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For some reason Oxford is taken to be the pinnacle of UK Ivory Towers Because it's the most prestigious and the most-well connected (i.e. the most highly prize

by wyclif 5y ago

For some reason Oxford is taken to be the pinnacle of UK Ivory Towers Because it's the most prestigious and the most-well connected (i.e. the most highly prized network) university in the UK.

traceroute66 4y ago
> Because it's the most prestigious and the most-well connected (i.e. the most highly prized network) university in the UK. No. You are merely stating the mythical status that seems to have developed over the years for some reason. There's no real reason why it should be more prestigious than other UK Ivory Towers establishments such as Cambridge or Imperial. But for some reason everyone is brainwashed into "oooh Oxford". And for some reason there is an expectation amongst those who go there that "when I went to Oxford" is supposed to elicit some sort of unbounded admiration.
- wyclif 4y ago
  It's not mythical, it's very real. Look at the constitution and educational credentials of UK cabinet ministers and Parliament. It's often Eton > Oxford U. In order of prestige, it's undeniably Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial in that order (and St Andrews if you allow for Scotland). The reason why name-dropping Oxford in that cringetastic manner is done is because people respond to branding, just like Americans do with Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Princeton.
  - traceroute66 4y ago
    > Look at the constitution and educational credentials of UK cabinet ministers and Parliament. It's often Eton > Oxford U Yes, and as another poster stated above, it quite clearly should NOT be that way. Just going to Eton and/or Oxford does not automatically make you a highly intelligent and highly capable individual ... the present UK cabinet is an example of how that route manages just as easily to push out a bunch of incompetent twats.
    - wyclif 4y ago
      Nowhere was the claim made that an Oxford degree makes you intelligent or competent. And in this thread, we're not dealing with the way things should be, however you or I see things. It's simply acknowledging the way things are.

by wyclif 5y ago

For some reason Oxford is taken to be the pinnacle of UK Ivory Towers Because it's the most prestigious and the most-well connected (i.e. the most highly prized network) university in the UK.

traceroute66 4y ago

> Because it's the most prestigious and the most-well connected (i.e. the most highly prized network) university in the UK. No. You are merely stating the mythical status that seems to have developed over the years for some reason. There's no real reason why it should be more prestigious than other UK Ivory Towers establishments such as Cambridge or Imperial. But for some reason everyone is brainwashed into "oooh Oxford". And for some reason there is an expectation amongst those who go there that "when I went to Oxford" is supposed to elicit some sort of unbounded admiration.

wyclif 4y ago
It's not mythical, it's very real. Look at the constitution and educational credentials of UK cabinet ministers and Parliament. It's often Eton > Oxford U. In order of prestige, it's undeniably Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial in that order (and St Andrews if you allow for Scotland). The reason why name-dropping Oxford in that cringetastic manner is done is because people respond to branding, just like Americans do with Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Princeton.
- traceroute66 4y ago
  > Look at the constitution and educational credentials of UK cabinet ministers and Parliament. It's often Eton > Oxford U Yes, and as another poster stated above, it quite clearly should NOT be that way. Just going to Eton and/or Oxford does not automatically make you a highly intelligent and highly capable individual ... the present UK cabinet is an example of how that route manages just as easily to push out a bunch of incompetent twats.
  - wyclif 4y ago
    Nowhere was the claim made that an Oxford degree makes you intelligent or competent. And in this thread, we're not dealing with the way things should be, however you or I see things. It's simply acknowledging the way things are.