colleges turn out geniuses

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by CATO, Sep 1, 2011.


  1. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

  2. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    Colleges turn out....college graduates

    I hate to break it to you, but most college graduates aren't geniuses. They, to a greater or lesser extent, have merely surpassed the minimum requirements for being granted an academic award. Geniuses don't have a monopoly on common sense.

    It seems that the student is doing what some American idealists did during the late 1930's when they decided to lend the Republicans a hand during the Spanish Civil War, fighting against Franco's mutiny. Guit, as a presumed libertarian, It is surprising that you are critical of him and his choice...his life...and his choices to make of it what he will. I suspect that the student in his gap year, is filling his life with more experiences than many students back in the States, whose biggest adventure is deciding what stock broking or law firm they'll work for.
     
  3. Cephus

    Cephus Monkey+++ Founding Member

    Maybe he'll make a good candidate for alphabet brigade someday.
     
  4. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    You must have gone to college. [slow] That was sarcasm. Clearly the person in the story was no genius.
     
  5. Sapper John

    Sapper John Analog Monkey in a Digital World

    I hope he can still write his Doctoral Thesis while they slowly saw his head off with a dull knife...Must be going for a "Darwin" scholarship.
     
  6. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Maybe the guy just wanted to go shoot some "Guns"... On full-auto, and these guys will let him do it, all he wants, with free ammo, as long as he is pointing in the right direction..... Or maybe he is a CIA Plant....... Or there is a third possibility.... He is just an IDIOT.....
     
  7. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    As Americans did the same thing during WWI and WWII when they went to Europe to fight before the US entered the war; so it has happened before and more than once. Many of these "volunteers" were pilots. Are they idealists or just someone looking for a brawl or simply "curious?"

    War is an experience and same as any experience some people seek it. However, same as bungee jumping once you jump you can't go back. LOL

    Historically many top graduates of West Point request Infantry. Although the media has told us otherwise there were more volunteers in Vietnam than conscripts. Even in today's world many young people join the Army to earn a Green Beret or Navy to be a SEAL.
     
    chelloveck likes this.
  8. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    I finally got around to reading that article. Tho' I'd seen mention of Jeon's adventure in the MSM, it didn't register very high on my internal scale of attention getting.

    "“It is the end of my summer vacation, so I thought it would be cool to join the rebels. This is one of the only real revolutions” in the world." Some motivation, that, eh?

    If it comes to pass that he survives his 6 week excursion into war (with no training or real dedication) he will have used up his 15 minutes of fame before the end of the year. OTOH, he may actually see what real dedication (case extant, by the rebels) can accomplish. That alone is worth the price of admission to the school of hard knocks. Genius is not a requirement for admission nor for graduation from that school.
     
  9. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Seems an affliction of many of today's young....... they believe it's "cool" to go to some dirtwater third-world pesthole, join a 'revolution' they have no possible connection with, and put themselves in harm's way, with the possibility of having to 'kill or be killed'.......

    Not my idea of a good vacation trip.

    Heck, he could the same jollies with a much cheaper trip to the 'hoods of Detroit.........
     
    tulianr likes this.
  10. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Just a NOTE, here: Colleges do NOT turn out "Geniuses".... Geniuses are born that way, with brains wired for that kind of memory and reasoning. What colleges do is "educate", or "indoctrinate" people with a fact-set that, May, or May NOT, include Common Sense. What Grade Schools should be teaching, is Reading, Writing, and Basic Math. Middle Schools should be teaching Interpersonal Skills, and how to deal with others in a civilized way, as any other education for these Hormone fueled Miscreants, is a Fools Errand. High Schools should be teaching basic Researching techniques, and how to find the information on subjects of interest to the Students, along with skills in the basic Sciences, Intermediate Math, History, and Civics. Colleges should then be used to extend the training of these "Young Skulls full of Mush" in their chosen Fields, with the Advanced Skill-sets, required to advance the State of the Art, in their chosen Fields of Endeavor. Nowhere in there should there be Agenda Driven BS, being taught. Leave that to the students themselves, to figure out, as the questions come up. I know a couple of certified "Geniuses" One being one of my two Partners. He has always been, and will always be, the smartest guy I know. PHD in Electrical Engineering at 23, and never worked for ANYONE, but himself, his whole life. People PAY him for his smarts, and he has always been well paid. The thing that sets him apart for others of his type, is that he has the exceptional talent to be able to communicate with the rest of us at our level, and explain very technical concepts in language that us "Mere Mortals" can understand, and use. He has an extra LARGE dose of Common Sense, that shows thru, when he is helping others to make sense of very technical issues. ..... YMMV....
     
    chelloveck and Falcon15 like this.
  11. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    I guess I'm going to have to be more deliberate and literal in my subject lines.

    I have taught college kids now on a part-time basis for the last 10 years and am well aware of what colleges/universities are capable of doing and what a genius is.

    What higher education does do is foster and inculcates attitudes and ideologies that are a bit naive of reality. And when you think of the political leanings of most university professors, it's easy to see how these utopian ideologies are nourished.

    Count the number of Che Guevara "Viva la revolucion" or "Free Mumia" t-shirts. They all think they can be part of the revolution and change the world, oblivious to the fact that the rest of the world (outside of the U.S.) is a tougher place (unless you grew up in Compton or Bedford Sty) and they could possibly die on their adventure, which pisses away the investment their parents have put into them, whether it be running off to fight a revolution you think is "cool" or running off to Alaska like Christopher McCandless. College kids want "what should be" and have a hard time dealing with the reality of "what is."

    I sometimes quiz them on who Che was and what he stood for. When they can't answer or answer incorrectly, I ask why they would want to be associated with someone they don't really know anything about other than it's fashionable to be a commie moron kid while in college.
     
    tulianr and Sapper John like this.
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