So I had a PhD interview with a very good group, and it was downright a catastrophe. I mean, questions on abstract algebra...
Surprisingly, the professor didn't flat out reject me. He offered to start with an internship, and if I can catch up with the necessary math background, then I will stay as a PhD student. Decisions...

I had only one brain cell switched on in my latest PhD interview...lets just say if FPGAs worked the way I said they did they'd be veeeeeery slow indeed

Do you feel his review was unfair and he was trying to stump the chump, or is your current knowledge legitimately insufficient?

If it's insufficient, is it worth the effort to get it up to snuff vs getting that paper?

@RememberMe My brain was off, but my clumsy charm was on 😂I honestly feel bad for getting opportunities that I don't deserve.

@SortOfTested He was very kind and fair. It's within his right to demand a certain level of math skills from candidates, and it's true that some of the work in the lab is mathematic in nature. I was wrong to prepare by going over computer vision stuff, and not review math.
I think I could have done better if I brushed up of algebra and calculus. A lot of the things I sort of know but it has been too long since I used them so it's hard to articulate an answer.
I still have a knowledge gap to bridge, which I think is feasible. But I don't know if I want to invest in it.

@NickyBones why don't you deserve the opportunities though?

Math bites again !!

@NickyBones what @iiii said. Why do you think you don't deserve stuff? The prof thinks you can do it, and they're a far better judge than you are because they're the one hiring.