4 ms·
No, I could not really think of that. I do not filter my blog posts through any PR department, and I have written plenty of stories that received wide attention
by Panos 15y ago
No, I could not really think of that. I do not filter my blog posts through any PR department, and I have written plenty of stories that received wide attention. And going through a PR department typically means that the resulting document lacks any punch and originality. (Been there, done that, for other types of communication.)
If I could think that people could leverage the post to post their negative preconceptions about business schools, NYU, Turnitin, academic, US, or whatever else they hate, I would have not posted the blog post to start with.
In most of my blog posts I try to propose and describe solutions, even when I "whine". (See, for example, http://behind-the-enemy-lines.blogspot.com/2010/10/plea-to-amazon-fix-mechanical-turk.html http://behind-the-enemy-lines.blogspot.com/2010/10/plea-to-a... and http://behind-the-enemy-lines.blogspot.com/2010/12/mechanical-turk-now-with-4092-spam.html http://behind-the-enemy-lines.blogspot.com/2010/12/mechanica...). The blog post about cheating was not an exception.
The reason that it was in my draft folder was because I did not want to put it out just to talk about cheating. The post felt incomplete. Yes, I could complain. But after that, what?
It took me a while to realize that people did not cheat in some of the assignments, but tried in others, was because some assignments were designed to withstand cheating. And that was a point worth talking about.
- epochwolf 15y agoThis may not be the best place to say this but, I found both your cheating article and this one interesting. Please continue posting.
- ljlolel 15y agoAgreed. Sometimes people stop writing due to a minority of very loud people being rude dismissive shallow whiners. I think Steve Yegge stopped writing for a few years because of these people. Don't stop writing, please.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- Matt_Cutts 15y agoI just wanted to say thanks for a great post. It helps focus the conversation on some of the most important themes of your earlier post. Nice job defending your point of view in the HN comments on your earlier post, too.
- techiferous 15y ago"...was because some assignments were designed to withstand cheating. And that was a point worth talking about." Absolutely. And thank you for talking about it. Do you think you can also come at it from another angle and teach the students why it's not a good idea to plagiarize or be dishonest in general? It's a good teaching moment. We need less Bernie Madoffs in the world, and part of the education system is not just teaching hard skills but how to use them in constructive and helpful ways in society. But I can understand if that's not your passion or that sounds overwhelming. I've been a teacher myself and I know how difficult or overwhelming it can be.
- Panos 15y agoI did this lecture in class. I had to do a quick Google search that day and I found two cases of plagiarism in the news. * ArsTechnica, Oct 8, 2010, Copied pleadings show there's no honor among antipiracy lawyers http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/10/copied-pleadings-show-theres-no-honor-among-antipiracy-lawyers.ars http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/10/copied-plead... * Associated Press, Sep 30, 2010, Arizona US Senate candidate denies plagiarismhttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jCoMCrHFbRWjDLeEUX-xSPo1aSogD9IIGSGG0?docId=D9IIGSGG0 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jCoMCrHFbR... Well, some students got the (subtle) point that cheating is often undetected but when detected is lethal for your career. But I believe these students would not cheat in any case.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]