tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post361343308301259914..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: The Charles Negy Letter.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-64409499585103653872012-08-21T14:34:47.927-04:002012-08-21T14:34:47.927-04:00Also, measuring a bridge in Smoots shows an awaren...Also, measuring a bridge in Smoots shows an awareness of the contingent nature of systems of thought/measurement that many of Negy's students seem to lack. Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-82366406238757369052012-08-21T14:30:12.007-04:002012-08-21T14:30:12.007-04:00The world, or at least Cambridge, would be a poore...The world, or at least Cambridge, would be a poorer place without MIT hacks. After all, what else interesting ever happens at a Harvard/Yale football game? Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-266033675931543022012-08-21T11:32:12.090-04:002012-08-21T11:32:12.090-04:00@Bubba
I think the distinction to be wary of is c...@Bubba<br /><br />I think the distinction to be wary of is childlike and childish. One I'm all for.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-83287612706571556542012-08-21T10:44:24.729-04:002012-08-21T10:44:24.729-04:00And the touchiest students (and their parents) are...And the touchiest students (and their parents) are, of course, those who have, in fact, been being indoctrinated all their lives, and are now mistaking training in critical thinking for indoctrination. <br /><br />That said, I'll freely admit that the academy has its own true believers. In my field, they're mostly Marxists, cultural studies types, and a perhaps a few lingering devotees Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-27398246070893388542012-08-21T00:17:41.258-04:002012-08-21T00:17:41.258-04:00I blame Rick Santorum. Everyone's so touchy ab...I blame Rick Santorum. Everyone's so touchy about "being indoctrinated" these days, the way they were about Intelligent Design leading up to December 2005, when the judge in the Dover, PA case ruled it ain't science.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-51195733167790380882012-08-21T00:02:45.268-04:002012-08-21T00:02:45.268-04:00P.S. At M.I.T., they advise students that if caugh...P.S. At M.I.T., they advise students that if caught when carrying out a hack, "have some dignity, for yourself and for your captor." And as no less than Shelby Foote would have advised, bourbon is for outdoors. Scotch is for indoors. Even then, I go easy during those rare meetings when we're doing something important, such as getting money for students.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-45966451889270732052012-08-20T23:47:36.567-04:002012-08-20T23:47:36.567-04:00We can't do without socially inept physicists,...We can't do without socially inept physicists, one reason being they so rarely come any other way. Don't worry, they often get smacked with a bladder, just like in Gulliver's travels, when they are socially inept. Let's therefore say: only adults and adult-like behavior will be met with approval.<br /><br />Or perhaps we should say: any hijinx, particularly of the kind so beloved Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-60504842663583419102012-08-20T22:24:30.179-04:002012-08-20T22:24:30.179-04:00Only adults and adult-like behavior?
No more st...Only adults and adult-like behavior? <br /><br />No more streaking? No more sneaking a snort of bourbon during department meetings? No more MIT hacks? No more socially inept physicists? No more childlike <i>anything</i>? Southern Bubba, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12050992903794385204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-10423542089434583762012-08-20T21:37:28.174-04:002012-08-20T21:37:28.174-04:00A church is a church, a mosque is a mosque, and a ...A church is a church, a mosque is a mosque, and a university is a place where we can expect people to behave like adults. If they're minors, we can still expect that. Merely Academichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452389428113097744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-6819555483215369292012-08-20T20:48:06.392-04:002012-08-20T20:48:06.392-04:00Generally well-put. The only part I'd questio...Generally well-put. The only part I'd question, both on rhetorical/political grounds and on the basis of my experience, is the mention of "first-generation college students." It may vary by institution (our first-generation students, many of whom attend our still-mostly-commuter school because they want to stay near home for cultural and/or financial reasons, are, to generalize aContingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-82874601401275138832012-08-20T20:44:51.921-04:002012-08-20T20:44:51.921-04:00@Greta: Whatever the right answer is, I just know...@Greta: Whatever the right answer is, I just know I want to streak across the quad in only my boots and hat on the first day of winter.Southern Bubba, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12050992903794385204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-37287383351579074512012-08-20T14:14:31.769-04:002012-08-20T14:14:31.769-04:00Oh, I loved this letter. It said so much that I wa...Oh, I loved this letter. It said so much that I want to say. And I really feel for Negy. Imagine having such a discussion in class on more than one day! The tyranny of religious belief to cloud one's open-mindedness.<br /><br />I wasn't raised in a mainstream religion, but I also never expected others to understand/care/believe what I believe. In some ways, I think that was a gift (even Academic Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07086078244493768565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-74748083930226654282012-08-20T09:27:22.519-04:002012-08-20T09:27:22.519-04:00I don't see the two remarks as mutually exclus...I don't see the two remarks as mutually exclusive. As Froderick pointed out, adults should behave like adults. (For all you know, Bubba, everyone in the class Nagy is addressing <i>is</i> an adult.) <br /><br />Yes, I've had some great students younger than 18 years of age. Those great students, however, behave with maturity, courtesy, kindness, and a sense that they have something toGreat Lakes Gretahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08101613060478193833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-15403374188219662802012-08-20T06:29:21.333-04:002012-08-20T06:29:21.333-04:00It is so nice when children behave like adults. I ...It is so nice when children behave like adults. I was a child prodigy, who enjoyed the conversation of adults, and was constantly asked, "How come you know all this?" It was lots of fun. It's not something you can do for the rest of your life, though.<br /><br />When I was about 5, I asked my Mom what the worst thing in the world was. She said adults who act like children.<br /><br Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-48423763585421250432012-08-20T04:00:04.327-04:002012-08-20T04:00:04.327-04:00... {ahem} ... unless Frod disagrees....... {ahem} ... unless Frod disagrees....Southern Bubba, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12050992903794385204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-24696939687558260232012-08-20T03:57:39.169-04:002012-08-20T03:57:39.169-04:00Negy said, "We're adults. We're at a ...Negy said, "<i>We're adults. We're at a university. </i>"<br /><br />This is worth contemplating.<br /><br />There are hundreds of thousands of adults in prisons and jails in this country.<br /><br />And I've had some gifted minors in my classes.<br /><br />It's not about being a place for adults. It's about being a university.<br /><br />A church is a church. A Southern Bubba, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12050992903794385204noreply@blogger.com