4 ms·

I disagree. Playing sports at the highest levels is an academic activity, it's just not recognized as an academic activity today. You definitely have to study

by cellis 12y ago

I disagree. Playing sports at the highest levels is an academic activity, it's just not recognized as an academic activity today. You definitely have to study, recognize patterns, solve problems, etc. Just not so much reading books and writing papers.

jordanpg 12y ago
> reading books and writing papers. So you'd argue that football is an intellectual pursuit in the same sense that math, physics, philosophy, or history is? That study of the nuts and bolts of the game is worthy of the attention of our finest minds (as a discipline unto itself)? The "reading books and writing papers" you mention is a severe and tragic distortion of why universities exist. It has little to do with the academic activity that's occurring outside the undergraduate classrooms. It might be the case that there is a lot of waste happening in universities due to the commodification of education, but that doesn't trivialize the serious work that's still happening, however underfunded it remains.
- Retric 12y ago
  It's at least on par with, literature, music, philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, art, or any other "soft" subjects lacking of direct impact on people's lives. It's held to a higher standard than economics, but has less impact. As to math I would argue it's more meaningful than say topology, but less than other branches.
  - Steuard 12y ago
    If you're listing topology as "less meaningful", I'm guessing you haven't spent much time studying topics in physics that have been developed since the 1970s or so. Topology turns out to be a pretty big deal.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
    - Retric 12y ago
      There has been plenty of post 1970's physics advances, but the number of useful ones (for the average person) directly linked to Topology is much smaller. EX: Fusion research is potentially extremely useful, but so far it's impact is basically nothing. Ditto Astrophysics. Though, if you have anything specific in mind I would love to hear about it as I am really drawing a blank.
  - wfo 12y ago
    Your casual dismissal of half the central core of human intellectual enterprise over the last 4000 years raised my eyebrows, but when I got to your comment about topology it became clear you have no idea what you're talking about or are simply trolling. Either way, stop.
    - Retric 12y ago
      It's not that I think they have low or zero value. Or even personally care about the sport. It's simply a numbers game and I rate Football rather highly as it's actively enjoyed by a large number of people. For comparison more people in the US watched an football game than read a book for fun last year. Semi conductor design by comparison is something few people directly care about but it directly impacts their lives increasing it's value immensely. PS: History for example is important, but the study of history has fairly limited impact outside of entertainment for most people.
      - dragonwriter 12y ago
        > It's simply a numbers game and I rate Football rather highly as it's actively enjoyed by a large number of people. The question wasn't whether it was actively enjoyed by a large number of people, but whether it was "an academic activity". The idea that was is an "academic activity" is defined by how widely enjoyed the activity is probably only defensible with a very unusual definition of "academic".
        Retric 12y ago
        My point is not to defend it as an academic activity, but to measure the impact. "Game theory" is clearly an academic activity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory The study of football at a deeper level is a subset of that, but it covers a fairly wide area. From which plays to call in offence vs defense. Cost benefit of risking a player injury in a low win percentage game. Which players to sign etc. (Or even just the math around fantasy football.) I mean just because your covering a specific WWI battle does not mean your doing something else and not studding history.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
cgearhart 12y ago
By the modern understanding of the word "academic" it is more like a skilled trade.

by cellis 12y ago

jordanpg 12y ago

> reading books and writing papers. So you'd argue that football is an intellectual pursuit in the same sense that math, physics, philosophy, or history is? That study of the nuts and bolts of the game is worthy of the attention of our finest minds (as a discipline unto itself)? The "reading books and writing papers" you mention is a severe and tragic distortion of why universities exist. It has little to do with the academic activity that's occurring outside the undergraduate classrooms. It might be the case that there is a lot of waste happening in universities due to the commodification of education, but that doesn't trivialize the serious work that's still happening, however underfunded it remains.

Retric 12y ago
It's at least on par with, literature, music, philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, art, or any other "soft" subjects lacking of direct impact on people's lives. It's held to a higher standard than economics, but has less impact. As to math I would argue it's more meaningful than say topology, but less than other branches.
- Steuard 12y ago
  If you're listing topology as "less meaningful", I'm guessing you haven't spent much time studying topics in physics that have been developed since the 1970s or so. Topology turns out to be a pretty big deal.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - Retric 12y ago
    There has been plenty of post 1970's physics advances, but the number of useful ones (for the average person) directly linked to Topology is much smaller. EX: Fusion research is potentially extremely useful, but so far it's impact is basically nothing. Ditto Astrophysics. Though, if you have anything specific in mind I would love to hear about it as I am really drawing a blank.
- wfo 12y ago
  Your casual dismissal of half the central core of human intellectual enterprise over the last 4000 years raised my eyebrows, but when I got to your comment about topology it became clear you have no idea what you're talking about or are simply trolling. Either way, stop.
  - Retric 12y ago
    It's not that I think they have low or zero value. Or even personally care about the sport. It's simply a numbers game and I rate Football rather highly as it's actively enjoyed by a large number of people. For comparison more people in the US watched an football game than read a book for fun last year. Semi conductor design by comparison is something few people directly care about but it directly impacts their lives increasing it's value immensely. PS: History for example is important, but the study of history has fairly limited impact outside of entertainment for most people.
    - dragonwriter 12y ago
      > It's simply a numbers game and I rate Football rather highly as it's actively enjoyed by a large number of people. The question wasn't whether it was actively enjoyed by a large number of people, but whether it was "an academic activity". The idea that was is an "academic activity" is defined by how widely enjoyed the activity is probably only defensible with a very unusual definition of "academic".
      - Retric 12y ago
        My point is not to defend it as an academic activity, but to measure the impact. "Game theory" is clearly an academic activity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory The study of football at a deeper level is a subset of that, but it covers a fairly wide area. From which plays to call in offence vs defense. Cost benefit of risking a player injury in a low win percentage game. Which players to sign etc. (Or even just the math around fantasy football.) I mean just because your covering a specific WWI battle does not mean your doing something else and not studding history.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

cgearhart 12y ago

By the modern understanding of the word "academic" it is more like a skilled trade.