I did all my undergrad in ink, and I loved it. Christmas time allowed me to use red and green and brown markers on my tests. The ball point pens had less friction, and I could write faster. Sometimes, an incorrect answer would still get points as I did not "erase" what I had previously written.
Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
31–40 of 56 posts
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Other than the chalk dust, You know, the worst part that makes them unbearable and a literal health hazard to use.
The fact that it's still used in many places obviously means it's not unbearable. Besides if you're bothered by the dust you can use the water cleaning methods described in this very thread. It's not perfect, but I would take a chalkboard over a whiteboard anytime.
>Besides if you're bothered by the dust you can use the water cleaning methods
Yes, because I carry large amounts of water around with me for every lecture that I teach. Seriously? The board is covered with dust, the chalk tray is covered with dust and the floor nearby is covered with dust. No one cleans them at my school.
The fix is just to use whiteboards which are just better for everyone who doesn't have a fixation with chalkboards.
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#33Chalkboards all day, every day.
Especially since at least once a week my Greek and Roman history teacher in prep school would throw a chalk nub at me and mis-pronounce my name. Chalk, funny. A marker not so much.
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#34As a teacher that uses chalk and white boards I can heartily tell you that chalk sucks. It's messy on your hands and cloths, it breaks and is difficult to erase from the board. White board markers are so much nicer. The criticisms of markers seem to be, from the article:
You can't tell when they will run out. This is not true, they fade out not stop suddenly. Also, it is always possible to carry a spare marker or two.
Hand writing is worse with markers. Then look at what you've written and make it better.
White boards deteriorate faster. I currently use white boards that are a sheet of reinforced glass pained white on the reverse face. They've been installed for 10 years and look the same as they the day there were installed.
Permanent markers destroy a whiteboard. The glass boards make it a little bit of work but it instant destruction.
Chalk is less damaging to the environment than marker pens. This is true but can be mitigated with re-fallible pens.
Special "chemicals" are needed to clean a white board. The chemical that I use is water in order to make the cleaning rag damp. The same as I use for chalk.
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#35The weirdest thing about chalkboards is the placebo effect they give to doing math.
I can be a blithering idiot talking math to someone without props but in front of a chalkboard I can be the second coming of Galois.
No, whiteboards don’t give the same buff.
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#36This discussion reminded me of my best Diff Eq prof. He would start each lecture by putting a small clock on his podium, and starting at the precise time listed for the start of the lecture. Then he would leap into action, chalk dust flying around him as he explained the subject of the day. He would often go through more than six full-size chalkboards, having a student erase a few chalkboards behind him so he could r…
My crazed DQ Prof was an excitable Russian who worked in a classroom with a chalk board that wrapped around the entire room. He'd start on the right side of the door and end on its left side. Everyone had to rotate their desks during class as he worked his way around.
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#37The weirdest thing about chalkboards is the placebo effect they give to doing math. I can be a blithering idiot talking math to someone without props but in front of a chalkboard I can be the second coming of Galois. No, whiteboards don’t give the same buff.
Same for the audience!
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#38Strange question - has the "submitted at" times been edited on this post and all the comments here? I swear I read everything on this submission, including the comments, several days ago, but nothing here is longer than a few hours.
Actually, google search agrees with me - if you search for the title here + hackernews, it says that it saw this post and several of the comments 6 days ago (apologies that I can't link to the cache as this is no longer a feature of Google).
Why are all the post and comment times here saying less than a few hours ago?
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#39Strange question - has the "submitted at" times been edited on this post and all the comments here? I swear I read everything on this submission, including the comments, several days ago, but nothing here is longer than a few hours. Actually, google search agrees with me - if you search for the title here + hackernews, it says that it saw this post and several of the comments 6 days ago (apologies that I can't link t…
It's been second chanced and "shadow time altered" (probably).
This post number is: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45557970
A post from 7 hours past is: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45630962
( bonus l33tc0d3 qu3est: knock up something to probe and plot posts per unit time, etc. ( I'm taking my dad to the shop instead ) )
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26998308 * https://news.ycombinator.com/pool
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#40Strange question - has the "submitted at" times been edited on this post and all the comments here? I swear I read everything on this submission, including the comments, several days ago, but nothing here is longer than a few hours. Actually, google search agrees with me - if you search for the title here + hackernews, it says that it saw this post and several of the comments 6 days ago (apologies that I can't link t…
Falsifying timestamps is a kludge that HN uses when moderators give a post a second chance to gain traction on the front page.
(Personally, I have a strong aversion to falsifying public information like this, and I hope that they will prioritize implementing this better.)