The Chat Thread

[Opus106]

Another issue I would like to point it with university education vs. self-studying is that university education can be limited. While teaching myself how to write Winsock IOCP servers, I read about how the universities some people went to never covered that, and it looks like UCF doesn't, either. Although it is a rare skill (there's only a couple of books on the market that even cover the topic, and barely anything on the internet), this means education wouldn't be complete. If I didn't have to work, I'd spend my time learning almost every type of programming skill, which would cover more than what school could cover. I would be surprised if, for example, UCF had classes in Lua or TCL (maybe the top universities are different?).

Whoever gave you the idea that a university-based education and self-learning are mutually exclusive? And if you think that the role of the university is to teach you everything that there is to be taught, I'm sorry to say that you are mistaken, dear Greg. It's not an easy thing to do, mind you, but it's not impossible either.

[Lethevich]

Dem reviews

[DavidW]

Ha that was great Lethe!

[Karl Henning]

Last night, I browsed through one of the volumes from the impressively monumental complete Peanuts comic strips.  I think I have found the one volume I should like, in a world where I might choose but one.  I then tested that decision-in-progress, by poring through a volume other or two.

This morning, though, the question which occurs to me as a result of my non-exhaustive research is: has anyone (who is not a relative or a working colleague of "Sparky's") ever read every last strip?

[chasmaniac]

Last night, I browsed through one of the volumes from the impressively monumental complete Peanuts comic strips.  I think I have found the one volume I should like, in a world where I might choose but one.  I then tested that decision-in-progress, by poring through a volume other or two.

This morning, though, the question which occurs to me as a result of my non-exhaustive research is: has anyone (who is not a relative or a working colleague of "Sparky's") ever read every last strip?

Upfront answer, No. But I am very fond of Seth's work, and he is intimately involved with the collected Peanuts, no?

[Karl Henning]

I am in the dark: who's Seth? Thanks!

[Karl Henning]

The strip ran for 50 years, right? What an accomplishment!  Still, for that very reason . . . I should think you'd have to be a historian or archivist to plough through the lot.

Granted that reading a four-panel comic strip is not a research chore . . . .

[chasmaniac]

I am in the dark: who's Seth? Thanks!

Graphic novelist et al. He is in charge of the design of the collected Schulz. His name should be on there somewhere. Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_(cartoonist)

[ibanezmonster]

Personally, I wouldn't hire you because you sound a bit like a self-entitled whiner.

This is not a job interview.

Whoever gave you the idea that a university-based education and self-learning are mutually exclusive? And if you think that the role of the university is to teach you everything that there is to be taught, I'm sorry to say that you are mistaken, dear Greg. It's not an easy thing to do, mind you, but it's not impossible either.

The problem with teaching yourself anything while in university is that you can't, because there is not enough time (unless you take summers off). The people who actually do have enough time to teach themselves anything major (or work on major projects) in their spare time while attending university are lucky, indeed.

[Philoctetes]

This is not a job interview.

The problem with teaching yourself anything while in university is that you can't, because there is not enough time (unless you take summers off). The people who actually do have enough time to teach themselves anything major (or work on major projects) in their spare time while attending university are lucky, indeed.

To the first: Don't be a simpleton.

To the second: That's just straight up bullshit. The fact that you would even say that simply bolsters my previous point.

[DavidW]

The problem with teaching yourself anything while in university is that you can't, because there is not enough time (unless you take summers off). The people who actually do have enough time to teach themselves anything major (or work on major projects) in their spare time while attending university are lucky, indeed.

That's not true, I have... you can do it as an independent study or as a capstone project/honors thesis or work on a research project.  Some classes also have you do such things.  Thinking back to my undergrad experience:

Research Experience: I worked on the Heisenberg XXZ chain in an external field.  I had to teach myself degenerate perturbation theory, as well as dirac products of matrices and vectors as well as the matrix exponential which at the time was all new to me.

Cosmology Class: worked on figuring out the connection between vacuum fluctuations and anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background.

Honors thesis: I sadly did not finish this but I was interested in the interface between abstract algebra and quantum field theory.  I studied free field theory and representation theory in physics before I quit.

And my friends had similar experiences.  There are alot of opportunities besides just class work.  In fact for grad school, you really need to embrace these opportunities to stand out and be accepted at the grad school of your choice.

[Philoctetes]

That's not true, I have... you can do it as an independent study or as a capstone project/honors thesis or work on a research project.  Some classes also have you do such things.  Thinking back to my undergrad experience:

Research Experience: I worked on the Heisenberg XXZ chain in an external field.  I had to teach myself degenerate perturbation theory, as well as dirac products of matrices and vectors as well as the matrix exponential which at the time was all new to me.

Cosmology Class: worked on figuring out the connection between vacuum fluctuations and anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background.

Honors thesis: I sadly did not finish this but I was interested in the interface between abstract algebra and quantum field theory.  I studied free field theory and representation theory in physics before I quit.

And my friends had similar experiences.  There are alot of opportunities besides just class work.  In fact for grad school, you really need to embrace these opportunities to stand out and be accepted at the grad school of your choice.

[Opus106]

Most of the stuff David talked about are actually more fundamental than plain old nuclear physics.

[Philoctetes]

The stuff David talked about are actually more fundamental than plain old nuclear physics.

Well at least I know that I chose the correct field for my knowledge base then. 

[DavidW]

Most of the stuff David talked about are actually more fundamental than plain old nuclear physics.

I thought that Greg might doubt me, so I decided to get specific.

And of course there is the other issue-- to really learn you can't just sit in lecture, you have to grab the textbook and study actively.

[Philoctetes]

I thought that Greg might doubt me, so I decided to get specific.

And of course there is the other issue-- to really learn you can't just sit in lecture, you have to grab the textbook and study actively.

Oh?!

I took it as a personally affront to me that you were trying to make me look sillier than I already am.   

Edit: To give some further examples, I've been able to lecture at least three times as an undergrad on subjects in which no class is properly taught (The Parallel Histories of Sierra Leone and Liberia, Intelligence and Failure, and The History of Liberian Politics), but there really is so much more that you're able to do whilst still taking the 'core' classes. For instance, I've branched off into media studies, specifically in regards to fame. I'm also looking at the connection between the inability to mourn and the necessity of celebrity deaths as proxy, amongst many other things, of course.

[Opus106]

[Source]

(Anime) Greg, is this where you were planning to attend classes a year ago (or perhaps someone here suggested that you do)?

To perhaps brighten things up a little: The management seems to have sensed that there was something not quite right about their earlier decision.

[eyeresist]

To the second: That's just straight up bullshit. The fact that you would even say that simply bolsters my previous point.

But there's no need to be a prick about it, is there?

If you're looking at fame, have you seen Clive James's book? Sadly it stops in the early 90s, but it's quite an amusing overview.

[Philoctetes]

If you're looking at fame, have you seen Clive James's book? Sadly it stops in the early 90s, but it's quite an amusing overview.

I have come across but not read it yet. Currently I'm looking at fame in the 21st century, but I will be doing a historical overview eventually with a starting point in the early 20th century. I might delve deeper, but I'll have to see what my conceptualizations will look like then. It's really the new media phenomenon that I find the most striking.

[eyeresist]

I have come across but not read it yet. Currently I'm looking at fame in the 21st century, but I will be doing a historical overview eventually with a starting point in the early 20th century. I might delve deeper, but I'll have to see what my conceptualizations will look like then. It's really the new media phenomenon that I find the most striking.

Yes, that's exactly why it's disappointing that James's book doesn't go to the end of the century. 9/11 and the internet reaching critical mass are together an obvious historical turning point.