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> Replacing universities with a netflix-esque experience may seem attractive to students, but is doomed to fail to train students To be honest, for very mathem

> Replacing universities with a netflix-esque experience may seem attractive to students, but is doomed to fail to train students To be honest, for very mathematical subjects the lectures are almost useless. Exercises and practicing is what gives insights, determines the grades and tells which part of the lecture is actually important. I'd be curious how it is in other subjects, like literature or history. But I assume without writing texts, one doesn't get very far there either.

iguy 6y ago
> lectures are almost useless. Exercises and practicing is what gives insights And community -- both the other students, and the professors. To motivate each other, and to calibrate expectations, and to fill holes in each others' knowledge. That seems like the big (academic) reason to be physically on campus, and ideally at a selective place. My impression is that the same would be true of (say) history, but I don't really know.
Item_Boring 6y ago
While I agree that exercises etc. are the way to deeply understand the subject I disagree with your take that math lectures are senseless. I admittedly always struggled when I skipped lectures and attending them helped me to see the “bigger connections” and actually understand proofs given I was taking notes throughout the lecture. In philosophy however - which for me this semester is entirely online without any video chat whatever interaction - the in person lectures were highly valuable to me due to their nature on heavily relying on discussion. While I do have a paper here and there to write my understanding mostly comes from attending the lectures.
maxmunzel 6y ago
I used to think this way, but learning how to take math lectures really changed my university experience. To my first semester me: 1. Go to the lectures, sit upfront (where you are definitely not going to use your phone or fall asleep) 2. Get the book or script that corresponds to your lecture. Almost all math lectures follow some sort of book. If unsure, ask your professor. Just reading ahead for half an hour prior to the lecture will make _such_ a difference, as you won’t be lost and can focus more on contexts than on definitions. 3. Feel free to ask questions. If you know where you are (see 2.) it’s much easier to know what’s wrong. Professors are human and sometimes forget to give some theorem they are using. It’s really easy (and frankly surreal at first) to be that guy that points out errors to the professor (in a respectful way!). If your shy or you have the feeling, that the problem is indeed on your end – take notes of things that are unclear and ask them after the lecture. Professors usually love to talk about their subject! 4. Last but not least: Keep calm and carry on. It’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed at first ;)
- blablabla123 6y ago
  Sure, it's possible to prepare ahead and also afterwards. But this is so time-consuming, I mean after all everybody has to decide that for themselves but IMHO Pareto-optimizing that means not visiting most lectures. At least that's how I studied and it worked out really well. But I agree with you one can seek a lot of value from it, but that doesn't limit itself to 1.5 hours sitting there and listening. But rather being really concentrated for 1.5 hours, and spending time before and after.
deleted 6y ago
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iguy 6y ago

> lectures are almost useless. Exercises and practicing is what gives insights And community -- both the other students, and the professors. To motivate each other, and to calibrate expectations, and to fill holes in each others' knowledge. That seems like the big (academic) reason to be physically on campus, and ideally at a selective place. My impression is that the same would be true of (say) history, but I don't really know.

Item_Boring 6y ago

While I agree that exercises etc. are the way to deeply understand the subject I disagree with your take that math lectures are senseless. I admittedly always struggled when I skipped lectures and attending them helped me to see the “bigger connections” and actually understand proofs given I was taking notes throughout the lecture. In philosophy however - which for me this semester is entirely online without any video chat whatever interaction - the in person lectures were highly valuable to me due to their nature on heavily relying on discussion. While I do have a paper here and there to write my understanding mostly comes from attending the lectures.

maxmunzel 6y ago

I used to think this way, but learning how to take math lectures really changed my university experience. To my first semester me: 1. Go to the lectures, sit upfront (where you are definitely not going to use your phone or fall asleep) 2. Get the book or script that corresponds to your lecture. Almost all math lectures follow some sort of book. If unsure, ask your professor. Just reading ahead for half an hour prior to the lecture will make _such_ a difference, as you won’t be lost and can focus more on contexts than on definitions. 3. Feel free to ask questions. If you know where you are (see 2.) it’s much easier to know what’s wrong. Professors are human and sometimes forget to give some theorem they are using. It’s really easy (and frankly surreal at first) to be that guy that points out errors to the professor (in a respectful way!). If your shy or you have the feeling, that the problem is indeed on your end – take notes of things that are unclear and ask them after the lecture. Professors usually love to talk about their subject! 4. Last but not least: Keep calm and carry on. It’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed at first ;)

blablabla123 6y ago
Sure, it's possible to prepare ahead and also afterwards. But this is so time-consuming, I mean after all everybody has to decide that for themselves but IMHO Pareto-optimizing that means not visiting most lectures. At least that's how I studied and it worked out really well. But I agree with you one can seek a lot of value from it, but that doesn't limit itself to 1.5 hours sitting there and listening. But rather being really concentrated for 1.5 hours, and spending time before and after.

deleted 6y ago

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