Comments on: Real Education http://www.educatednation.com/2008/10/09/real-education/ A higher education blog about news, humor, advice, and opinion on education, college degrees, university life and careers. Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:03:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Mean Time to Comprehension « Simple Country Physicist http://www.educatednation.com/2008/10/09/real-education/comment-page-1/#comment-124869 Mean Time to Comprehension « Simple Country Physicist Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:36:41 +0000 http://www.educatednation.com/2008/10/09/real-education/#comment-124869 [...] I have had occasion recently to consider this since the matter of how long it takes to become comfortable with an idea has been thrust into my consciousness. The seed of this was Alexa Harrington’s discussion of an interview with Charles Murray. [Link] I have to admit to never having heard of this fellow before and the details of the blot revealed that I was fortunate not to have. If this man is an educator then there is scant surprise that education is in sad straits in our Yankee republic. [...] [...] I have had occasion recently to consider this since the matter of how long it takes to become comfortable with an idea has been thrust into my consciousness. The seed of this was Alexa Harrington’s discussion of an interview with Charles Murray. [Link] I have to admit to never having heard of this fellow before and the details of the blot revealed that I was fortunate not to have. If this man is an educator then there is scant surprise that education is in sad straits in our Yankee republic. [...]

]]> By: Nanette http://www.educatednation.com/2008/10/09/real-education/comment-page-1/#comment-124866 Nanette Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:55:26 +0000 http://www.educatednation.com/2008/10/09/real-education/#comment-124866 Thank you. Seriously, the philosophy of your educational institution is a major part of how and what you learn at that institution. No matter what your I.Q., it is the decision you make to attend college, the effort you put into your curriculum, and the people who nurture and support you in your academic career which influences the type of professional you become in the working world. Thank you. Seriously, the philosophy of your educational institution is a major part of how and what you learn at that institution. No matter what your I.Q., it is the decision you make to attend college, the effort you put into your curriculum, and the people who nurture and support you in your academic career which influences the type of professional you become in the working world.

]]> By: Simple Country Physicist http://www.educatednation.com/2008/10/09/real-education/comment-page-1/#comment-124861 Simple Country Physicist Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:01:41 +0000 http://www.educatednation.com/2008/10/09/real-education/#comment-124861 Laughter is often the only means of making some hideous aspect of reality digestible. Sadly this is one that arises from ignorance. Let us take some task and set a large number of people to doing this in such a manner that we may measure how long it takes them to accomplish the task. We do require them to finish the task no matter how long it may take. We find that we end up with some distribution of times, which may under some circumstances be a Gaussian. Now let us repeat the experiment and after some period of time call quit. At that point some number of people will have finished the task but the number will be less than all. The structure of college imposes similar conditions. Laughter is often the only means of making some hideous aspect of reality digestible. Sadly this is one that arises from ignorance.

Let us take some task and set a large number of people to doing this in such a manner that we may measure how long it takes them to accomplish the task. We do require them to finish the task no matter how long it may take. We find that we end up with some distribution of times, which may under some circumstances be a Gaussian.

Now let us repeat the experiment and after some period of time call quit. At that point some number of people will have finished the task but the number will be less than all.

The structure of college imposes similar conditions.

]]> By: Erik http://www.educatednation.com/2008/10/09/real-education/comment-page-1/#comment-124859 Erik Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:55:24 +0000 http://www.educatednation.com/2008/10/09/real-education/#comment-124859 That's just priceless. I don't like manual labor. I'm glad someone was kind enough to give an average kid like me a shot at college. Oh, the world of work out there, my butt! I'll go ahead and learn despite this jackhole's attempt to say I'm incapable of it. That’s just priceless. I don’t like manual labor. I’m glad someone was kind enough to give an average kid like me a shot at college. Oh, the world of work out there, my butt! I’ll go ahead and learn despite this jackhole’s attempt to say I’m incapable of it.

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