We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" guy's

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DDL
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by DDL »

Jonas wrote: I'm not sure how this topic ended up being a discussion of grading systems, but I'm pretty happy with that.

I'm happy to debate why we probably shouldn't let teens get knocked-up and live in the jungle eating tiger meat and stuff, but we really need someone to support that side for an actual debate to happen.

Any volunteers?
:D
AEmer
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by AEmer »

@ Jonas:
I drew grading forward because someone mentioned college education, and my brain has been brewing a discussion on education for a while now :-) I'm glad people don't seem to mind.

@ DDL and @ Jonas:
My intuition is actually right there with you; and between the 3 of us we do have a decent enough understanding of game theory that our best guess is probably fairly decent. I can't fault your analysis, and my anecdotal experience is that people who perform well in all their tests are indeed excellent. The PhD students I know almost all fall in this category; they're driven and hard working and there is nothing wrong with them.

However, my anecdotal evidence is also that there are people who get good grades which are, well, not that bright. They're not particularly driven, they're not really that competent, and they're just looking for a steady paycheck to raise a family with. Nothing wrong with that, but the difference in character is not reflected anywhere at all. You litterally couldn't tell the difference between a guy who can do 5 or 10 times the workload from another one; even worse, the diplomas are not particularly comparable. My university is fairly esteemed, but is the new IT master going to ride the coattails of the Comp Sci master? and with the modularity of education, will my own, which can best be described as dabbling, compare favorably to a more unifrom program like the new IT master?

If the whole point of my diploma is to be able to prove that I'm good at something, then these flaws stick out.

And what about people on the flip side? People who are incredibly competent but don't find economic to spend 5 years doing as master when they could be getting real industry experience, going to cutting edge conferences, and learning their field of expertise directly, 100%, because they're able to pick up the various additional requirements along the way? I've seen far too many people who have been lost in the cracks in the system, competent people, people who would do well in accord with their real merit but not well because the system is imprecise.

It's not like nothing is being done for these people; my dad got a masters with by presenting industry merit worth around 3½ years of university studies, cutting the time down to 1½ years of full time, which he took in about 3 years, through a special program that I don't think remains in existence.

But really: My problem isn't so much that the current system has holes, or that it sucks, or that it could be better. I have seen a lot of anecdotal evidence for and against it with my own eyes. My problem is that it seemingly isn't backed by research, by global standards, or by science as such. At the very least, I would want to have a scientific measure of the precision of the evaluation... I find the reliance on the current laissez faire approach both baffling and lazy, as soon as I think much about it.

@ Jaedar

Of course the goal with the grading is to force people to gain merit :-) it's a kindof weird approach to education to start with the grading, I'll grant you, but I think it's a problem which is way easier to think about.
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by AEmer »

DDL wrote:
Jonas wrote: I'm not sure how this topic ended up being a discussion of grading systems, but I'm pretty happy with that.

I'm happy to debate why we probably shouldn't let teens get knocked-up and live in the jungle eating tiger meat and stuff, but we really need someone to support that side for an actual debate to happen.

Any volunteers?
:D

I for one believe tiger meat to be delicious, nutricious and absolutely vicious. While it's still alive.
I'm sure jungle babies will agree.
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Jonas
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by Jonas »

I wish tigers could be fully domesticated and safely kept as pets. Even though feeding one would bankrupt me.
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by bobby 55 »

DDL wrote:
Jonas wrote: I'm not sure how this topic ended up being a discussion of grading systems, but I'm pretty happy with that.

I'm happy to debate why we probably shouldn't let teens get knocked-up and live in the jungle eating tiger meat and stuff, but we really need someone to support that side for an actual debate to happen.

Any volunteers?
:D
Mowgli just PM'd me to say tiger meat is delicious. He also said don't diss my mom. :lol:
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by AEmer »

heh. Fully domesticated tigers.

Tiger riding would be a thing for toddlers and younger kids at tiger ranches.
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by Jaedar »

Read this interesting paper about a study done on teaching programming. I liked it, so I thought I'd share.
Linky: http://www.eis.mdx.ac.uk/research/PhDAr ... paper1.pdf
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bobby 55
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by bobby 55 »

Jaedar wrote:Read this interesting paper about a study done on teaching programming. I liked it, so I thought I'd share.
Linky: http://www.eis.mdx.ac.uk/research/PhDAr ... paper1.pdf
Holy Crap! It's no wonder I'm not a programmer, although I did kinda understand most of what was written, not the tests though. That said though I think you'd have to have a mind "wired" the correct way to do well at it.
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by Cybernetic pig »

Jaedar wrote:Read this interesting paper about a study done on teaching programming. I liked it, so I thought I'd share.
Linky: http://www.eis.mdx.ac.uk/research/PhDAr ... paper1.pdf
Fucking hell programming is for the elite.

I know the answer to this (I think):
Consider the following program fragment.
if (mark > 80) grade = ‘A’;
else if (mark > 60) grade = ‘B’;
else if (mark > 40) grade = ‘C’;
else grade = ‘F’;

What is the effect of executing this code if the variable mark has the value -12?
(a) The program will crash.
(b) The program will output an error message.
(c) The variable grade will be undefined.
(d) The program will never terminate.
(e) The variable grade will be assigned the value ‘F’.
(e) The variable grade will be assigned the value F

However the test that came before I have no damn clue:
1. Read the following statements
and tick the correct answer in
the front column.
int a = 10;
int b = 20;
a = b;

The new values of a and b are:
! a = 30 b = 0
! a = 30 b = 20
! a = 20 b = 0
! a = 20 b = 20
! a = 10 b = 10
! a = 10 b = 20
! a = 20 b = 10
! a = 0 b = 10
! If none, give the correct values:
a = 20 b = 20?

No idea. I suck at maths so have no chance. I'll stick to VPLs and modifying values within the default props of a DX class, maybe adding a line or two here and there :(

I understand the basic structure of OOP/unreal script, but all the math related crap I just hit a wall. int, float all that stuff.
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Jaedar
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by Jaedar »

Cybernetic pig wrote:
a = 20 b = 20?

No idea. I suck at maths so have no chance. I'll stick to VPLs and modifying values within the default props of a DX class, maybe adding a line or two here and there :(
In this case, = is the assignment operator, so what happens is:
a gets the value of 10
b gets the value of 20
a gets the value of b, which is 20.
So in math a=b=20
Of course, the only thing that matters is that you do it consistently from what I get from the paper.
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odio ergo sum
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Jonas
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by Jonas »

Cool, I guess I'm not half bad at programming.

Yay for reverse engineering other people's code.
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Cybernetic pig
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by Cybernetic pig »

Jaedar wrote:
Cybernetic pig wrote:
a = 20 b = 20?

No idea. I suck at maths so have no chance. I'll stick to VPLs and modifying values within the default props of a DX class, maybe adding a line or two here and there :(
In this case, = is the assignment operator, so what happens is:
a gets the value of 10
b gets the value of 20
a gets the value of b, which is 20.
So in math a=b=20
Of course, the only thing that matters is that you do it consistently from what I get from the paper.
I was right & a = 20 b = 20 was correct? I didn't think it would be that simple... It was going on about algebra and calculus or something +o(
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by Cybernetic pig »

Cybernetic pig wrote: I understand the basic structure of OOP/unreal script, but all the math related crap I just hit a wall. int, float all that stuff.
LOL, these are some of the most basic inputs of coding #-o. It's if/else statements within if statements within Loops and arrays I am currently struggling with :shock:
DDL
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by DDL »

Just don't nest too deep. Down that path madness lies.

Code: Select all

for(i=0;i<arraycount(dwarves);i++)
{
	while(haspickaxe(numpickaxes))
	{
		for(j=0;j<pickaxeuses(numpickaxes);j++)
		{
			while(rockisminable())
			{
				//OHGOD A BALROG
				flee();
			}
		}
	}
}
Cybernetic pig
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Re: We should LOL @ this "no government" and "living free" g

Post by Cybernetic pig »

DDL wrote:Just don't nest too deep. Down that path madness lies.
I'm scared of the challenges that lie ahead, but I have nothing to lose and a lot to gain....what I need is a mentor.

var codingMakesMePullMyHairOut= ("I need a mentor")
var codingGenie= function (Mystical undefined parameters){
Magic code that grants me a mentor;
}

if ("I need a mentor"===True){
if (mystical undefined parameters){
codingGenie;
} else {
return :( ;
}
};

("I need a mentor") ===True

*runs code*

**Error, mystical undefined parameters are undefined

!"#¤ you, coding genie! ...I fail so hard at this.

Maybe if I make codingGenie infinite loop the coding genie will appear!!! No? Damn.

What about declaring and calling on magicLamp?
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