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Peter Higgs: I wouldn't be productive enough for today's academic system

theguardian.com

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Re: Peter Higgs: I wouldn't be productive enough for today's academic system

#51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm trying to figure out where your non sequitur came from. The brain being adaptable does not mean its ability to adapt is infinite and no one, but you, suggested that. Did they waterboard you in your academic program? Is that supposed to be an analogy to some other behavior? I can't even conceive of what they might do that would be close to that hard on a person's mind.

It's a crude, sarcastic form of reductio ad absurdum. TrainedMonkey said, in effect, "making it difficult to focus is fine because the brain is adaptable". 001sky showed that "the brain is adaptable" is not a strong argument. This is true precisely because the brain's ability to adapt is not infinite. Energy you spend adapting to something is energy you're not using to do directly useful things, and that energy has t…

He didn't show it wasn't a strong argument, he showed his tool for arguing is a fallacious statement. Reductio ad absurdum[1] is a weak argument. It involves non sequiturs, consequents which do not (by any sane logic) follow from the initial statement or assertion.

There are certainly issues in academia. "Publish or perish" is a terrible model for retaining people and measuring success. In the enterprise world the endless emails and meetings seriously detract from the work effort in many cases. That doesn't mean things don't get done, it means the balance is off. Be proactive and instead of making up absurd arguments about the impossible consequences of a thing, fix it. Develop tools that manage communication better. Show that in your office the daily stand ups are not necessary and ask forgiveness along with submitting the case study that demonstrates you improved productivity with your alternate approaches. Avoid making weak, sarcastic, slippery slope arguments like a religious fundamentalist that believes condoms lead to sheep fucking.

EDIT: [1] I should say, in this case, as water boarding nor anything near it in terms of affecting the mind is or is at risk of being applied in academia or enterprises where deep thought and creativity are necessary to the completion of the task.

Re: Peter Higgs: I wouldn't be productive enough for today's academic system

#52

I loved the ending: "He has never been tempted to buy a television, but was persuaded to watch The Big Bang Theory last year, and said he wasn't impressed." The show is despite what some think, not a celebration of science, but a ridicule of science, and takes the stereotypes to new levels. Edit: I also watch the show, but as the article that GuiA links to mentions, the show wnats you to laugh at the nerds, and not t…

A quote from a friend of mine:

"Arrested development is smart jokes at the expense of stupid people; the Big Bang Theory is stupid jokes at the expense of smart people."

Re: Peter Higgs: I wouldn't be productive enough for today's academic system

#53
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meh, still funny, and the jokes are often more clever than your typical network fare. EDIT: I love that I get downvoted for saying that I like a show. You guys must be a blast at parties.

I don't watch the show, personally, but it's irritating that everyone has to come down on things like this. People spend their time doing all kinds of crazy things. If it's fun and you enjoy it, then I think that's great. There are worse ways to spend your time. Apparently, that's not good enough, though. Everyone has to critique how other people enjoy themselves. I've read books on algorithm analysis and I just exci…

> My life was so much easier to live when I decided that it was okay to peacefully allow other people enjoy things that I don't.

Yes it is, it will also be easier when you don't complain about people complaining about things they don't like.

Re: Peter Higgs: I wouldn't be productive enough for today's academic system

#54
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. Really clever jokes like saying "Nintendo 64" then pausing for laughter.

So... you pick out one joke you don't like and presume that no one else should like the show? Right... so you don't like it. Who cares? I certainly don't. I like it. There, I cancelled out your dislike.

No, I just don't think making references for their own sake is particularly clever.

But if you like that kind of joke and you like the show, that's great. It's not something I would judge you as a person for. Heck, I'd be happy to suggest Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore, if you haven't read it already.

Re: Peter Higgs: I wouldn't be productive enough for today's academic system

#55
post #7

I loved the ending: "He has never been tempted to buy a television, but was persuaded to watch The Big Bang Theory last year, and said he wasn't impressed." The show is despite what some think, not a celebration of science, but a ridicule of science, and takes the stereotypes to new levels. Edit: I also watch the show, but as the article that GuiA links to mentions, the show wnats you to laugh at the nerds, and not t…

Re: Big Bang Theory, I enjoyed this post: http://butmyopinionisright.tumblr.com/post/31079561065/the-p...

The purpose of TBBT is not to entertain nerds, it's to acclimatize everyone else to the new normal where nerds hold a form of status. In 2013 nerds can be very rich, their fields can be very influential, and their intelligence can be useful to normals.

Normals, however, don't understand how to relate to nerds in a post-high school environment. Their previous social training has been to simply ostracize and bully. TBBT teaches normals a new way of relating to nerds: tolerate them, make friends with them, turn a blind eye to their social awkwardness and weirdness, and trade your cultural capital for the nerd's intellectual and financial capital.

Nerds can be useful to normals. Nerds can be good friends if you understand how to handle and bracket their awkwardness. They can even be good boyfriends if you understand how to handle them--Leonard can benefit Penny with his intelligence, devotion, and wealth even if he isn't cool.

TBBT isn't aimed at nerds, it's a primetime mainstream TV show.

The author is right that the public is laughing at the nerds not with them. However TBBT still represents a sea change in the public representation of nerds--now nerds are not to be ostracized, rather they are to be tolerated.

Re: Peter Higgs: I wouldn't be productive enough for today's academic system

#56
Stagnation is not only a manifestation of economy but every other field such as science. We have seen rapid growth in the past century and some forces be it policy, or expectation and pressure for faster growth will ultimately contribute to a stagnant period in terms of growth vs growth to the prior.

Re: Peter Higgs: I wouldn't be productive enough for today's academic system

#57

School is an obedience/memorization test, the exact opposite of the real-world applied thinking skills that are needed. Private schooling is bad; public schooling is even worse. That's where ideology substitutes for academics as well. Memorizing 20 ways to do something, and then finding a way to cram in each one on a test in an "applied" situation, leads to indiscriminate use of technique and poor debugging skills.

I am interested in what kind of alternative are you offering? How do you give basic knowledge to the majority of people?

Re: Peter Higgs: I wouldn't be productive enough for today's academic system

#59
post #3

I feel like the inability to focus for long periods of time is holding back progress in many areas. If we can't even stay away from email for a few days, how can we clear our minds of conventional thinking?

A few days? People get upset if you haven't replied in an hour. Seriously though, long periods of solitude is not what we need. I'd not be productive if I became a hermit, but I'd be a lot more productive if I had periods of quiet time, punctuated by moments of discussion. This is how thinkers and artists (and hackers) worked for a long time, before we wrongly convinced ourselves that being interruptible improves pro…

I don't think it's about "quiet" - if you meant it literally - the right kind of distraction can be a sort of mental noise cancellation mechanism. Though this tends to work better in solitude, for obvious control reasons.

Re: Peter Higgs: I wouldn't be productive enough for today's academic system

#60

> He doubts a similar breakthrough could be achieved in today's academic culture, because of the expectations on academics to collaborate and keep churning out papers. The opposite of an Einstein or Higgs. Academia no longer tolerates deep, unconventional thinking. Physics used to be a hobby, now its an industry to be protected from major change. For example, if you have basic knowledge of relativity you can go to ht…

In reading that link here are just a few things that seem to be wrong with it on first glance.

(In the link attempting explain the flatness problem), one cannot just assume all galaxies are moving towards each other without first positioning a center (of those galaxies). That in itself invalidates the rest of the flatness argument, which is required for the article on your link.

This was based on a precursory read, so it may not be entirely right

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