3 ms·

The value is not in getting the answer. The value is in the mental exercise of figuring out how to get the answer. Supplying your professor with the answer is

The value is not in getting the answer. The value is in the mental exercise of figuring out how to get the answer. Supplying your professor with the answer is merely a token you provide as evidence that you have done so. As far as whether any "lasting measurable value" is imparted by these sorts of exercises, I can say that at my workplace I've seen more than one freshout who clearly hadn't made it through college without significant assistance from Stack Overflow and other people's blogs. None of them lasted very long. Perhaps knowing how to solve problems for yourself isn't necessary to get a college degree nowadays, but it's surprising how useful it can be in a career where you solve problems for a living.

ef4 14y ago
I don't disagree at all. I sure as heck did every problem myself and took pride in it, and I'm sure I'm more capable because of it. But that's not the point of my post. I'm asking why somebody who clearly doesn't care about learning this bit of math feels the need to go through the motions in the first place. It's a suboptimal way to learn anything.
- jeremyjh 14y ago
  Because they are buying a credential.
  - ef4 14y ago
    Yes, but the credential is supposedly tied to actual abilities that matter. If they use their fraudulent credential to get a job and then perform well, then the material really was pointless and the system really is a big show without substance. I can hardly fault someone for gaming such a system. On the other hand, if they fail miserably because they lack relevant skills, then they didn't really prosper from their cheating.
- bunderbunder 14y ago
  The freshouts I spoke of before all seemed to be genuinely shocked at their first experience of the real world. Not only were they wholly unprepared for their chosen career; they also seemed wholly unprepared for the revelation of how unprepared they were. I can't say for sure why that might be, but I could speculate on it for days. Perhaps they never really understood the point of school in the first place. Perhaps they were seeing so much success at Googling their way through school that they were never given any reason to suspect they might not be able to get away with Googling their way on through the rest of their lives. Perhaps they knew how dependent they had become on being hand-held through everything by others, but didn't know how to escape that pattern. shrug All I know is that at this point, if I were to find out that there were a university that had a policy of flunking students for asking, "Is this going to be on the exam?" I would immediately write a letter to HR suggesting that we aggressively recruit graduates of that program.

ef4 14y ago

I don't disagree at all. I sure as heck did every problem myself and took pride in it, and I'm sure I'm more capable because of it. But that's not the point of my post. I'm asking why somebody who clearly doesn't care about learning this bit of math feels the need to go through the motions in the first place. It's a suboptimal way to learn anything.

jeremyjh 14y ago
Because they are buying a credential.
- ef4 14y ago
  Yes, but the credential is supposedly tied to actual abilities that matter. If they use their fraudulent credential to get a job and then perform well, then the material really was pointless and the system really is a big show without substance. I can hardly fault someone for gaming such a system. On the other hand, if they fail miserably because they lack relevant skills, then they didn't really prosper from their cheating.
bunderbunder 14y ago
The freshouts I spoke of before all seemed to be genuinely shocked at their first experience of the real world. Not only were they wholly unprepared for their chosen career; they also seemed wholly unprepared for the revelation of how unprepared they were. I can't say for sure why that might be, but I could speculate on it for days. Perhaps they never really understood the point of school in the first place. Perhaps they were seeing so much success at Googling their way through school that they were never given any reason to suspect they might not be able to get away with Googling their way on through the rest of their lives. Perhaps they knew how dependent they had become on being hand-held through everything by others, but didn't know how to escape that pattern. shrug All I know is that at this point, if I were to find out that there were a university that had a policy of flunking students for asking, "Is this going to be on the exam?" I would immediately write a letter to HR suggesting that we aggressively recruit graduates of that program.