tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post1075599016280177581..comments2024-03-28T08:06:43.198-04:00Comments on The Silicon Graybeard: The College Problem You Haven't Heard Of SiGraybeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-29083848939843859102014-03-30T19:45:01.601-04:002014-03-30T19:45:01.601-04:00Chipmunk - Project much? No, of course we don'...Chipmunk - Project much? No, of course we don't think people without tech degrees are "worthless drags on society". I just think they overpaid for a product they'll never get their moneys' worth from. OTOH, I would never tell someone not to spend their money on whatever they want, as long as they understand. <br /><br />Saw a kid on TV the other night saying she was getting a BA in poetry. She knew it wasn't going to pay, but she loved it and didn't care if her future was to be barista - or whatever. Somebody has to get poetry degrees, so it might as well be her. More power to her. <br /><br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-90006551312678033082014-03-30T18:04:26.726-04:002014-03-30T18:04:26.726-04:00Well, rats, I missed the easy grades. I got my B.A...Well, rats, I missed the easy grades. I got my B.A. in English in 1980. It was a heck of a lot of work, and I got a number of papers back with red marks everywhere. I did, however, learn to think and to communicate for my trouble (and money).<br /><br />Oh, by the way, in case you are thinking I was a worthless drag on society because I didn't get a technical degree, I became a computer programmer after graduating.chipmunkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01341260129072773457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-28085561751184126522014-03-28T11:30:35.393-04:002014-03-28T11:30:35.393-04:00If the federal government made auto loans subsidiz...If the federal government made auto loans subsidized, guaranteed, and undischargeable by bankruptcy, a Chevy Sonic would cost $150k and you would need to show proof of new car ownership to get all but the most menial of jobs.Tamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07285540310465422476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-15454139806777172982014-03-28T00:40:22.849-04:002014-03-28T00:40:22.849-04:00Hope you feel better, SG. Hope you feel better, SG. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04245345365265060881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-1138226208614904482014-03-27T19:25:23.977-04:002014-03-27T19:25:23.977-04:00In the late 1980s, just for grins, I taught a seme...In the late 1980s, just for grins, I taught a semester (at night) of microeconomics at at local community college. Tests were multiple choice and a few short-essay questions. Grades looked like a bell curve (shocking, eh?). A few students complained about their grades, and actually had the nerve to say in so many words that the minimum grade they should receive, just for showing up every class, was a B. I said, "No." Then I got a call from the Dean, who said, "Yes." Not being a masochist, I didn't teach there again.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08015544320906146949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-51798186746072901492014-03-27T17:10:16.989-04:002014-03-27T17:10:16.989-04:00I knew they were doing some grade inflation, but I...I knew they were doing some grade inflation, but I figured they were doing more dumbing-down of the classes. My daughter is a sophomore right now. The papers they were supposed to peer review in English made my jaw drop. My daughter wrote better than the professor, who "didn't worry much about spelling or punctuation." It was a composition course, and the kids couldn't express a thought rationally. sigh<br /><br />What if you cut the Robitussin with the shot of vodka?<br /><br />When I told people I wouldn't vote for Obama and they called me a racist I said I'd vote for Walter Williams or Thomas Sowell in a heartbeat. I got a lot of blank stares.Weetabixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06106614092497408546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-90001800322474229992014-03-27T13:26:33.262-04:002014-03-27T13:26:33.262-04:00Ponderment of the morning: a mistake in surgery ca...Ponderment of the morning: a mistake in surgery can kill one person; a mistake in aeronautical engineering can kill hundreds; a mistake in civil engineering, thousands; a mistake in social engineering, millions. Which of these trades has the least rigorous academic curriculum?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-46132378891286345502014-03-27T10:32:17.322-04:002014-03-27T10:32:17.322-04:00I used to get that cold that turns into death thro...I used to get that cold that turns into death throws every winter. I'd be down 4 to 6 weeks. In 2008 I had a heart attack and have gotten a flue shot every year since. The plus side, I haven't had that cold since.<br />No proof but I think the flu shot has something to do wth it. Just say'in.GreyManhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15269452083750490841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-87095673545911720012014-03-27T10:22:48.180-04:002014-03-27T10:22:48.180-04:00My first Organic Chem midterm had a class average ...My first Organic Chem midterm had a class average in the high 20s, with the only one student scoring above 80. My score of 50 something didn't seem so bad in comparison.<br /><br />But I went to a college that started out with no grades. Pass, reduced credit, or fail are your only options at Evergreen. The science students study their asses off, the humanities students not so much (as evidenced by their frequent protests of whatever liberal cause du jour they are participating in).SordidPandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00657526230826604643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-34288265497905463672014-03-26T21:43:57.129-04:002014-03-26T21:43:57.129-04:00Peter and Murph - thanks. Pretty sure that's ...Peter and Murph - thanks. Pretty sure that's what I'm dealing with. At least last night I didn't get gurgling, bubbling sounds while breathing that woke me up every 20 minutes. The doc said he had seen three other cases Monday and Tuesday that started the same way. <br /><br />Rob - I had to take an elective class and grabbed a Materials class in the ME department. Around '86? I remember getting my first test back marked something like 70 and gulping. Then he said grades ran from 16 to 86 or something like that and I felt better. But I like that in a class: Ask no quarter. Give no quarter. <br /><br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-41483209624660211572014-03-26T21:23:19.611-04:002014-03-26T21:23:19.611-04:00I remember professors posting articles on grade in...I remember professors posting articles on grade inflation on their doors when I was in college -- in the early 1990s. Of course, this was in the electrical engineering department, and, well, the prof was making a point -- you may get a C in his class, but you EARNED it. Not like a B in the humanities courses.<br /><br />Rob Crawfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03010767328260010949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-52843096739367062462014-03-26T20:41:12.503-04:002014-03-26T20:41:12.503-04:00I'm with ya, man. Got that bronchitis here, to...I'm with ya, man. Got that bronchitis here, too. Knocking down the NyQuil at about a bottle a day and it's making me really appreciate the good old days when I could breathe AND lie down at the same time.Murphy's Lawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17164780742334950772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-27273344873232913012014-03-26T20:36:26.618-04:002014-03-26T20:36:26.618-04:00You have my sympathy on the bronchitis. That'...You have my sympathy on the bronchitis. That's exactly what happened to me. My advice, from bitter experience: TAKE IT EASY. Give yourself time to recover. I'm a month out from the worst of it, and I'm still not 100% compared to where I was. This crud is <i>nasty</i>.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10595089829300831372noreply@blogger.com