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The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age

theatlantic.com

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Re: The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age

#261

Post by ghufran_syed »

weston wrote: post #188
growlist wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume you include anti-white racism? Because there seems to be a lot of it about at the moment.

There’s no such thing as anti-white racism. Racism is prejudice or discrimination backed by institutional, structural power. Therefore, a black person prejudiced against white people (as an example) is meaningless because black Americans have historically had very little power in the United States. Racism by white americans has historically been backed up by the power of every institution in the United States, which…

By this definition, if Adolf Hitler had gone to live in Israel, a majority Jewish democracy, he would no longer be a racist, because his “prejudice” was no longer “backed by institutional, structural power” - have I got that right?

Re: The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age

#262

Post by snowwrestler »

asciident wrote: post #198
weston wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s no such thing as anti-white racism. Racism is prejudice or discrimination backed by institutional, structural power. Therefore, a black person prejudiced against white people (as an example) is meaningless because black Americans have historically had very little power in the United States. Racism by white americans has historically been backed up by the power of every institution in the United States, which…

I think most people recognize that this is the "new definition" of racism, or sometimes people refer to it as structural racism. But when people use the term racism, they usually mean the standard dictionary definition, which is about being prejudice against someone because of their race. It's probably better if people used "structural racism" to define what you mean here. Similar to how "sex" retained the original d…

The "old" definition of racism was something like "having an opinion about someone based on their race" and was essentially indistinguishable from the concept of stereotyping, where someone "judges a book by its cover" and makes assumptions based on what someone looks like.

Today we understand that that kind of stereotyping is a universal attribute of human cognition and therefore not explanatory. That is, you can't get from that definition of "racism" to the society we see around us today. Every human does it--everyone is "racist" by that definition--yes, including black people. And yet black people are still far worse off, on average, than whites in American society.

So that definition of racism is useless. It doesn't explain why things are the way they are, and we can't change the way our brain works at such a fundamental level anyway. It has even become a joke--see Stephen Colbert's riffs on "I don't see color."

So yes, the concept of racism has evolved to include power. Without power, stereotypes don't have an opportunity to cause actual harm. You have to consider power to understand why American society, on average, treats white people and black people so differently.

Re: The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age

#263

Post by dleslie »

MaxBarraclough wrote: post #233
dleslie wrote: post #32

I still buy CDs and rip them to MP3s. They work when cellular data isn't available, they have excellent sound quality, they're easy to organize, and there's no vendor lock-in who's spying on my listening habits.

Do you have the option to use something better than MP3? How's the 'loudness war' going with modern CDs?

I previously used FLAC but I like taking my whole library with me. HQ MP3 is good enough for me.

The loudness war is something of a myth. I normalize my audio, so I don't really notice. As for the absence of dynamic range, I don't really care. I don't listen to classical.

Re: The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age

#264

Post by [deleted] »

coliveira wrote: post #167
funcDropShadow wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The point here, however, is what University is for all people Traditionally, that was not true and still is not true in places like Germany. A university is the place where you can get the highest education of a field, or ideally where you study a field on your own. Both requires a lot of prerequisites that not everybody fulfills. I am talking about knowledge, ability to learn although something is not flashy, and…

The problem in the US (as opposed to Germany) is that the barrier is not ability, but money. Wealthy families will easily place their kids on some of the greatest universities, while a poor kid needs to be a genius to go to a place like Princeton, or else will have to enter into loads of debt to have a decent education at a state university.

[deleted]

Re: The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age

#265

Post by maxmunzel »

blablabla123 wrote: post #220
funcDropShadow wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The point here, however, is what University is for all people Traditionally, that was not true and still is not true in places like Germany. A university is the place where you can get the highest education of a field, or ideally where you study a field on your own. Both requires a lot of prerequisites that not everybody fulfills. I am talking about knowledge, ability to learn although something is not flashy, and…

> Replacing universities with a netflix-esque experience may seem attractive to students, but is doomed to fail to train students To be honest, for very mathematical subjects the lectures are almost useless. Exercises and practicing is what gives insights, determines the grades and tells which part of the lecture is actually important. I'd be curious how it is in other subjects, like literature or history. But I assu…

I used to think this way, but learning how to take math lectures really changed my university experience. To my first semester me:

1. Go to the lectures, sit upfront (where you are definitely not going to use your phone or fall asleep)

2. Get the book or script that corresponds to your lecture. Almost all math lectures follow some sort of book. If unsure, ask your professor.

Just reading ahead for half an hour prior to the lecture will make _such_ a difference, as you won’t be lost and can focus more on contexts than on definitions.

3. Feel free to ask questions. If you know where you are (see 2.) it’s much easier to know what’s wrong. Professors are human and sometimes forget to give some theorem they are using. It’s really easy (and frankly surreal at first) to be that guy that points out errors to the professor (in a respectful way!).

If your shy or you have the feeling, that the problem is indeed on your end – take notes of things that are unclear and ask them after the lecture. Professors usually love to talk about their subject!

4. Last but not least: Keep calm and carry on. It’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed at first ;)

Re: The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age

#266

Post by eindiran »

dleslie wrote: post #263
MaxBarraclough wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have the option to use something better than MP3? How's the 'loudness war' going with modern CDs?

I previously used FLAC but I like taking my whole library with me. HQ MP3 is good enough for me. The loudness war is something of a myth. I normalize my audio, so I don't really notice. As for the absence of dynamic range, I don't really care. I don't listen to classical.

I don't think the loudness war is a myth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

But it appears to have significantly abated, due to normalization by streaming services and changing opinions of sound engineers over the last decade.

Re: The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age

#267

Post by [deleted] »

blablabla123 wrote: post #220
funcDropShadow wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The point here, however, is what University is for all people Traditionally, that was not true and still is not true in places like Germany. A university is the place where you can get the highest education of a field, or ideally where you study a field on your own. Both requires a lot of prerequisites that not everybody fulfills. I am talking about knowledge, ability to learn although something is not flashy, and…

> Replacing universities with a netflix-esque experience may seem attractive to students, but is doomed to fail to train students To be honest, for very mathematical subjects the lectures are almost useless. Exercises and practicing is what gives insights, determines the grades and tells which part of the lecture is actually important. I'd be curious how it is in other subjects, like literature or history. But I assu…

[deleted]

Re: The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age

#268

Post by peterwoerner »

coliveira wrote: post #167
funcDropShadow wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The point here, however, is what University is for all people Traditionally, that was not true and still is not true in places like Germany. A university is the place where you can get the highest education of a field, or ideally where you study a field on your own. Both requires a lot of prerequisites that not everybody fulfills. I am talking about knowledge, ability to learn although something is not flashy, and…

The problem in the US (as opposed to Germany) is that the barrier is not ability, but money. Wealthy families will easily place their kids on some of the greatest universities, while a poor kid needs to be a genius to go to a place like Princeton, or else will have to enter into loads of debt to have a decent education at a state university.

I don't know... 9 years ago when I graduated from a tier II state university which was highly affordable[0]. Additionally it was locally known for creating the second best engineers in the region (after Georgia Tech), best nurses in the region, and has well respected education and agriculture programs.

I leveraged my Tier II undergraduate into a tier I graduate school experience and am now a PI/lead at a large defense contractor.

If you are smart,diligent and stay out of too much trouble, you can take advantage of the cheaper/smaller state schools for undergraduate and push yourself where you want to go. It's not Princeton or MIT but there is still plenty of affordable opportunity (especially in tech and engineering).

Granted my college experience, didn't have the glamour of the division 1 football tailgates, or the excitement of a big city, but those things cost extra.

[0] It was in a small town ~30,000, so local 3 bedroom apartment was $550/mo (split 3 was was ~190 a person), and tuition was about $4000 a semester. Currently tuition is $5000/semester and you can get $5000/year from the lottery scholarship.

Re: The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age

#269

Post by DreamScatter »

mixedCase wrote: post #124
carlinmack wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

maybe so, but there is a certain level of self-discipline and privilege needed to be able to study just from books. Lots of people on CS and other courses want friendly exposure to new ideas, not a recommendation of a list of text books

That's more of a personal thing. It's far easier to me to study a technical book on something I know is useful compared to cramming for exams, doing nonsensical assignments, forcing myself through a specific pace that fits a semester, dealing with professors that never seem to be having a good day, wasting time commuting to the faculty (assuming you don't live in campus), etc. I can do that for money, but having to p…

Same here, you summed up succinctly why I also have not followed through with a degree. The academic system is now more of a hindrance than a help, compared to studying independently and maintaining connections outside academia. Academia has failed to adapt to modern learning.

Re: The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age

#270

Post by LockAndLol »

Is that an editorialized title? The title on hackernews doesn't convey at all what the article's title and subtitle do:

> Are Universities Going the Way of CDs and Cable TV?

> Like the entertainment industry, colleges will need to embrace digital services in order to survive.

Completely different meaning.

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