[quote]mica617 wrote:
Having a degree just means that you did 3 things.
1- showed up for class
2- regurgitated information from lectures/books
3- paid your tuition
[/quote]
Gee, is that all it takes?
[quote]Professor X wrote:
mica617 wrote:
Having a degree just means that you did 3 things.
1- showed up for class
2- regurgitated information from lectures/books
3- paid your tuition
Gee, is that all it takes?
[/quote]
To get the piece of paper, yes.
Practical application of that knowlege once you get out is a different story.
[quote]mica617 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
mica617 wrote:
Having a degree just means that you did 3 things.
1- showed up for class
2- regurgitated information from lectures/books
3- paid your tuition
Gee, is that all it takes?
To get the piece of paper, yes.
Practical application of that knowlege once you get out is a different story.[/quote]
I think that may actually apply at some schools on the undergraduate level (assuming your goal was to simply pass and graduate before they kicked you out). I doubt you will get many people agreeing with that stance beyond that point. I am only saying anything at all because I hate to see people trivializing the work that actually goes into getting a degree. Assuming your grades are halfway decent, I think sleeping through shool is a bit of an exaggeration. I fucked around a lot in college, but I still had to study and avoid some parties to do it.
[quote]mica617 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
mica617 wrote:
Having a degree just means that you did 3 things.
1- showed up for class
2- regurgitated information from lectures/books
3- paid your tuition
Gee, is that all it takes?
To get the piece of paper, yes.
Practical application of that knowlege once you get out is a different story.[/quote]
I would suggest it depends on the field. In psychology, you aren’t going to get an honours degree if you can’t conduct research. No amount of going to class, regurgitating notes or paying tuition will help you out if you can’t conduct your own research.
And if it IS that easy, why did your intelligent friends fail out? I think you’d have to be pretty unintelligent to mess up a simple 3-step plan like that, don’t you?
[quote]Aleksandr wrote:
mica617 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
mica617 wrote:
Having a degree just means that you did 3 things.
1- showed up for class
2- regurgitated information from lectures/books
3- paid your tuition
Gee, is that all it takes?
To get the piece of paper, yes.
Practical application of that knowlege once you get out is a different story.
I would suggest it depends on the field. In psychology, you aren’t going to get an honours degree if you can’t conduct research. No amount of going to class, regurgitating notes or paying tuition will help you out if you can’t conduct your own research.
And if it IS that easy, why did your intelligent friends fail out? I think you’d have to be pretty unintelligent to mess up a simple 3-step plan like that, don’t you?[/quote]
Both were due to attendance policies. I know that one of them eventually came back and graduated, but I lost touch with both of them after I graduated.
Understand that I’m just talking about making the grades to graduate. I’m not discussing survival or success in the real world.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
mica617 wrote:
Professor X wrote:
mica617 wrote:
Having a degree just means that you did 3 things.
1- showed up for class
2- regurgitated information from lectures/books
3- paid your tuition
Gee, is that all it takes?
To get the piece of paper, yes.
Practical application of that knowlege once you get out is a different story.
I think that may actually apply at some schools on the undergraduate level (assuming your goal was to simply pass and graduate before they kicked you out). I doubt you will get many people agreeing with that stance beyond that point. I am only saying anything at all because I hate to see people trivializing the work that actually goes into getting a degree. Assuming your grades are halfway decent, I think sleeping through shool is a bit of an exaggeration. I fucked around a lot in college, but I still had to study and avoid some parties to do it.[/quote]
That’s kind of my point. The guy that graduated with honors that couldn’t hold an intelligent conversation with your average 6-year-old failed out of med school his first year.
My degree was one of the things that I’m most proud of. I worked my way to pay for it, studied hard (even through the parties), and generally busted my ass. That is why I’m able to put my degree to use, as I am working in the field that I studied.
Since you went to college, I’m sure you can remember many people who’s grades did NOT translate to their knowlege or work level for real world application. If not, what school did you attend, because I want to make sure that both of my children go there? Most college professors do not ensure that their students are ready for the work force. They will rarely fail a student that passes the tests, but can’t translate the knowlege to practical application. If they did fail these students, there would be lawsuits galore.
Well…there are educated idiots, and there are idiots that are all of a sudden the best RDs, RNs, and genius trainers rolled into one after reading a few abstracts on PubMed.
Education…Application…to each their own in the end.
I’ve noticed that people who don’t have degrees, tend to think that they are not important for success, and can find all kinds of examples to show their point. This also applies to certifications, those who don’t have them, think they are worthless. However, it seems to me that alot of the most brilliant minds seem to have some type of college education.
My 2 cents…
Come to think of it, I know alot of dumb, non-educated people.
I agree, as a college student myself I don’t see a whole lot of times where the professors challenge the students to think critically and/or abstractly. So much of it is just spitting back what the professor’s opinion on a subject is or just memorizing things. Thank god I’m a math major so I only have one humanities class where I have to do that. Of course, I’d imagine as you get higher up on the education ladder that changes. I hope.
[quote]lucasa wrote:
Krollmonster wrote:
This is the extreme example, but have a look a Bill Gates. I think he dropped out in his freshman year of college! A guy like him would have been successful no matter what path he chose.
Here’s something he failed at:
www.borrett.id.au/computing/petals-bg.htm[/quote]
I spent almost an hour working on that and trying to figure it out. I had homework though, so I figured I would give it a break for a bit. As soon as I stopped trying to figure out the solution, I suddenly got it.
[quote]lucasa wrote:
Krollmonster wrote:
This is the extreme example, but have a look a Bill Gates. I think he dropped out in his freshman year of college! A guy like him would have been successful no matter what path he chose.
Here’s something he failed at:
http://www.borrett.id.au/computing/petals-bg.htm[/quote]
i thought this was a joke until googling and coming up with this and almost instantly getting it (i had thought of every fucking thing else).
[quote]lucasa wrote:
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. -Calvin Coolidge
[/quote]awesome
[quote]Vyapada wrote:
Every single person I’ve met who has studied exercise physiology has almost reduced me to tears with their…knowledge…of training.
“Muay thai isn’t a good martial art, it’s not biomechanically efficient, we studied it in uni”
“Machines are safer, they help you activate the muscles more”
“Yeah, do that for 3*10”
It makes baby vyapada cry.[/quote]
umm, have you met some of the people who write articles here? 
[quote]Jagrazor wrote:
umm, have you met some of the people who write articles here? :P[/quote]
No. If I had met any of the contributors who have studied exercise physiology (in uni - that was my meaning) then I wouldn’t have been able to say what I said…
[quote]wufwugy wrote:
lucasa wrote:
Krollmonster wrote:
This is the extreme example, but have a look a Bill Gates. I think he dropped out in his freshman year of college! A guy like him would have been successful no matter what path he chose.
Here’s something he failed at:
i thought this was a joke until googling and coming up with this and almost instantly getting it (i had thought of every fucking thing else).
http://crux.baker.edu/cdavis09/roses.html[/quote]
Took me 30 mins, but I finally got it. I like this one.
The reason people miss the rose petal thing is because the question is very poorly worded…there are multiple “roses”, not just one rose, so if you really read the question, you will quickly rule out the real answer and waste your time chasing other answers.
[quote]RickJames wrote:
The reason people miss the rose petal thing is because the question is very poorly worded…there are multiple “roses”, not just one rose, so if you really read the question, you will quickly rule out the real answer and waste your time chasing other answers. [/quote]
Sounds like it took someone quite a while to figure it out. 
[quote]mica617 wrote:
Having a degree just means that you did 3 things.
1- showed up for class
2- regurgitated information from lectures/books
3- paid your tuition
The biggest IDIOT that I knew in college graduated with honors. Two of the more INTELLIGENT people that I knew in college failed out of school.
Go figure.[/quote]
I think you’re doing a big disservice to all those individuals who study hard to gain their qualifications, myself included.
You surmise that this is all you need to get through college. Are you talking from experience? I guess not as you said yourself that you’re a dropout!!
Studying for a degree in England isn’t a way of gaining loads of experience on a topic, that’s what a masters degree is for, it is about showing that you can collect, collate and critique evidence based on your our, well informed, opinions.
People with a degree in England on average then go on to earn 20% more than their non-universtiy educated brothers. I suppose that it’s just luck that all the BSc/BA grads go on to make the most money? What about all the jobs that you can’t even go into without a degree, teachers, solicitors (lawyer), doctors, pharmacists and veterinarians. Surely, you don’t think that these people just turned up to lectures and nothing else.
Maybe you do think these things and maybe that’s why you’ve never amounted to anything, because you never got your shot at the big time. All because some kid who just “turned up to classes and paid their tutition” pissed all over you in the interview and got the job.
Give people the credit they deserve for what they’ve achieved, whether that’s in the weight room or class room!
RANT OVER
Wheels
PS sorry for the hijack
I have a B.S. degree in Kinesiology and I work as a trainer. I learned a lot while completing my degree. But I also applied what I was learning to my own training and became certified and employed as a trainer while still in college. What I learned from the university was mainly scientific foundations. If I had to rely only on the information I learned from school, I would not even be competent as a trainer.
Knowing every origin and insertion in the body is useless if you can’t teach someone to squat. Most of the practical knowledge I have is what I’ve gained from over 15 years of training myself, reading about training since middle school, and trying to apply everything I learned.
I agree that many university programs emphasize the memorize and regurgitate method of learning. There are people with excellent GPA’s who cannot intelligently discuss the subjects in which they were given A’s. I always tried to apply what I was learning. I’d digest and assimilate the information into my thinking and practice. My GPA was never impressive, but the information that I did learn has been well retained.