Mathematics, Philosophy, and the Lamentations of the Women

Re: Patching out of program files

Why are admins so anal? Not like I'm getting paid by the hour here. I'm a prof![/QUOTE]

What and where do you teach? Or is this too much personal info?

I'm Mathematics at University of Houston - Downtown. I use the school's computers to check the internet, but use my personal laptop to download or play. Kills time during my office hours. That's why I'm on only during particular times. We're in spring break 'till Monday.
The school doesn't want us to install things unless they are pre-approved. I usually ignore the approval process, but I never install anything that's not job-related. I'll bet your school has similar policies and has altered what you can and can't do accordingly. I'm not sure exactly what problems they are trying to solve, probably something the English department did.

 

Re: Patching out of program files

Yes, when in doubt, blame the English department. :aaaa:

I teach philosophy at William and Mary in Virginia. Analytic phil, that is, so it's logic heavy.

Yeah, I'm sure the suits think profs will be less productive if they can have a glimmer of personality appear in their office. I do think it's funny, though, that they have policies like this when it's so easy to do just what you're doing and bring in a laptop. (Which if they tried to ban they'd raise hackles everywhere.) Whatever. If you've read anything about the BS going down at W&M you'd guess the last place I'd look for sanity or common sense would be in the direction of:
the deans, provosts, and other policy makers.

:imwithstu:imwithstu :imwithstu :imwithstu :imwithstu :imwithstu

 

Re: Patching out of program files

As an undergraduate, I'd taken prepositional logic and predicate logic from the Philosophy Dept and they really helped me with my theoretical math courses (lots of proofs) and with my being an annoying hair-splitter and balloon-popper in my personal and professional lives. But what really rocked my thinking was taking Epistomology as a graduate student. You do NOT have to tell me about the rigor of Philosophy. I have occasionally had the joy of crushing my enemies with a crescendo of reason, seen them driven before me, and heard the lamentation of the women. (Of course, now I never get invited to parties.)

 

Re: Patching out of program files

Conan the Mathmatician?:dead:

 

Re: Patching out of program files

Funny, I always thought I SEEMED to voice reason and I seemed to HEAR lamentations, but of course as a brain in a vat, none of that is a reliable indication of the truth. mg:

Heh, that's right, I'm an epistemologist, though I do some logic work too.

Just one question: "parties"? What means this "parties"?
:dribble:

 

Re: Patching out of program files

Actually, I believe Conan the Librarian was quoting Genghis Khan. In general, college-level math instructors leave the skulls in the students' heads when we make our pyramids. That's how you can tell the difference between us and other savages.
My students are not my opponents. They are ignorant, but they are trying to do something about it. Many are more intelligent than me. On the other hand, people who are in positions of authority and are ignorant or incompetent AND are too arrogant to recognize or learn from their mistakes should be humiliated at every opportunity, just on general principles.

 

Re: Patching out of program files

This "brain in a vat" thing worries me. I was kind of looking forward to retiring, or at least dying. On the other hand, what is real and what is not doesn't bother me. Remember, I have to teach my students that the square root of -1 is NOT real, but DOES exist. When I was an engineer, this annoyed me, (INSANITY WARNING!) but as a Mathematician it does not.
If I remember correctly from college, a party is a charming social custom where people practice puking, public self-humiliation and pregnancy (The 3 P's).

 

Re: Patching out of program files

I've noticed that all of my friends who've taken courses on logic tend to use their knowledge not to promote understanding but to over-complicate things for their own intellectual oneupmanship. Can't blame them, because I'd probably do it too, but its a lot of grief to have to go through a 4 hour hypothetical argument about logic because of a minor error in a statement of jest that they understood the meaning of anyways.

So by taking these courses, do you guys become a type of variant paladin? Do you gain detect error and smite fallacy and an accompanying vow to never let even the most minor error slide without parade-raining?

 

Re: Patching out of program files

Reminds me of that old saying, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." mg:

I personally am never one to undercut a joke with reason. And in my experience most phils don't get obnoxious about it, but there definitely are some. Many friends of phils get annoyed that they can't "ever have a serious discussion" without degenerating into hair splitting, and I think that's a rep phils have to shoulder. Though of course we'd say that they're just ticked because they back up their positions with crap reasoning and think they have a right to not be challenged about it just because it's their opinion. This is aggravated by the fact that they often can't or (more often) don't want to bother to follow the phils more rigorous thinking on the matter. I find when I get into any serious debates with friends it's best to tone it down. I think most phils do. The undergrad who takes a logic course and thinks he's Socrates reincarnate, on the other hand.... -_-

You know a friend of mine had an undergrad claim very casually and sincerely - after the class had discussed the Physics and found gasp errors in the dynamics theories of the ancient Greeks - that he was much smarter than Aristotle. Some people will grasp at anything that makes themselves feel important. Taking logic is one such route, alas.

I personally spend much of my intro phil classes convincing my students they have no answers. We begin with Plato's Apology: the wisest man is the one who realizes that with respect to wisdom he is worthless.

 

Re: Patching out of program files

Actually, formal logic is best used to find what propositions flow from a set of accepted "facts" It's common to find that something that sounds "logical" is actually not really supported by the facts. That doesn't mean it's not true, just that it hasn't been shown to be true from the given facts.

That being said, it's fun to needle your friends using your allegedly superior grasp of logic. EXAMPLE: Knowledge is power, power corrupts, therefore educated people are inherently evil. Logic (Int) isn't really wisdom. Ignorance + logic = ignorance.

If I want to sound wise, I get a pipe. It helps remind me to keep my mouth shut.

(Edit: It must be Friday)

 

Re: Patching out of program files

I think this is the category my pals fall under, and they aren't phil majors either, the most irksome one in question is a comp sci. I guess they do emulate Socrates in at least one respect, annoying others to their breaking point ;p

I've always been more of a Diogenes of Sinope fan myself ;D

 

Re: Patching out of program files

If knowledge is power and time is money, then since (as every physicist knows) power equals work over time, then knowledge must equal work over money. This means that the more you know, the harder you have to work to make the same salary... Hmmm.

 

Re: Patching out of program files

And since being an accountant is better than nothing, but nothing is better than finding your true love, it clearly follows thant being an accountant is better than finding love. :doh:

 

Re: Patching out of program files

Actually, work = power x time. Or power = work/time. I'm not sure what you meant by "over". It could mean work as the numerator of a fraction (correct), or as work done over a period of time (it's the same amount of work no matter how long it takes). It seems you intended the former, but when I read "over time", I interpret it as the latter. My English is not so good (native speaker).

On the other hand, I believe your conclusion has validity (check w/ L Plothos). It is much harder for for educated people perform work when they know that it makes no sense. Good thing we have bureaucrats to keep us on the straight and narrow.

As for salary, 20 years of engineering experience pays about 2 1/2 times as much as 20 years of teaching experience. While I may be a whore for education, I least I'm a cheap one.

 

Re: Patching out of program files

I smell formal logic. Which is better the number 1, or eternity in heaven?

The number 1. Because 1 is greater than nothing, and nothing is better than eternity in heaven.

(After they close this thread, do you think there will be further repercussions for being parties to excessive silliness? I still have a red hand-print on the top of my head from the last time.)