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A student's grandmother is far more likely to die just before an exam

pike.psu.edu

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Re: A student's grandmother is far more likely to die just before an exam

#31

Post by aes256 »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #25
michaelt wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but that still doesn't explain why the reported death rate for grandmothers is 24 times higher than that for grandfathers. I suppose it's possible students care about their grandmothers more than their grandfathers.

Men also die earlier than women so it's possible most students grandfathers are already dead before they reach college. I know this was the case for me.

This is a very good point. Both my grandfathers passed away when I was young (i.e. before I took any important exams), whereas both my grandmothers are still alive and kicking.

Re: A student's grandmother is far more likely to die just before an exam

#32

Post by dsr_ »

FooBarWidget wrote: post #27
mblake wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly I have experienced this. I was in mourning after losing a relative and refused to participate in an overtly cheerful activity.Not only was I reprimanded for it, but later heard the professor felt the need to complain to other people as well about yet another kid 'whos grandma had died'. It just so happened that my grandma had not died, nor would have I cared much if she would've had, but a much more cared for r…

Isn't it quite easy to present proof that a relative has really died?

No, generally not in the timeframe between being notified and the funeral. There may be an announcement in a local newspaper -- local to your deceased relative -- but this is as likely to be after the funeral as before.

Re: A student's grandmother is far more likely to die just before an exam

#33

Post by michaelt »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #25
michaelt wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but that still doesn't explain why the reported death rate for grandmothers is 24 times higher than that for grandfathers. I suppose it's possible students care about their grandmothers more than their grandfathers.

Men also die earlier than women so it's possible most students grandfathers are already dead before they reach college. I know this was the case for me.

There's not really an age when women outnumber men 24:1 though [1]

[1] Figure 2, http://cnx.org/content/m42935/latest/?collection=col11407/la...

Re: A student's grandmother is far more likely to die just before an exam

#34

Post by cafard »

btilly wrote: post #4

This is indeed a strange and worrying phenomena. I am in fact aware of cases where a student has managed to lose 3 or more grandmothers while pursuing an undergraduate degree. This leaves the student with a negative number of grandmothers. The underlying mechanisms allowing this is highly mysterious and is certainly deserving of further research.

Will higher education help to solve our Medicare/Medicaid problems?

Re: A student's grandmother is far more likely to die just before an exam

#35

Post by beerglass »

vidarh wrote: post #28
[deleted] wrote: post #24

[deleted]

Lighten up - it's humour satirizing students trying to get out of exams by claiming grandma died, not research.

Exactly, I get it. Wonder, why everyone here is discussing the issue seriously rather than noting the humor in the piece.

Re: A student's grandmother is far more likely to die just before an exam

#36

Post by pc86 »

dsr_ wrote: post #32
FooBarWidget wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it quite easy to present proof that a relative has really died?

No, generally not in the timeframe between being notified and the funeral. There may be an announcement in a local newspaper -- local to your deceased relative -- but this is as likely to be after the funeral as before.

I don't think there's an issue with saying "you're getting a 0 on the exam until you furnish proof of death and proof of relation, at which point you can (re)take the exam." Surely even the most bureaucratic university would have some mechanism in place to allow a student to take an exam, even a final, later than planned (or even the next semester?)

Re: A student's grandmother is far more likely to die just before an exam

#37

Post by arbuge »

btilly wrote: post #4

This is indeed a strange and worrying phenomena. I am in fact aware of cases where a student has managed to lose 3 or more grandmothers while pursuing an undergraduate degree. This leaves the student with a negative number of grandmothers. The underlying mechanisms allowing this is highly mysterious and is certainly deserving of further research.

My hypothesis is that there are students out there with just a single grandmother to balance out the 3 grandmothers cases. This leads us to deduce the general Law of Conservation of Grandmothers.

More serious note: I have a hard time believing this from my anectodal evidence - my grandmothers were a couple of loving but otherwise spaced-out individuals who were only vaguely aware that I was in school for something at any point. The timing of my exams was not within their remotest knowledge.

Re: A student's grandmother is far more likely to die just before an exam

#38

Post by [deleted] »

arbuge wrote: post #37
btilly wrote: post #4

This is indeed a strange and worrying phenomena. I am in fact aware of cases where a student has managed to lose 3 or more grandmothers while pursuing an undergraduate degree. This leaves the student with a negative number of grandmothers. The underlying mechanisms allowing this is highly mysterious and is certainly deserving of further research.

My hypothesis is that there are students out there with just a single grandmother to balance out the 3 grandmothers cases. This leads us to deduce the general Law of Conservation of Grandmothers. More serious note: I have a hard time believing this from my anectodal evidence - my grandmothers were a couple of loving but otherwise spaced-out individuals who were only vaguely aware that I was in school for something at…

[deleted]

Re: A student's grandmother is far more likely to die just before an exam

#39

Post by bnycum »

btilly wrote: post #4

This is indeed a strange and worrying phenomena. I am in fact aware of cases where a student has managed to lose 3 or more grandmothers while pursuing an undergraduate degree. This leaves the student with a negative number of grandmothers. The underlying mechanisms allowing this is highly mysterious and is certainly deserving of further research.

I had "3" grandmothers. One was a step grandmother from remarriage. Shockingly they all died before big events in school. Never used it as an excuse though.
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