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Harvard's 1899 Entrance Exam [pdf]

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Re: Harvard's 1899 Entrance Exam [pdf]

#61

Post by gaius »

tokenadult wrote: post #55
gaius wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point of Latin was that it is the root of many European languages, so by studying it early on in education, you would later more easily be able to pick up one of its descendents.

However it is much more efficient to take a course in etymology (word roots) focused on the subset of Greek and Latin used in word formation in the major European languages (Romance or not) than it is to learn a lot of Latin and Greek just for that side benefit. I by no means disparage learning languages--I majored in Chinese and studied two forms of Greek in university, among several other languages--but if the goal…

That's probably true if you're an adult, but how do you motivate kids to learn etmology? At least with Latin there is stuff you can read.

Re: Harvard's 1899 Entrance Exam [pdf]

#62

Post by [deleted] »

yequalsx wrote: post #18

What is truly amazing is how easy it is to find those answers today. With Google, Wolframalpha, etc. retrieving information is cheap both time wise and money wise. Perhaps a test could be made today that would test a person's ability to search for obscure knowledge and comprehend it. A person would have to determine which sources are trustworthy and what conclusion could be made from the information received. Is this…

[deleted]

Re: Harvard's 1899 Entrance Exam [pdf]

#64

Post by aeroevan »

tokenadult wrote: post #54
wicknicks wrote: post #21

Interesting. The Math section with today's GRE exam makes the latter seem like a kindergarten exam.

Graduate students from China (in such humanities subjects as philosophy) derided the GRE main test mathematics section (used as one element of admission decisions for graduate schools in the United States) as a test of "junior high math," which it literally is in terms of the standard curriculum of urban schools in China. The GRE subject test in mathematics, used largely but not exclusively for admission into graduat…

FYI, most graduate students I know here in the US also consider the math section in the GRE to be a joke. But as a grad student in an engineering school I guess that's to be expected.

When I took the GRE, the hardest thing about the math test was having to remember long division, since we couldn't use calculators.

Re: Harvard's 1899 Entrance Exam [pdf]

#65

Post by pitdesi »

Original article here is worth reading: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/remembering-wh...

Notes that... "of the 210 candidates who took its 1870 test the June before, 185 were admitted."

Also, according to the NYT, this is the 1869 exam, not the 1899 exam (maybe it was added to the library in 1899, hence the stamp?)

Re: Harvard's 1899 Entrance Exam [pdf]

#66

Post by alexanderswang »

wicknicks wrote: post #21

Interesting. The Math section with today's GRE exam makes the latter seem like a kindergarten exam.

Honestly, math section of this 1869 test is still kind of joke for Chinese high school students. Getting full mark is easy for those well educated middle school students, say, up to about 30 percent won't be a overstated figure.

Re: Harvard's 1899 Entrance Exam [pdf]

#67

Post by cydonian_monk »

uberalex wrote: post #45

Why does it say "July, 1869" at the bottom? Were they using the same set of questions for 30 years, or was it put in the library 30 years after it was used?

Good question. I would hazard a guess that they revised the test every year, but didn't want to put the more recent copies of it in the library as they'd be similar, and could poison the results. And therefore they held back old versions as "secret" for, say, 30 years. (Thus your later case, that the test was placed in the library 30 years after it was used.)

Or perhaps this was lost under someone's desk for 30 years in the admissions department, and when they moved into new offices they said "we should put this in the library for posterity's sake."

Re: Harvard's 1899 Entrance Exam [pdf]

#68

Post by sambeau »

Goladus wrote: post #58
mjs wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The choice of topics, really. This was for (I think) an entrance exam, and so the only topic I think even vaguely suitable to write about without forewarning is "English country life in the 18th century." The Battle of Blenheim and the character of Rachel Lady Castlewood can only be attempted if you already know about those (very specific) things, and duelling is broad, and odd.

I don't know whether this is an entrance exam and that would definitely change things. But either way, according to Wikipedia, dueling was a part of British culture though the early 1800s, the last fatal duel was in 1856. Meaning a typical candidate from an elite family in 1899 will have a living relative who has probably at least read public discourse about dueling, and there's a good chance the subject has come up…

Scotland's last-ever duel with swords was fought in the same year: 1899.

"Swords were drawn and blood was spilled over the election battle of the University Rector."

It was in a semi-public place (the Glasgow University Union building) and may have been reported at the time. Thus, duelling may have been in the news at the time.

http://www.theguu.com/about/history/

Re: Harvard's 1899 Entrance Exam [pdf]

#69

Post by gwern »

gaius wrote: post #37
andjones wrote: post #16

This test shows what was valued - at least at Harvard - in the late 1800's. Greek and Latin were more important, as well as knowledge of geography of the known world and algebra and geometry. Algebra and geometry, I feel, are still important today (see SAT). Greek and Latin are less important, although they are still in the background. The humanities have changed and we now learn about more modern authors / topics an…

The point of Latin was that it is the root of many European languages, so by studying it early on in education, you would later more easily be able to pick up one of its descendents.

So, by spending years learning Latin, I save... months learning another (European) language. I see.

Re: Harvard's 1899 Entrance Exam [pdf]

#70

Post by gaius »

gwern wrote: post #69
gaius wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point of Latin was that it is the root of many European languages, so by studying it early on in education, you would later more easily be able to pick up one of its descendents.

So, by spending years learning Latin, I save... months learning another (European) language. I see.

You seem confused. I am not advocating this, merely explaining it.
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