tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post6875010059657060919..comments2024-03-28T17:13:01.117+10:00Comments on Condensed concepts: The emergence of BS in universitiesRoss H. McKenziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950455939572097456noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-52829708952299528832018-01-22T15:31:57.713+10:002018-01-22T15:31:57.713+10:00Thanks for the helpful comment.
Thanks for the helpful comment. <br />Ross H. McKenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09950455939572097456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-26891731254952764612018-01-22T15:30:08.498+10:002018-01-22T15:30:08.498+10:00I have sympathy. I have spent too much time the pa...I have sympathy. I have spent too much time the past week finding and formatting silly information for an ARC grant application.Ross H. McKenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09950455939572097456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-54676881833433274692018-01-19T14:46:19.205+10:002018-01-19T14:46:19.205+10:00I read that article linked from another source... ...I read that article linked from another source... and it reminded me to come here to see what the latest post was. It resonated with me, having spent most of Monday of this week shifting publications around between categories to optimise our numbers for a research assessment exercise...Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09803564242456571807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-18822317371282940582018-01-18T14:24:00.255+10:002018-01-18T14:24:00.255+10:00I believe BS is everywhere nowadays. The signal to...I believe BS is everywhere nowadays. The signal to noise ratio has been decreasing over the years. To be heard, the signal must be attenuated. Announcement are done in the most extravagant way at blazing speed. This reduces the time to ponder and think, and of course often requires a bit more "sauce". This also means, sadly, signal attenuation also has a side effect of increasing noise. The process of increase signal and increase noise then repeats, each time decreasing the signal to noise ratio, causing more and more BS. <br /><br />Sadly, this also happens in academia. The exact place that's suppose to give conducive environments for people to ponder and think.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-83509250070817841122018-01-17T13:00:30.925+10:002018-01-17T13:00:30.925+10:00“Never tell a lie when you can bullshit your way t...“Never tell a lie when you can bullshit your way through it” .<br /><br />Eric Ambler quote. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-14476770618694309902018-01-17T11:53:09.045+10:002018-01-17T11:53:09.045+10:00Thanks for the comment.
I disagree on several poi...Thanks for the comment.<br /><br />I disagree on several points.<br />First, as I argued in my earlier post, BS in the University is now prevalent in science.<br />Perhaps it is not as bad as the humanities. But it is very present and corrosive.<br /><br />Second, although today the humanities and social sciences may contain a lot of BS, they have not always. I contend that there was a time when courses in history, philosophy, and literature were intellectually rigorous and of immense value to students. I wish I had got to take some.<br /><br />I don't believe in scientism (that science has all the answers) or that physics is the gold standard of truth and intellectual rigour.Ross H. McKenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09950455939572097456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-40685908533942166802018-01-17T08:44:12.375+10:002018-01-17T08:44:12.375+10:00Oh my, what to say. I must say something.
Outsid...Oh my, what to say. I must say something. <br /><br />Outside the hardest of the hard sciences, pure math, engineering, business, and the physical constructions of the Art department, a University is pervaded by BS. <br /><br />"BS is the failure of leaders in higher education to champion the liberal-arts ideal — that college should challenge, develop, and transform students’ minds and hearts so they can lead good, flourishing, and socially productive lives" <br /><br />That statement is utterly the reverse of reality!<br /><br />"the liberal-arts ideal — that college should challenge, develop, and transform students’ minds and hearts so they can lead good, flourishing, and socially productive lives" <br /><br />IS the very CORE of BS itself. The words reek of BS. The courses that purport to do that are generally near pure BS. That piece of writing is a clarion call for the establishment of **BS AS GOD** <br /><br />Long ago when I went to Rice, this was clearly recognized by everyone, and a goodly hunk of the science-side people called it out for what it was **and got away with that! ... something that would be mercilessly attacked today**.dtvmcdonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07594633209626059331noreply@blogger.com