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All my math classes felt like that. I was simply being told to memorize formulas so that later the teacher could give me numbers and I would plug them in. Rar

by TGJ 16y ago

All my math classes felt like that. I was simply being told to memorize formulas so that later the teacher could give me numbers and I would plug them in. Rarely was I ever told why I would want to use those formulas. My best class was a chemistry course taught by a 60 year old man that used to test missiles at one point. The grades never really mattered and as long as you knew the vocabulary he would pass you. But where he made a difference was giving us examples of why stuff worked along with how. For the final we had to determine what an unknown substance was. There was no right method to do this, just simply a number of different tests that we had to do and be able to understand what the results were. We then had to 'think' as to what it might mean about the substance we were testing. He set us free and we passed and failed on our own accord because it was up to the students to read the book to try and find just one more test that might give a better result. The one lasting comment that my chemistry teacher told me was that he was not concerned with how well we memorized things because he knew we would forget. There would always be time to read up on whatever we were doing on the job. He wanted us to have the core understanding so that when we did look up the boiling point or specific gravity of a compound we would know what those facts would signify as opposed to learning stats on the more common elements. Best teacher I ever had because he didn't so much as teach me as he made me think for myself.

vimalg2 16y ago
This is what i've come to experience myself. Often a solid grasp of the core fundamentals of your domain is more valuable that having a half-baked knowledge of various in-depth areas. Like the old man said, (or didn't) , You can always google it from your exobrain. I even recall Sherlock Holmes' character saying something to that effect; he says something about the human brain having finite usable storage capacity (with a low-enough access-time). I really liked reading that quote (confirmation bias. he he)
- loewenskind 16y ago
  Yes, that was in the first Sherlock Holmes book if I'm not mistaken. Sherlock let it slip that he still thought the sun revolved around the earth. Watson was outraged at such an outdated belief but Sherlock pointed out how it had no bearing on what he did and therefor wasn't worth keeping up with. I too was partial to this because I've always worked under a similar assumption (limited space in your head for all the things you need so don't waste it with useless info like who won the super bowl 3 years ago).
  - tome 16y ago
    He also said he would try hard to forget that the earth went round the sun, so that he could reuse the memory space for other things.
    - whimsy 16y ago
      If he'd spent some space on neurology, he'd know that forgetting things doesn't create space for new memories.
      - AndyKelley 16y ago
        The easiest way to win The Game is to cheat.
      - cynicalkane 16y ago
        It's worth remembering that the first Sherlock Holmes book is of significantly lower quality than the rest of them, and doesn't fit the canon of the later stories.

by TGJ 16y ago

vimalg2 16y ago

This is what i've come to experience myself. Often a solid grasp of the core fundamentals of your domain is more valuable that having a half-baked knowledge of various in-depth areas. Like the old man said, (or didn't) , You can always google it from your exobrain. I even recall Sherlock Holmes' character saying something to that effect; he says something about the human brain having finite usable storage capacity (with a low-enough access-time). I really liked reading that quote (confirmation bias. he he)

loewenskind 16y ago
Yes, that was in the first Sherlock Holmes book if I'm not mistaken. Sherlock let it slip that he still thought the sun revolved around the earth. Watson was outraged at such an outdated belief but Sherlock pointed out how it had no bearing on what he did and therefor wasn't worth keeping up with. I too was partial to this because I've always worked under a similar assumption (limited space in your head for all the things you need so don't waste it with useless info like who won the super bowl 3 years ago).
- tome 16y ago
  He also said he would try hard to forget that the earth went round the sun, so that he could reuse the memory space for other things.
  - whimsy 16y ago
    If he'd spent some space on neurology, he'd know that forgetting things doesn't create space for new memories.
    - AndyKelley 16y ago
      The easiest way to win The Game is to cheat.
    - cynicalkane 16y ago
      It's worth remembering that the first Sherlock Holmes book is of significantly lower quality than the rest of them, and doesn't fit the canon of the later stories.