Mon Jan 28 07:14:30 2002

i can't even bring myself to do more than skim most of it... jeez.

now, i'm not one with a particularly high opinion of higher education... but the first few times i looked at that thread, i figured it was for, say, sophmore year highschool stuff. then i check the profile, and read the thread a bit more closely, and realize it's a 21 year old college student :eek:

idiot raver. :p

Mon Jan 28 08:28:04 2002

Mon Jan 28 08:53:23 2002

Mon Jan 28 09:29:12 2002

With a bit of help I got pretty good at it, and by the end of the year I was rather good at it. Good enough to get a 5 on the AP test, carried by my essay, since my multiple guess portion sucked. Then I promptly forgot everything I learned over the summer.

What's the point of this story? Well I guess its that the majority of public high school english teachers suck hardcore, and if you actually learned something, consider yourself lucky.

Mon Jan 28 12:45:59 2002

Double spaced, 12pt font, extra carriage return for new paragraphs. Oh and you have to hand in a two page paper.
:rolleyes:

Whata load of fucking crock.

For ONE OF MY A'level physics papers I had to write a 10,000 word essay about the properties of transistors and how it works.
Single spaced and no extra lines for new paragraphs. This was not including the bibliography. And this was for ONE A'level class only! In our senior year we had to take 3! Imagine the hell i had for my Biology A level class. :tongue:

So for me US College was a joke till about the third year.

You americans are such a bunch of spoilt little pansies. 5 percent of the world's population and consuming 50% of the world's resources and the greatest number of obese people then any other country.

Its kinda sad that to most of the world american kids are considered the worse of the lot. The american kids in my highschool were always made fun of as being mentally retarded. Infact the american highschools in HK were considered the dumbest schools. Not only by peers but by the the education dept. who tested students in various HK schools to determine the quality of education. US schools were 2 years behind the ESF schools. ESF == English School Foundation == England schooling system.

thats why if i ever have kids I don't plan on ever raising them in the US.

Canada and Australia maybe because they have some of the best schools, or ESF schools.

Mon Jan 28 14:04:12 2002

You americans are such a bunch of spoilt little pansies. 5 percent of the world's population and consuming 50% of the world's resources and the greatest number of obese people then any other country.

Not our fault that people in third world countries let their semi-legitimate governments opress them and sell off their countries' resources to the US for their own personal gain. ;)

The US may use up a disproportionate amount of world resources, but I imagine they lead the world in such things as:

1)Charitable donations to other nations
2)Government aid to other nations
3)Military bailout/peacekeeping
4)Medical Technology (which we spend Billions developing and give away for practically nothing)
5)Taking in refugees and illegals

We aren't all bad...

yeah, I'd like to see us be a little more effiecient with things like Fossil Fuels, but you won't see America see an adjustment until the market pushes us there.

We use a lot of Gasoline as 60mile+ commutes every day are not uncommon.

Our Public Transportation is lacking as it is not feasable in many areas.

SUV's

Its kinda sad that to most of the world american kids are considered the worse of the lot. The american kids in my highschool were always made fun of as being mentally retarded. Infact the american highschools in HK were considered the dumbest schools. Not only by peers but by the the education dept. who tested students in various HK schools to determine the quality of education. US schools were 2 years behind the ESF schools. ESF == English School Foundation == England schooling system

I think our educational problem is many-faceted in nature.  Some people feel it is more nescessary to make sure kindergartners and first graders are more comfortable with their sexuality and understanding of the ways of squirrels than to develop good math and writing skills

Kids watch too much TV and play too many games

Some parents are dispondent and couldn't give a flick about what their kids do.

Kids aren't challenged enough early enough in thier scholasic development.

You have idiots like that "no homework" idiot from Half-Moon Bay California.  Yes!  Lets make sure all kids are equally stupid in order to repair racial disparagement!

We're spending millions on buying the kids of old-money prepies toys with which to watch pr0n.

McDonalds.

Mon Jan 28 14:24:12 2002

For instance, AYB's very own Wisconsin is ranked #1 out of 26 states that use the ACT.  Wisconsin usually is near the top.

Other states don't fair as well.

This makes sense as individual states are responsible for their own education with the assistance of Federal Money, but not regulation.

Mon Jan 28 15:03:12 2002

And who's this 'jasonfromwisonsin' that the author refers to?  :tongue:

"If your so genious lets see some examples of your work."  Oh no!  It's the APK defense!!!!

BTW, AYB, in your last post I think you wanted to use "disparity" instead of "disparagement" and "fare" instead of "fair."  Just speaking from an educational standpoint, mind you. ;)

I, too, cannot tolerate bad writing, particularly when it comes to technical writing.  In college, back when computers weren't so commonplace and I was one of the few in my dorm with one, I made some extra cabbage by typing and printing papers.  I've seen some bad work, but none so bad as those from the football team.

Sentence fragments?  I'll show you sentence fragments!  Hell, some of these guys couldn't put together a coherent sentence if you handed them a noun and a verb.  :angryfire:

Back in school, we had teachers who would rip into your paper (and rightfully so) if it was written poorly even if the subject contents were spot on.  I mean, these things go hand in hand; why else to so many employers insist on "excellent written skills"????  If teachers today are NOT upholding this standard any longer, then some educators need a good smacking.

Mon Jan 28 16:04:31 2002

And who's this 'jasonfromwisonsin' that the author refers to?  

I'm wondering that as well.  There aint anyone in this van except for me. :)

BTW, AYB, in your last post I think you wanted to use "disparity" instead of "disparagement" and "fare" instead of "fair."  Just speaking from an educational standpoint, mind you.  

My first drafts of things are never too spectacular, My first revisions are twice as good, but still not great.

It takes me four or five proofreads to get stuff right.  But it's only an internet forum and since I have no honor, why bother with the spellcheck no?

:)

Mon Jan 28 16:08:29 2002

[url=http://www.overclockers.com/articles187/]http://www.overclockers.com/articles187/[/url]
EEehehehehehe.

(Edited by HitScan at 8:09 am on Jan. 28, 2002)

Mon Jan 28 16:11:28 2002

Mon Jan 28 16:29:20 2002

kinda in a pissy mood.

Mon Jan 28 16:58:31 2002

i was just ranting about the whole US thing.

kinda in a pissy mood.

Mon Jan 28 18:34:46 2002

I wasn't cross or anything.

Those were just some points I are wanting to make.

:)

Mon Jan 28 21:13:50 2002

Mon Jan 28 21:30:18 2002

I like how the subpar-intellect Anandtech folks thought it was good.

Hey now, not everyone at BannedTech is an utter ignoramus.

Incidentally, RQE: how do you like your new custom title, suggested by yours truly?

Mon Jan 28 22:04:26 2002

But, it looks like "THE FIRST CAPTAIN CAPTAIN."

I was also a) the first registered here and b) the first poster.

Mon Jan 28 22:42:39 2002

It makes me want your jism.

Not gonna happen. Ever.

Mon Jan 28 22:59:53 2002

from Imitation Gruel posted at 5:42 pm on Jan. 28, 2002

It makes me want your jism.

Not gonna happen. Ever.

But DrPizza would gladly stand in your stead, no doubt. ;)

AYB:

I'm wondering that as well.  There aint anyone in this van except for me.  

I'm sure that little gaffe of his reflects on his current level of reading comprehension...

Mon Jan 28 23:06:01 2002

Ummm, if you're begging for help at 1:30AM on a paper due in 6/5 hours, then you're probably not going to end up with a good product.  Stick to frying burgers.

And why did everyone (well, not really) at Ars flame him and people at AT praised him and didn't offer many changes...?  I think that speaks to the level of knowledgable participants at the respective fora...  Just something to think about!

Mon Jan 28 23:53:48 2002

On the other hand valuing intelligence can be just shallow as valuing looks. Though you can improve your intelligence, some people are born less likely to be able comprehend complex ideas. I know people that aren't that smart that are successfull and make plenty of money. They can use their charisma to become great salespeople ect. I think they would have a much harder time living in a place like HK or Japan, where they would be crushed at an early age by a competitive educational atmosphere.

Also that whole "50%  of the worlds resources" thing  is very misleading. 50%  of what? Natural resources? Manufactured goods? What do we do with these resources? How exactally do we "consume" them? By adding value to them through manufacturing and creating wealth? By creating international trade and furthering the worlds economy?

Tue Jan 29 01:08:23 2002

On the other hand valuing intelligence can be just shallow as valuing looks.

But you're right. It can be overvalued, but that certainly isn't an affliction we (the US) can claim :rolleyes:

Tue Jan 29 04:53:02 2002

Tue Jan 29 08:47:19 2002

Hitscan i wasn't saying 'sorry' I was just pointing out that my sudden rant was because I was in a pissy mood. ;)

On the other hand valuing intelligence can be just shallow as valuing looks.

Though you can improve your intelligence, some people are born less likely to be able comprehend complex ideas.

I know people that aren't that smart that are successfull and make plenty of money. They can use their charisma to become great salespeople ect.

I think they would have a much harder time living in a place like HK or Japan, where they would be crushed at an early age by a competitive educational atmosphere.

Thats interesting you say that. HK, Japan, Singapore have some of the highest suicide rates in the world. The problem lies in the pressure from an extremely competitive schooling system, but its not as simple as i make it sound since it involves a lot more to do with sociological issues too.

But you're right. It (intelligence) can be overvalued, but that certainly isn't an affliction we (the US) can claim

I remember a 20/20 report on the current trend of 'intelligence' pills that a lot of Americans (especially parents) are interested in. To me that is another characteristic of Americans. A solution in a pill is all you guys need.
Apparently you can go to a grocery chain store and find rows of 'brain' food that supposedly helps you think better and clearer.

I remember at college one of my roommates would goto Jamba Juice and order the drink that had essential nutrients that would make you smarter. The truly tragic part is that by the end of the college year I became the 'standard' to which a few of my friends would measure themselves against and even to their parents who got to know me. Basically it came down to whatever grades I got must have been the best in the class (which usually was the case especially as I broke the curve in quite a few classes) and if their kid's got something similar or close enough it was a good thing. It was less important that they actually got the good grades but more important they that were at least a grade below the best student.

Speaking of breaking curves. In my honors philosophy class I was such a bastard. These honors kids would study sooooo ffuuucckkking haarrdd! and sppppeeeennnnddd ssooooo muuuucch time on their essays. When we would get our grades back I would laugh at some of these kids because I would get higher grades with just a fraction of the effort. :biggrin:
Off course the pressure was on me if i was not doing to well (read: i was getting a B) in a class where my professors would approach me and tell me that they knew i was slacking off and that i should spend a little more time on my school work.
muahahahahaha!!!!

I got such an ego boost at college that in the end it fucked me up big time because i walked around like i was some intellectual super man till I failed my last semester completely. I also had a partial mental break down and attempted to kill my self twice so I left college without finishing my degree(s). Try a double minor in math and english, and a double major in philosophy and computer science. :tongue: I never really did get started on my Comp-Sci stuff, so i probably would have ended up with a minor in math and a double major in English and Philosophy.

Hmmm, the things that could have been....

Tue Jan 29 08:51:35 2002

It was very sad to many local kids take such a light load and waste so much time. The few local kids who valued their education took on full loads and usually were the ones that became good friends with the international students. Like my best friend who took on full loads every semester and worked part time too. Ah, the memories of staying up at 3 in the morning studying for our finals which we basically didn't and just ended up talking. :biggrin: I love my baby (my best friend) and misss her soooo much. <sniff> :(

Wed Jan 30 03:11:31 2002

Wed Jan 30 03:23:06 2002

I took 18 units one time but that was because two of the classes were easy ones. Even then I felt the strain because of the time I had to spend in class overall. I'd be in college by 8 in the morning and leave 7 in the evening. I was working as a tutor too.

(Edited by OscarWilde at 10:24 am on Jan. 30, 2002)

Wed Jan 30 03:38:51 2002

like OSY! :)

Wed Jan 30 03:42:34 2002

But i'd have to agree if OSY was around the time i was at college I phear I would have spent more time here and less time on my college stuff.