tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post8867908240013155251..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: The Rarely Used Douchebag Thirsty, From Academic Charlotte AnneUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-83275098830660745432014-11-22T17:11:29.327-05:002014-11-22T17:11:29.327-05:00I more or less explain it almost exactly the way y...I more or less explain it almost exactly the way you describe it. I start my World History surveys with a discussion of historiography and epistemology ("Sources Lie. But they're all we have.") and I talk incessantly about good and bad historical arguments and evidence. <br /><br />Does it work? Not immediately, no. But I hope it "plants a seed" or "lays a foundation&Jonathan Dresnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04356112719229675996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-41440312321884353412014-11-21T16:12:08.913-05:002014-11-21T16:12:08.913-05:00If anybody has figured out a way to explain to und...If anybody has figured out a way to explain to undergraduates where knowledge (and its close relative "information") comes from, with the end result being that they understand both that (1) knowledge is contingent and constructed and that the nature of the question asked and the methods used to answer the question (not to mention the prior experience and assumptions of the Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-79843472717803770322014-11-21T12:30:12.328-05:002014-11-21T12:30:12.328-05:00It's a real shame that they dumped Better Off ...It's a real shame that they dumped <em>Better Off Ted</em>. It was one of the smartest and funniest shows of the last decade, in my opinion, and Portia De Rossi was fantastic as Veronica.Defunct Adjuncthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12954331373226016090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-4198769546761639442014-11-21T12:26:32.772-05:002014-11-21T12:26:32.772-05:00I'm going to engage in a bit of shameless self...I'm going to engage in a bit of shameless self-promotion and link to a <a href="http://collegemisery.blogspot.com/2014/11/snowflake-email.html" rel="nofollow">post</a> I made a few weeks back that touched on this exact issue. I received an email from a student unhappy with his grade, and his main argument about why he should receive a better grade is that he was stating his opinion. "Is Defunct Adjuncthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12954331373226016090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-5369698663796580542014-11-21T09:05:04.425-05:002014-11-21T09:05:04.425-05:00"It depends on the person." "Everyo..."It depends on the person." "Everyone has a different interpretation." "What I got out of it was . . . " The word "just" is a biggie, too, especially when I mildly challenge someone to explain why he/she believes something ("I just feel that . . . "). This settled assumption that opinions vary according to the individual (in spite of the irony Bloody Tonguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08811228143771593481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-10688414386827095282014-11-21T06:29:39.859-05:002014-11-21T06:29:39.859-05:00Veronica Palmer of the short-lived (but grossly un...Veronica Palmer of the short-lived (but grossly underrated) Better Off Ted: <br />"Linda, just listen to yourself. Those are just facts, and facts are just opinions, and opinions can be wrong."<br /><br />When I first heard that, uttered in Veronica's iconic corporate tool certitude, it clarified how such tea-partying lunacy was accomplished: People want their beliefs validated and Aware and Scaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14700345349806280657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-44064939565146514682014-11-21T05:44:40.434-05:002014-11-21T05:44:40.434-05:00Oy! the Postmodernism!
I recall a casual convers...Oy! the Postmodernism! <br />I recall a casual conversation with one of Tuk U's other profs came to a screeching halt when they announced "Well, data is really just another hypothesis." This person probably teaches undergrads that they really are entitled to their own facts after all. I suspect that much of the wholly unnecessary conflict between humanities and STEM can be laid Rosencrantz Andor Guildensternhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05095512139776536635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-91065248094066732482014-11-21T03:42:22.037-05:002014-11-21T03:42:22.037-05:00I was going over the midterm in class, and a stude...I was going over the midterm in class, and a student was lobbying hard for the (completely wrong) answer that s/he had selected. After what I thought was a dazzlingly clear explanation of why the correct answer was correct, s/he said, "well, we just have to agree to disagree." NO THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKSAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15711314415244801354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-59753099071143817912014-11-21T03:12:10.002-05:002014-11-21T03:12:10.002-05:00One reason is because they don't know the diff...One reason is because they don't know the difference. This is discussed at length by Peter Sacks in "Generation X Goes to College," although I think he goes too far in linking it to Postmodernism. <br /><br />Another reason is that they don't want to know the difference.They surmise that if anything presented or discussed in a classroom is mere opinion, they should get an A, Froderick Frankenstien from Fresnohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11653942918068535424noreply@blogger.com