Founding a new university can't be cheap. Who's going to pay for this? Does she have funding lined up?
MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”
151–160 of 281 posts
Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's surprising that it's taking so long. The wealthiest have always found ways to preserve their wealth and Ivy League institutions have played a role in that. Take some smart people, a lot of people that are good at fitting the mold that looks best, mix your rich kids in there and call the paint one color. Remember, George W. Bush (all politics aside, just looking at him in terms of intellectual prowess) graduated…
What do you really know about George W. Bush? http://keithhennessey.com/2013/04/24/smarter/
To add to this, as a student in India, I would often run across people who thought Bill Gates was an Idiot. Not sure from where that caricature arose. But some people simply hated Bill Gates, and believed he didn't deserve to be the richest person in the world.
I'd have to talk to them and explain he was a work horse extraordinaire, and was the equivalent of great project manager, programmer, and a business guy all rolled into one.
Its very common to hate successful people, who don't fit our narrative of what a hero should look like.
Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you're missing the point here. Those physics classes will teach you to think about problems abstractly. In my experience, my knowledge of physics has helped me think about algorithmic problems significantly. Even if you don't use the physics itself, it's good to learn. The accounting might not help you so much for CS, but it could be useful. And a few liberal arts classes are always good for breadth of educat…
I disagree. One of the most enjoyable classes I took was Weather and Climatology. Completely irrelevant to my current work and I paid a significant sum of money to take that required science credit.
You're disagreeing with the guy below me, right? It sounds like you're agreeing with me.
Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”
#154The only point of a modern day university is that they are (a) exclusive, and (b) "guarantee" that students "know" what they are "taught". That's at least what people who hire think. I remember someone saying "It wouldn't matter if MIT only taught basket weaving as long as they still had such a thorough selection process". This holds true here. People only care about the pedigree of your degree, it's substance comes…
"guarantee" that students "know" what they are "taught" That used to be the case, but now corporations require you to pass their own exam before they hire you. Let that sink in a moment. No longer are the universities taken at their word about their product. For some of you it has never been any different, but this change came about more or less when I was teaching at university/college. Some of us saw this as a quit…
Graduating from a top 20 school increases the probability that you'll even get to take that "corporate exam". Recruiters use them as filters.
Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you're missing the point here. Those physics classes will teach you to think about problems abstractly. In my experience, my knowledge of physics has helped me think about algorithmic problems significantly. Even if you don't use the physics itself, it's good to learn. The accounting might not help you so much for CS, but it could be useful. And a few liberal arts classes are always good for breadth of educat…
>Those physics classes will teach you to think about problems abstractly So do the classes on computer science and algorithms. The reason universities choose to teach those things using physics classes instead of logic class or algorithms class are just historical accidents. >And a few liberal arts classes are always good for breadth of education, and making you realize that you can always pick up a good book and rea…
Yes, the traditional courses do teach you that as well - to some extent - but the point is it's important to see how different fields do it. I think my classes in algorithms are as useful to my research in physics as my classes in physics are to my research in algorithms.
Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'll just leave this here: "George W. Bush, Republican, 1946–present, 2001–2009, IQ:138.5" --> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Presidential_IQ_hoax#IQ_e...
I love it. For everyone who believes a study that gives him an IQ of around genius level (and for every US president -- look at that!), I actually own the Brooklyn Bridge and I'm looking to sell it. I used the wrong example: nothing creates cognitive dissonance faster than politics or religion. But, that said, it's not a show. He's quite consistent in the types of grammatical mistakes he makes, such as simple subject…
Grammar (in English) is a tiny subset of human knowledge. Being bad at just one thing hardly makes you dumb. However, consistent grammatical errors during a speech will definitely project the appearance of stupidity...
Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you really know about George W. Bush? http://keithhennessey.com/2013/04/24/smarter/
Love that piece. It's worth pointing out also that Keith was there only for the final year of office, rather than near the beginning, which is one of the best pieces of anecdata against the post-1994 ongoing dementia theory (which a priori I still think is more likely than the "playing dumb" theory). There is of course other anecdata on Bush not being as intelligent as Keith claims, but the big issue that should make…
I don't much like his policies, but I always had a big question mark in my mind when it came to Bush's raw intelligence. He spoke like a man who didn't know how to speak in public, not like someone who was ignorant or addled. There was a peculiar absent-mindedness to his gaffes ("misunderestimate", "is our children learning") and so forth but it had a more "way out of his element" feel rather than coming from a place of stupidity. I doubt I'd be able to do much better in front of a large and frequently very hostile audience.
Part of my problem with American politics is that so few know how to think clearly about the actors involved. I guve Bush considerable benefit of the doubt when it comes to mental capability but I don't agree with him. And I dislike Obama for his failure to uphold the values he got elected on, not (as many feebleminded urbane Democrat voters suppose) because of his skin color.
Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
> theory of computation, recursion theory and type theory and PL, compilers, complexity theory and algorithms, advanced data structures, concurrency and distributed systems etc All of those are fairly basic topics that most people can pick up in an afternoon or two. ... I think these are fairly rational claims that I am making Um... no. Not fairly rational claims at all.
When I get into my classes at my university I get the textbook, read into the book a little and say "ok, I remember learning about this from X, Y, and Z project I've worked on". I then go on to goof off in every class, as I am doing right this moment. Nothing I have learned is of substance in my algorithms, computer science, or programming classes that I did not already know before I enrolled. I'm bored, and I want t…
Well, maybe if you listened in class you would realize the benefit of what they're trying to teach you.
If you really think you can understand complexity theory, algorithms, and advanced data structures in "an afternoon or two", I think about 90% of it went right over your head.
Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”
#159I think what we need are apprenticeships. I.e. a prominent research group hires kids after the remedial first two years of traditional college curriculum (or something like it plus a couple of years in an entry level job), and has them work on the actual problems at hand, filling the knowledge gaps as needed. It is no longer possible to know much of anything, so we should specialize and diversify at the same time, meaning that these students should be working at the seams between the fields: EE/CS, CS/Statistics, CS/Genetics, CS/Mechanical engineering etc. Further specialization should occur along the lines of whether the student would like to be a researcher, or have a more employable and practical set of skills. I never got much value out of lectures: few people can sustain rapt attention for hours a day. Most of what I know comes from the books. What I did get a lot of value from is working with people who know what they're doing, and from doing things myself, perhaps with their guidance and help. If this is heavily emphasized in this new model, I'm all for it.
Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
I love it. For everyone who believes a study that gives him an IQ of around genius level (and for every US president -- look at that!), I actually own the Brooklyn Bridge and I'm looking to sell it. I used the wrong example: nothing creates cognitive dissonance faster than politics or religion. But, that said, it's not a show. He's quite consistent in the types of grammatical mistakes he makes, such as simple subject…
Grammar (in English) is a tiny subset of human knowledge. Being bad at just one thing hardly makes you dumb. However, consistent grammatical errors during a speech will definitely project the appearance of stupidity...
...especially if it's the only language one speaks fluently.