new years resolutions

[Michele Simionato]

Laura Creighton <lac at strakt.com> wrote in message news:<mailman.1041794830.7571.python-list at python.org>...
> > Now, if I may ask a personal question, what you didn't like in science/academia ?
> 
> This is just off the top of my head....
> 
> 1. preoccupation with cleverness as opposed to wisdom
> 2. giving the job of 'preparing people for industry' to people who have
>    mostly never been there.
> 3. believing that teaching is something that comes naturally.  No effort
>    is made to train professors on how to teach well.  This is a trainable
>    skill.
> 4. in some places -- forcing people to teach so that you cannot simply do
>    research all the time if you hate teaching.  in other places, getting
>    rid of or valuing less the great teachers, because their research isn't
>    so hot.  Many places do both, of course.
> 5. Greedily embracing the notion that 'a university education is for
>    everyone' because it means more funding, reguardless of what it means
>    for would-be academics who now usually have to wait until they get
>    to grad school -- or now in some fields a postdoc before they can do 
>    anything truly original.  That is too long a wait.
> 6. Classroom teaching as opposed to Master/Apprentice type relationships.
> 7. Preoccupation with novelty, and originality, as opposed to soundness.
> 8. The complete disreguard of 'good workmanship' as the counterpart to
>    'sound design'.  These days people are likely to learn that the work
>    is good because it was 'designed well', as opposed to the fact that
>    one of many good designs was selected -- the result was good because
>    _the workmanship was good_.  (Good workmanship cannot save a really
>    rotten design, unfortunately.)
> 9. A life focused on Grading people.  Making grades, not knowledge or
>    wisdom the important centre of the universe.
> 10. (in some places) The notion that only the top 10% matter -- the
>     rest can all go hang.
> 11. The belief that business is somehow demeaning.
> 12. The belief that business is somehow superior. 
> 13. Too many fools.
> 14. Too swollen egos.
> 15. The furthering of the belief that Art is merely entertainment.
> 16. The furthering of the belief that it is a good idea to appear
>     better than you really are.
> 17. Too many people who feel they have the right to be contemptuous of others.
> 18. Too much paperwork.
> 19. Too much specialisation within a given field.
> 20. Not enough play.
> 21. Really boring textbooks written by people who cannot write.
> 22. An over-reliance on analytical as opposed to geometric methods.
> 23. Avoidance of risk.
> 24. Avoidance of beauty.
> 25. Focusing on that which can be measured (in itself a good thing, and
>     the secret of Western success) but not to the extent where that
>     which cannot be measured is deemed unimportant, or even non-existant.
> 26. Students who sit like turnips in your lectures.
> 

Wheee!

But where did you studied, Laura ? I would say I had a much better
experience
in Italy, and extrememly *good* teachers. I would certainly say they
gave me wisdom on top of cleverness ;-).

Best regards,
                                                       Michele