h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Sol, engineers are good at pattern matching and problem solving, just not wordy stuff. Patterns in pictures and diagrams etc and I'm fine words I'm not so. Number puzzles (sudoku, kakuro etc) great, crosswords, not good at all.
Working within a single department here I don't get to see what our other students are like. Still there are some who are polite and articulate, other much less so and all inbetween.

MR The early modern modules officially start at 1500 here, but as I like the Renaissance, I need to go back another 100 years or so. Personally, I probably wasn't analytical enough, and it's a good thing first year didn't count, as I had to get modern history out of the way then.
We put dissertation and thesis the other way round-a thesis is what you do for your PhD. It does seem a bit stupid to me insisting people get a degree to prove they've got the experience and skills.

[]
Tidying to move out of halls on Saturday morning.

I had the best of intentions today. Today I was going to make an intelligent coherent post to the Atelier, amuse you all and inform. However. I have just booked our summer flights to That Place and have broken into a cold sweat. I'll have to just sit forward here with my head between my knees... *looks up again* what is it that one kisses goodbye under these circumstances?

Wilma, I thought you had decided not to go. I've clearly not been paying attention. I'm not sure I would be brave enough, but you guys have been there when it was rough going before. We'll all worry, so if you can find a way to check in while you're there.......

I definitely believe in higher education. And I'm convinced that a degree from some universities is worth more than the same degree from others. But I'm not so sure the actual quality of the education matches the value of the degrees. And I think it is unwise to dismiss people without degrees out of hand. I'm known some absolute idiots with high-faluting diplomas and some brilliant people without them. The university experience itself is valuable, as Sol says, and does indicate the ability to stick with a course of study to completion.

In respect of further education, I'm not sure I could put myself through another month of all essay exams to get a degree. Back in the ties, getting a degree in an American University was a doddle compared to the British University system. I am not trying to deprecate the achievements of the degreed Americans here. But when I took exams in a university in PA, they were either multiple-choice/true-false or single word/single sentence answers. I never saw a single test of that nature during my entire sojourn at Birmingham. It was always essays, those dreaded blue books handed out at the beginning and then being left with 3 hours to write 4 or 5 essays.

I almost vomited when I sat my logic finals. On the first read-through, I didn't understand any of the questions! It took 20 minutes of breathing slowly to be able to re-read them and recognise the hooks to stuff I had revised. And I never learned how I did on individual exams, let alone the essays. I was afraid to ask. The staff and advisors just had a meeting, discussed us on a case-by-case basis, and came up with our final standings.

There was just one First awarded in my graduating year, to a mature fellow, in Combined Honours, Greek and Philosophy. He was fluent in Greek, had a Greek wife, so he could run full-speed with the ancient Greek philosophers. I was the only student who went on to post-grad work.

As far as usefulness goes, philosophy gets a lot of derision, especially from the more vocationally-oriented programs. Philosophy has turned out to be an excellent precursor for computer programming, however. And for self-expression in almost any field.

My first job after I got my degree was as a riding instructor.

Wilma, I'm sure everything will be fine.



How are the Brits feeling about the new government this morning?

Morning Lil,
Personally I don't think much will change with Gordan Brown in charge despite a comprehensive re-shuffling of his cabinet. Some new, younger faces in Government but no matter what Brown does he has been complicit in all the decisons for the last ten years.

And old habits die hard, he has already criticised Blairs appointment to be the Quartet peace envoy as one of his repsonsibilities will be to promote economic growth in Palestine. Brown reckons that was one of his initiatives. Plus ca change.

Got to

Lil, I occasionally have shorter answer questions (a paragraph) on my tests, but you'll be happy to know that all of my tests are essay tests.

Okay, I missed something...That Place?

Well Gordon Brown hasn't made my train run on time yet. Maybe I should give him another few days, but come Monday I expect to have time for a before starting work. Without my I feel rotten all morning.

MR, it's good to know that some proper rigor is being brought to testing methods here. I blame the true-false question for the decline of critical thought in today's Yoot.

That Place would be Lebanon, wouldn't it?

I don't remember ever taking a multiple choice or true/false test in college. Other than my science and math classes obviously, every class I took used timed essay tests. Of course my memory isn't what it used to be. It's possible that I'm just not recalling them.

Hopefully you'll fare well, Wilma, and you'll all be happy to see your family during peaceful times.

For the last two years I've been co-working with a philosopher (my ex-son-in-law), a webdesigner and a strategic communication consultant, and it has been very enlightning. Allthough I'm still not able to translate all these war term into doing a good job. (strategic and offensive for instance).

My daugther's new boyfriend is writing/reading a PhD in Sociology about immigrants at an Oxford University. (As you may recall my daugther does a PhD in Irish Politics at Queens University in Belfast). Both doing it from Denmark.

His parents are half Danish half USians and work as antropologists in Africa.

I'm sure I have som misspellings - but I've just spent 40 minutes cutting my son's hair (20 cm shorter) and I'm all jittery, because I know absolutely nothing about cutting hair. Luckily I interviewed a Polish hairdresser (my current hairdresser) today and she looked at a photo of him and a photo of the hairstyles he preferred and gave me some guidance.

My mother recently had a stroke/bleeding in the brain and I've spent a lot of time communicating with the nurses - oh, I've said this before, didn't I? Well, I woke up at 01.30 because somebody rang - and disconnected when I answered. Then I spent an hour listening to the washing machine the son had started. I read a bit. Had evil thoughts - went upstairs to the guestroom to read and hopefully sleep. Then my mother rang three times from 05-07 to accuse me of taking away her pills. And then I went to work.

Sorry. I had too sigh.

I got your message, MR. I was there, but I was trying to take a nap because of a headache. Excessive heat and irritating coworkers makes FG a grumpy girl.

[ ]

Sounds like you need a and a large , Tartaronne.

*worries about Wilma, worrying

Oh, nearly forgot two other things.

*waves to KA

* at GDZ re the compressed wee bitties of carbon

Just what I needed, Teuchter .

Pressed carbon

I don't think much of 'tokens', cut flowers, jewelery. Leaves me cold. But a smile - that is quite another matter.

Yes, sorry, MR, Lebanon. That's the Place. I just got the jitters because for days I had been putting it off and listening (or lurking) in all sorts of webbie places, watching as people decided to cancel their flights...

Now everyone is waiting to see how Bliar does in the ME. It will be interesting viewing, if nothing else.

and and for all the deserving thereof.

~W~

Is the fruitbowl still around? Ah, there it is!

*tosses in Figs of Frustration*

Don't you just love when someone thinks they told you something rather important, because they thought they'd told 'everyone', but they missed you? Moving's been delayed indefinitely again, and I didn't learn until this morning, when the movers didn't show up. Since the office doesn't open until 10, and the movers were due at 9, I got to sit here trying to tell Faith that we may not be moving today, after all.

> An office. I missed having one of these

Wow... an office with a door! Something to be treasured. I wish I had an office... but if I did, I'd probably goof off more.

For some reason, I'm reminded of WKRP in Cincinatti, when Les Nesman decides he wants an office with a door - so he marks out his office on the floor in tape. Whenever he got mad he'd stomp in his 'office' and slam his 'door.'

> Don't you just love when someone thinks they told you something rather important, because they thought they'd told 'everyone', but they missed you?

What's worse is when you've just been diagnosed with MS, so you're not sure if you've been told and have just forgotten because you might be having memory problems, or if your spouse is just remembering something that didn't actually happen.

Like this morning. R. remembers something that I could swear never happened - at least not the way he describes. Is he losing his mind, or am I? I know, you guys don't know either. It's just frustrating!

Wilma, keep your head down! Be very careful, and those of us who pray will be praying for you.

Wilma, you'll be reet, babe. Just relax and enjoy seeing your family.

>Sorry. I had too sigh.<

I know what you mean, Tartaronne, A's mum fell yesterday and just *has* to keep piling on the pressure for him to go back there -over 30 miles (she does have children living a lot closer, though)

Amy, what a frelling bummer! Are they going to give you another date, or are you just going to be hanging?

Lentilla, if you need me...