College textbooks

[boykster]

It works very much like the pharmeceutical industry, where doctors will deliberately prescribe a name brands (and mark "no generic" on the script) when they know a generic exists, because of the perks they get from the drug companies.

This statement is blatantly false.  Sure there are dishonest physicians, just like there are dishonest lawyers, police officers, bankers, etc.  But to paint broad strokes like that is very misleading. 

I'll agree, in MANY cases, generics are just as viable as name-brand pharmaceuticals, and you'd be suprised how many physicians are actually pushing to prescribe generics.  However, it is no longer legal for pharmaceutical companies to provide direct perks to physicians or their practices in order to coerce them into offering there products.  Additionally, there are many cases where a generic pharmaceutical may have the same active ingredient and therapeutic value, but may either be not as effective (lower %purity, less active ingredient, different delivery system) OR may have non-active ingredients that can cause adverse effects and/or allergic reactions.

[shmokes]

I won't argue with any of that.  I'm no doctor.   

[SithMaster]

I would suggest you drop all of your classes and take some remedial english and composition classes.  Reading your posts makes my brain hurt.

Learning to adapt to professor's style's and idosyncracies (and egomaniac is an idiosyncracy) is education.

Whining over $60 is pointless....

Or maybe your brain hurts because this is above your level of thinking.  notice it was a statement and not a question.  That isnt learning.  You go to college to learn the material of study not to conform to someone's method of teaching.  You do have to accept how they teach but that isnt why you go to college.

Um whining about money?  I sad it sucks and theres nothing i can do about it.  If it was whining id be in every topic and complaining about it. at least shmokes and chad contribute to this topic.

and you used the wrong form of there in your last statement.  it is their.

and college books are like shmokes said a ratcher.  like for math books there is no reason to change the questions being used other than to force students and tachers to get new editions.  your going to learn the material anyway it doesnt matter if one question asks what 2x-3=13 or if it asks 3x-2=11 your going to learn how to find the value of the variable.

[boykster]

I would suggest you drop all of your classes and take some remedial english and composition classes.  Reading your posts makes my brain hurt.

Learning to adapt to professor's style's and idosyncracies (and egomaniac is an idiosyncracy) is education.

Whining over $60 is pointless....

Or maybe your brain hurts because this is above your level of thinking.  notice it was a statement and not a question.  That isnt learning.  You go to college to learn the material of study not to conform to someone's method of teaching.  You do have to accept how they teach but that isnt why you go to college.

Um whining about money?  I sad it sucks and theres nothing i can do about it.  If it was whining id be in every topic and complaining about it. at least shmokes and chad contribute to this topic.

and you used the wrong form of there in your last statement.  it is their.

and college books are like shmokes said a ratcher.  like for math books there is no reason to change the questions being used other than to force students and tachers to get new editions.  your going to learn the material anyway it doesnt matter if one question asks what 2x-3=13 or if it asks 3x-2=11 your going to learn how to find the value of the variable.

I strongly disagree with every one of your assertions here, but you are entitled to your opinions.  College is not simply about learning the material of study, but rather to learn HOW to think in different ways.  Sure, the material is part of the equation, but it's just one part of it.

Mathematics is actually a fairly dynamic field, equations don't change necessarily, but the application of such equations do.  Additionally, new theorems are being proven yearly, necessitating new editions.  If you're in college to learn multiplication, additon, subraction, etc in math, then you're doing great! 

I realize that I used there instead of their, simple typo mistake, but you used "ratcher" rather than "racket" so we're even on that one

my point is that years from now, when you are benfiting from your "real" education rather than the BS material you learn in class, that the "extra" $60 you paid for some class or w/e will be way off your radar.  Enjoy college and get as much out of it as you can.

[boykster]

I won't argue with any of that.  I'm no doctor.   

Me neither, but I do work for the "evil empire" that is the pharmaceutical industry, and from the inside I've seen a MAJOR change in how the business side of this industry is run.  I'm not defending the industry, but the way we do business has had an overhaul. 

I don't fundamentally disagree with you about the textbooks either, was just pointing out a perceived inconsistancy in your statements.

[SithMaster]

i used my example because my math course is algebra and that is a problem we had.  i will become more difficult im sure.

i dont take a teacher's style of teaching to mean a new of thinking.  like my accounting teacher for an example he constantly claims that that accounting is a language that we must learn.  i understand that ive had two years of the stuff in high school and im sure others havent but it isnt doing anyone any good not going into detail about it.  also he says he is there to teach us a new method of learning accounting.  i learned one way but im willing to learn another however if this is the case he should have started with his book or have waited till it was published.  now hes trying to get us to buy his book or books halfway through the semester when they are published.

also he gives us homework but doesnt check all of it and goes into the advanced material before starting chapter one.  i understand i have to read outside of class and i do but if he isnt going over the material the class has read then we have to jump around the book which means hes giving us false info when he tells us to read any chapter if he doesnt go over it.

i agree that i should learn new ways of thinking.

math is dynamic when it is being applied to things yes but if we are learning how to solve an equation like the example i showed which is simple then they dont need to change it.  accountants dont need trig or calc so i took algebra.  if i had needed something more advanced id have taken it and maybe i should have so i could go into programming or something but id rather concentrate on one subject.  alright ill go with the new theories but that doesnt mean needing to change little things to sell more books.  that i think we can all agree on that many publishers do this to prevent people from buying and sellig used books.

yes i spelled it wrong.  but i only pointed out your misspelling cause you knocked my grammar.  i really dont mind improper english online just when it gets beyond a certain point.  what i wrote that made you lash out at me is just me being me.  i write stupid things sometimes.  not because im stupid, though you'd disagree im sure, but because i think its funny and its not at anyone expense.

[boykster]

i used my example because my math course is algebra and that is a problem we had.  i will become more difficult im sure.

i dont take a teacher's style of teaching to mean a new of thinking.  like my accounting teacher for an example he constantly claims that that accounting is a language that we must learn.  i understand that ive had two years of the stuff in high school and im sure others havent but it isnt doing anyone any good not going into detail about it.  also he says he is there to teach us a new method of learning accounting.  i learned one way but im willing to learn another however if this is the case he should have started with his book or have waited till it was published.  now hes trying to get us to buy his book or books halfway through the semester when they are published.

also he gives us homework but doesnt check all of it and goes into the advanced material before starting chapter one.  i understand i have to read outside of class and i do but if he isnt going over the material the class has read then we have to jump around the book which means hes giving us false info when he tells us to read any chapter if he doesnt go over it.

i agree that i should learn new ways of thinking.

math is dynamic when it is being applied to things yes but if we are learning how to solve an equation like the example i showed which is simple then they dont need to change it.  accountants dont need trig or calc so i took algebra.  if i had needed something more advanced id have taken it and maybe i should have so i could go into programming or something but id rather concentrate on one subject.  alright ill go with the new theories but that doesnt mean needing to change little things to sell more books.  that i think we can all agree on that many publishers do this to prevent people from buying and sellig used books.

yes i spelled it wrong.  but i only pointed out your misspelling cause you knocked my grammar.  i really dont mind improper english online just when it gets beyond a certain point.  what i wrote that made you lash out at me is just me being me.  i write stupid things sometimes.  not because im stupid, though you'd disagree im sure, but because i think its funny and its not at anyone expense.

I can count on 1 hand, the number of people that I know that actually USE the book learned information that they learned in college in the "real" world.  I sure as hell don't.  I studied biochemistry, but I write software for living 

You'll find that life doesn't always fit into neat little boxes and assignments.  Consider a professor who doesn't spoon feed you what/when/how as someone pushing YOU to learn how to learn and think, not as someone giving you false information.  Trust me on this one, you may not see it now but you will: what you LEARN now at university is not just the course materials, but how to deal with life, the universe, and everything.

I know you're looking for a cut and dry approach.  What do I do here, how does that measure up, how do I rate, but frankly, things are that simple.  Life isn't JUST about what specifics you know, its how you apply them to real world situations.

As someone who has hired/fired my share of employees, I'm looking for candidates who know how to think, not candidates that can regurgitate information from a book.  I want someone that doesn't back away from a challenge, but one that embraces it, chews it up, and spits it right back at me.

THAT's what you go to college for.

[ChadTower]

I majored in Computer Science and write software for a living.  Count me as someone who uses the book learned information they learned in college.

[shmokes]

I'm majoring in French and Policital Science.  I plan to live an work in France for at least a few years so that info will obviously be useful on a daily basis.  Policital Science is a bit harder to make a case for.

[ChadTower]

Use your book learned PoliSci skills to make a case for it.

[shmokes]

That wasn't the Founding Fathers' original intent.

[ChadTower]

Founding Fathers of what?  BYOAC?

saint, what was your intent?

[boykster]

I majored in Computer Science and write software for a living.  Count me as someone who uses the book learned information they learned in college.

So you're telling me, that on a daily basis, you refer back to fundamentals of software development as you sit down to debug code or develop new algorithms?  My point is not that the information you may learn from the class is not potentially relevant, but rather it is more of a foundation to build upon, rather than the entire structure of your education.

Maybe its the industry that I work in

[ChadTower]

So you're telling me, that on a daily basis, you refer back to fundamentals of software development as you sit down to debug code or develop new algorithms?  My point is not that the information you may learn from the class is not potentially relevant, but rather it is more of a foundation to build upon, rather than the entire structure of your education.

Maybe its the industry that I work in

Yes, I do.  Without that foundation none of the newer technology would be understandable.  And rarely do people come up with new algorithms... they mostly apply known algorithms to new places.

[SithMaster]

isnt programming all about structure?

but i think it depends on what you do.  for me im going for accounting and it matters how we learn the basics because we use them everyday.

[boykster]

Yes, I do.  Without that foundation none of the newer technology would be understandable.  And rarely do people come up with new algorithms... they mostly apply known algorithms to new places.

So, basically, you've never written anything novel or original in your programming career.  I'm actually GLAD I never too any programming courses, I'm not tied down by the rigid nature of the development doctrine.

 

[ChadTower]

So, basically, you've never written anything novel or original in your programming career.  I'm actually GLAD I never too any programming courses, I'm not tied down by the rigid nature of the development doctrine.

Novel, yes, I've done a lot of unusual things.  Anything groundbreaking or completely new?  No.  Few people have.  That's not how industry works.  Most people spend their time writing software that fulfill the specific requirements given to us by someone else in a timeframe given to us by someone else.