR SPOOF ???

Appearances may be deceiving. Spot the mistakes in the arguments below. Presented by Otto Beyer

Email: otto.beyer@up.ac.za

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A Crocodile is longer than it is wide

Prove that the crocodile is longer than it is wide. Lemma 1. The crocodile is longer than it is green: Let's look at the crocodile. It is long on the top and on the bottom, but it is green only on the top. Therefore, the crocodile is longer than it is green. Lemma 2. The crocodile is greener than it is wide: Let's look at the crocodile. It is green along its length and width, but it is wide only along its width. Therefore, the crocodile is greener than it is wide. Using Lemma 1 and Lemma 2 Since the crocodile is longer than it is green and greener than it is wide, we conclude that the crocodile is longer than it is wide.

Do you want to fail your actuarial exam? Here are 10 ways how…do it with style!

1. Bring a pillow. Fall asleep (or pretend to) until the 10 minute warning is called. Wake up, scream "oh geez, better get cracking" and do some gibberish work. Turn it in a few minutes early.

2. Get a copy of the exam, run out screaming "Andre, Andre, I've got those secret documents!!"

3. Respond to the written-answer questions in limerick form. ("There once was a trend factor from Cork....")

4. Make paper airplanes out of the examination paper. Aim them at the proctor's right nostril.

5. Talk the entire way through the exam. Debate your answers with yourself out loud, read questions out loud. If asked to stop, yell out, "I'm SOOO sure you can hear me thinking." Then start talking about what a jerk the proctor is.

6. Bring cheerleaders, to lighten things up. 7. Walk in, get the exam, sit down. About three minutes into it, run out, screaming, "I

can't take the stress anymore!" 8. Bring a Game Boy. Play with the volume at max level. 9. On the written answer questions find an interesting way to refuse to answer every

question. For example: "I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it conflicts with my religious beliefs."

10. Bring your pets.

-Divan van der Watt

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Opedag Avontuur Die Universiteit het op Saterdag, 15 Mei 2004, besluit dat dit tyd is vir nuwe gesiggies op kampus. Duisende voornemende studente het opgedaag om te kyk hoe hulle hul toekoms kan konstrueer. Wat die rede vir die springkastele op die Aula se gras was, is effens onduidelik, maar nietemin het die voornemende studente dit baie geniet. Die Departement van Versekerings- en Aktuariële Wetenskap het ook hul eie stalletjie gehad. Meeste van die personeel was vriendelik verplig om “shocking” lemmetjie-groen T-hemde te dra, waarna ‘n paar gesweer het dat dit ‘n gymhempie gaan word en nie weer in die openbaar daarmee sal verskyn nie. ‘n Paar mense (oftewel gesinne) het die stalletjie besoek

en onder meer gevra: ‘Wat is ‘n Aktuaris?’, ‘Is die kursus moeilik?’ (…wat dink jy????), ‘Wat behels dit?’. Alhoewel dit voorgekom het asof die Ma’s eerder hulle huiswerk oor die kursus gedoen het, was daar tog ‘n paar van die mense wat regtig die basiese eienskappe van ‘n tipiese aktuariële-student besit het (ons sal nie verder uitbrei nie…). ‘n Ma van een van die

voornemende studente het selfs Huis Aktua se webwerf besoek en aangeneem dat Huis Aktua ‘n

koshuis is waarin al die Aktuariële-studente woon. Kan jy jou voorstel, ‘n koshuis vol aktuariële studente… Die tutors het ook gesig gewys by die stalletjie. Bennie het baie dramaties en met groot opgewondenheid die

voornemende studente oortuig om die kursus te volg. Hy het dit na baie opwinding en pret laat klink. Petrus het hulle met ‘n baie neutrale antwoord gelaat, wat hulle eintlik maar nog steeds laat wonder het. Sodra na Dietmar se besondere weergawe oor die kursus gevra is, was daar onmiddelik besluit dat hierdie kursus nie vir hulle is nie. Die mense kon die wit papier voetspore, “Handmade by Jan-Harm”, volg na die Wiskunde-gebou waar Prof. Ströh en Johan Sauer ‘n praatjie oor die kursus gelewer het. Dit was nie seker of die voetspore mensvoete of volstruispote was nie…

Die opedag was ‘n reuse sukses en ons sien daarna uit om die nuwe jong bloedjies te ontmoet wat bereid is om hul sosiale lewe op te offer vir die Departement Versekerings- en Aktuariële Wetenskap!

-Marguerite Fevier

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UIT AGIE SE MAGIE Eerstejaars

Ek het onlangs gewonder hoekom aktuariële eerstejaars verpligte taalmodules moet doen... Na 'n nie so tros-steekproef nie, het ek gesien die standaardafwyking in normale taalgebruik nogal groot is by ons tutors en lektore! Om mee te begin wil ek net graag seker maak, dis nou by stats, of ? nou 'theeta', 'thetta' of 'nul' is? Verder wil ek my Calculus tutor net daarvan bewus maak dat hy nie al sy E's met e'e hoef te vervang nie, veral nie as die tutorklas nog nie eers die verskil tussen daai e’s en d’s onder die knieg het nie! Die een dag, tydens ‘n opwindende modelleringklas, val dit my toe by of Einstein nie dalk saam met ons die taalmodules kon loop nie, want dan sou die modellering dalk heelwat beter gegaan het.

Nog 'n rede vir die taalmodules kan wees dat hulle aan ons ook 'n bietjie lewendiger klasse wil verskaf. As dit nie vir daai wiskundegrappies en die AFR lektore was nie, was die laaste semester se klasse seker so droog soos EBIT socials! Laastens wil ek ook net graag ons engelse statsklas herrinner aan die feit dat as a = b impliseer dit ook dat b = a. En nee, WST111 student, ons almal wil nie graag wèèr alles verduidelik hê nie, en onthou nou, dis nie vlerkies (“<<”) of golfies (“˜”) nie. Miskien sal 'n núwe vak soos Algemene Terminologie ook handig wees, miskien sal almal dan weet wat `n 'monkey puzzle' is! Sterkte eerstejaars, en hou moed, na hierdie jaar is die taalmodules en rekenaargeletterdheid iets van die verlede!

Tweedejaars: Hy sit en staar, almal wag in spanning vir die antwoord. Ewe skielik lag hy en sê: ”‘n Mens wonder soms hoe onbenullig so ‘n dubbelintegraal nou kan wees as hulle vanmiddag koedoes op ons wildsplaas aflaai!”. En wie kan nou ooit CLAUDETTE SE STELLING vergeet? Ons sal liewers nie vir haar sê dat ons hom nie gebruik het nie! “Kom nou, dink net biejite hieroor! Vergeet nou van die goed wat julle van di web afgetrek het en dink net bietjie hieroor. Begin en probeer self, skryf tog net iets!” Hoe het “iemand” nie gewonder: hoekom die klas so lag oor die einste gamma kappa verdeling nie (dit val mos glad nie snaaks op die oor nie), en toe moet sy al weer vra vir ons aandag, kom nou mense, gee tog nou julle aandag! Die kappa kappie tilda is amper erger! Meeste mense het miskien al gewonder oor die een: Dit is nogal snaaks, want almal vra of daar iets is, wie weet nou? Maar hulle het ons almal verras, en dit vir omtrent twee weke weggesteek, maar nou is dit uit. Hoe oulik, hoe verlief, hoe lank en hoe kort? Ek wonder wie hulle betrap het, nogal in die IAS221 klas. Nou kry ons selfs “free entertainment”! Vra maar die ouer geslag in die klas. Wil nogal voorkom of jaloesie ‘n draai daar gemaak het… And who will ever forget THE outburst? “I can’t listen to two people at once! @#$%&* … will you keep quiet! And I also wanted to say: $@# is not a spectators sport!!!.” Is there a cure for Tourette-syndrome…? EK dink ons almal voel dieselfde oor Potch, hoe sleg is dit nie dat ‘n mens ‘n jaar daar swot, en dan in Pretoria kom en dan omtrent alles moet oordoen nie! Die arme Hoërskool Potch, ons het simpatie met hulle. (W)

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Het jy geweet…? Deesdae moet jy jou studentenommer wegsteek soos koekies van ‘n koshuisstudent af! As jy nie pasop nie, dan word jy deel van ‘n EXCEL-spreadsheet waar almal se punte met mekaar vergelyk word en dan grafies voorgestel word. Die MTN-“hotline” {vir eksamenpunte} was seker witwarm gebel! Asof ons nie GENOEG leerwerk het nie, wie wil nou almal se studentenommers memoriseer…? Guys, REALLY!! Ladies’ bathrooms does not differ that much from the men’s!! There are really more interesting places to take photos. Ons wil net al ons informante bedank vir die brokkies nuus wat aangedra is. Geen navrae mag gedoen word omtrent die informante se identiteite nie. Derdejaars “Wat is die vrystellingspunt vir hierdie vak?” “Moet ons hierdie stelling kan bewys in die eksamen?” “Kan ons nie asseblief die 7h30 WST-lesing skuif nie?!” ‘n Paar tipiese vrae wat jy dikwels by Fin Wisk III-studente sal hoor. ‘n Mens moet egter byvoeg dat die 7h30-klasbywoning hierdie semester besonder goed is! Maar akademie is nie al wat aandag geniet nie – hiervan sal die heelwat “wiskunde-romanse” wat al in die klas ontwikkel het, getuig. As ???

en ??? nie vir foto’s in Kampus-Beeld poseer nie, is hulle besig om deel te neem aan Ford se soen-kompetisie in die Piazza! Die liefde blom, maar julle moenie van die akademie vergeet nie! ??? het defnitief sy prioriteite reg – as sy meisie hom wil sien, moet sy maar saam met hom klas bywoon en maak asof sy in die finansiële wiskunde belangstel. Die sowat 100 studente, Afrikaans en Engels gekombineer, stap al ‘n lang pad saam en hopelik kan almal in April 2005 hul toga’s aantrek en spog met ‘n graad agter hul naam!

Honours Perhaps it is time that a certain group of our honours students discovered that a trip to Go ld Reef City is more than the ultimate gambling experience. There are other things to keep yourself busy with you know, things such as roller coaster rides? Perhaps they are avoiding such dangerous activities in the hope to keep their life insurance premiums low. Besides isn’t it ironic that people who passed mathematical statistics 3 are gambling? Good luck to all the Subject 301 (BNG 700) candidates. Don’t feel pressured guys just remember, it’s not the exemption that matters, it’s more a question of simply passing and not spending another year in actuarial honours…no pressure. (With all the spare time you’ve got, why not finish your project at the same time…great fun) What do the following TV show, movie and song titles have in common? “Big Brother Aktua” “Hartebeest Laan” “Ek het ‘n huisie by LC’ “The Love Shack” “The Brainy Bunch” Rumours, rumours, rumours… Beware of the Mathematics of Finance action cricket team…especially those members who are fluent in sign language… First Year: “Attend lectures and practical sessions religiously. Believe everything the lecturer says.”

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Second Year: “ Attend lectures and practical sessions fairly often. Don’t always believe the lecturer.” Third Year: “Never attend lectures or practical sessions. Think the lecturer doesn’t know a thing.” Honours Year: “You are the lecturer in charge of the lecture or practical session.” Seems working for the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Insurance- and Actuarial Science is high fashion. Who are the following people? Thinks he is a pimp, dresses and drives accordingly? He runs around in medical rep clothing? This individual has a special lecturer’s “brown jersey”, fashions a tie every now and again, and prefers to run everywhere. Walking slowly is for sissies. I guess some people find out the hard way that car doors don’t swing 180 degrees? “Ag êk slaap so min want êk social te veel.”? “Dis soos great dude.”? “Watter stunning outfit gaan ek vandag aantrek?” Big Brother Aktua house mate? “Gaan groot of gaan huis toe. Ag ek het net bietjie verslaap… al weer”?

Kommentaar, Kritiek, Voorstelle

Hierdie uitgawe van The Actuarial Times is saamgestel deur Aktua se komitee. Hulle is Johan Sauer, Marguerite Fevier, Divan vd Watt, Regard Budler en ons voorsitter Trecia Vermeulen. You are always more than welcome to give suggestions and recommendations for social events or anything that you would like us to do. Aktua is there for you, and we would like to hear from you! Write to us and put your letter into the post box at the office of The Department Insurance and Actuarial Sciences in the mathematics building. We appreciate your continued support. The Aktua Committee.