Some people are indeed predisposed to be good at certain subjects. Whether these is a function of nature (genetically inclinde for math!) - or Nurture (Your personality just developed that way) - is up for grabs.
I, for example, am terrific at math, but pretty terrible at foreign langauges. I was off living in Germany for three years, taking classes, and talked quite often with my neighbors (who didn't speak english at all!) - but still never really got beyond what I like to call "caveman german."
Even being "not a history person" might be that way simply because you hate / are bad at rote memorization, which is all the intro courses really consist of. Normally I don't think badly of a person who claims to be bad in a single subject, so long as there IS something they're good at.
There are people who just "aren't good at school." That I dismiss as blithering idiots.
You know what's hilarious? I was talking to a hippy the other day who thought the fact that every part of a slaughtered cow ends up in some kind of consumer product was a monstrous example of corporate greed, and all I could think about was how the very same person would probably laud the Indians for doing the exact same thing.
* Using Sage/Maple/Mathematica/Wolfram Alpha to solve algebra and calculus problems.
A good portion of my Differential Equations class involved using how to learn Maple to solve Differential Equations. We didn't use it on tests of course, but they're valuable tools.
In an Engineering Statistics class, we used Excel's Data Analysis toolpack on tests, because "you're all Engineering and Computer Science students, this is what you're going to be doing in the real world, so I'm testing you on your ability to do it."
* driving a car in gym class instead of running?
I actually drive to the Gym, but feel a little silly for doing so. I switch off to Biking there during the summer months, for what that's worth.
* hiring a carpenter instead of doing the work in shop class?
I'll be paying carpenters to do almost all of the carpentry work I need done in the real world. They'll be paying me for all of the Electrical Engineering work they need done. Specialization of labor is a beautiful thing.
That which you cannot spell, you may not be able to read.
Employers should use literacy tests to sort wheat from chaff.
Learn how to use the goddamn tools available to you, like quote tags. You don't even need to write them yourself, you can just press the little "Quote Parent" button.
Seriously, calculator use in Canadian schools is at least common as it is in the US, and they're outperforming the US alongside Japan and Korea. Think about what you say before you say it.
I suppose you had to walk uphill to school in the snow every day barefoot, too. It made you stronger and healthier, kids these days don't know how good they have it. I would expect/. at least to have less technophobia than this, realize that spell check is a tool that is going to be useful in our daily lives, and rote memorization of just about anything is becoming more and more ridiculous.
Honestly, math students have been using calculators on exams for years now, and that's turned out well.
Forcing students to memorize the proper spelling of words is often ineffective, and teaching students to use the goddamn spellcheck would prevent far more errors.
Then our profile of an "average" person is someone who has never seen the inside of a gym. I only work around twice a week these days, and can still crank out 100+ push-ups (in sets of ~40, not all at once) if I have to.
Much like GP, my BMI is just edging into the "overweight" category at 6'2" and 200 lbs.
The Post-9/11 G.I. bill (which went into effect around 2008, same time I was leaving the military) - no longer requires soldiers to have money deducted from their pay.
You get tuition completely paid for, a living allowance equivalent to an E-5 with dependents, and yearly allowance for books. Money's still pretty tight, but I'm successfully going to school entirely on the GI bill.
Is an unfertilized egg cell accorded the rights of a person? A Sperm Cell? A clump of combined cells immediately after conception that could never survive on its own? An Embryo that could survive on its own outside the mother, even if it's nowhere close to being born?
Pre 9-11 security measures were a hassle too, but they were nowhere near what we go through now, and you've successfully made the case that they're worthwhile.
The additional measures put in place since then aren't much more effective (if at all?) and put us non-terrorist-hijackers through far too much. Especially since, as people have pointed out elsewhere in this thread, no-one wanting to cause mass damage or hysteria would bother blowing up a plane when you can just waltz into a crowded subway or sports game with a bomb.
Hell, you could probably wear a maintenance uniform and set up an explosive device in the middle of times square, and people wouldn't bat an eye.
Y'know, if we hired a little kid to start throwing rocks through windows all over the city, so many that we'd have to open another glass production plant to meet up with the demand for new windows, we'd also help the economy. Especially if we built it here in America.
Slashdot Mirror
if it fails in a way that you never thought possible, how would you write an error message that describes the failure?
This thread made me smile. I love you both.
Some people are indeed predisposed to be good at certain subjects. Whether these is a function of nature (genetically inclinde for math!) - or Nurture (Your personality just developed that way) - is up for grabs.
I, for example, am terrific at math, but pretty terrible at foreign langauges. I was off living in Germany for three years, taking classes, and talked quite often with my neighbors (who didn't speak english at all!) - but still never really got beyond what I like to call "caveman german."
Even being "not a history person" might be that way simply because you hate / are bad at rote memorization, which is all the intro courses really consist of. Normally I don't think badly of a person who claims to be bad in a single subject, so long as there IS something they're good at.
There are people who just "aren't good at school." That I dismiss as blithering idiots.
You know what's hilarious? I was talking to a hippy the other day who thought the fact that every part of a slaughtered cow ends up in some kind of consumer product was a monstrous example of corporate greed, and all I could think about was how the very same person would probably laud the Indians for doing the exact same thing.
Obviously, learning how to use the goddamn quote parent button involves learning how to delete stuff you don't want to include.
I'm telling people to learn how to use the goddamn tools available to you, not just press buttons and hope it magically works out.
* Using Sage/Maple/Mathematica/Wolfram Alpha to solve algebra and calculus problems.
A good portion of my Differential Equations class involved using how to learn Maple to solve Differential Equations. We didn't use it on tests of course, but they're valuable tools.
In an Engineering Statistics class, we used Excel's Data Analysis toolpack on tests, because "you're all Engineering and Computer Science students, this is what you're going to be doing in the real world, so I'm testing you on your ability to do it."
* driving a car in gym class instead of running?
I actually drive to the Gym, but feel a little silly for doing so. I switch off to Biking there during the summer months, for what that's worth.
* hiring a carpenter instead of doing the work in shop class?
I'll be paying carpenters to do almost all of the carpentry work I need done in the real world. They'll be paying me for all of the Electrical Engineering work they need done. Specialization of labor is a beautiful thing.
That's what calculators are for.
That which you cannot spell, you may not be able to read.
Employers should use literacy tests to sort wheat from chaff.
Learn how to use the goddamn tools available to you, like quote tags. You don't even need to write them yourself, you can just press the little "Quote Parent" button.
Except that has nothing to do with calculator use
Seriously, calculator use in Canadian schools is at least common as it is in the US, and they're outperforming the US alongside Japan and Korea. Think about what you say before you say it.
I suppose you had to walk uphill to school in the snow every day barefoot, too. It made you stronger and healthier, kids these days don't know how good they have it. I would expect /. at least to have less technophobia than this, realize that spell check is a tool that is going to be useful in our daily lives, and rote memorization of just about anything is becoming more and more ridiculous.
Honestly, math students have been using calculators on exams for years now, and that's turned out well.
Forcing students to memorize the proper spelling of words is often ineffective, and teaching students to use the goddamn spellcheck would prevent far more errors.
So is this one
but in /. posting xkcd links automatically overcomes the filter.
I have some shocking things to tell you about what your wife and her friends did in college...
God, that thing looks like it's going to be used to power ARCHIMEDES II
Then our profile of an "average" person is someone who has never seen the inside of a gym. I only work around twice a week these days, and can still crank out 100+ push-ups (in sets of ~40, not all at once) if I have to.
Much like GP, my BMI is just edging into the "overweight" category at 6'2" and 200 lbs.
Dude, fix your font.
Did some checking, both are acceptable, it all depends on what the intended pronounciation is.
I.E. if you want people to read that and say "anonymouses" then write your version.
On most of the sources I've read, the warrant specifically includes a rape charge.
How that's justified and why different sources say different things for what should be one easily readable document is beyond me.
Well played, Sir Troll.
The Post-9/11 G.I. bill (which went into effect around 2008, same time I was leaving the military) - no longer requires soldiers to have money deducted from their pay.
You get tuition completely paid for, a living allowance equivalent to an E-5 with dependents, and yearly allowance for books. Money's still pretty tight, but I'm successfully going to school entirely on the GI bill.
Is an unfertilized egg cell accorded the rights of a person? A Sperm Cell? A clump of combined cells immediately after conception that could never survive on its own? An Embryo that could survive on its own outside the mother, even if it's nowhere close to being born?
All the insightful things I might have said in response to your own post have already been said by other posters, and I'm genuinely curious about it.
Asshole.
why did you choose the name "Sumdumass?"
It seems very self-deprecating.
Pre 9-11 security measures were a hassle too, but they were nowhere near what we go through now, and you've successfully made the case that they're worthwhile.
The additional measures put in place since then aren't much more effective (if at all?) and put us non-terrorist-hijackers through far too much. Especially since, as people have pointed out elsewhere in this thread, no-one wanting to cause mass damage or hysteria would bother blowing up a plane when you can just waltz into a crowded subway or sports game with a bomb.
Hell, you could probably wear a maintenance uniform and set up an explosive device in the middle of times square, and people wouldn't bat an eye.
Y'know, if we hired a little kid to start throwing rocks through windows all over the city, so many that we'd have to open another glass production plant to meet up with the demand for new windows, we'd also help the economy. Especially if we built it here in America.