Decline of Science in the US

**DJ Ms. White** · 12-31-11, 05:15 PM

Unhelpful High School Teacher - get the right answer you didnt use the method i showed you

**Alundil** · 01-01-12, 11:04 AM

It's funny but I've had more than "professor" like that as well.

Sent via highly charged bolt of electricity.

**AetheLove** · 01-01-12, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by Alundil

It's funny but I've had more than "professor" like that as well.

Me too.

But I've also been on the other side of it. Sometimes what you're targeting is a method, and learning the process is more important than getting the correct answer to some simplistic problem.

A good (and moderately clever) instructor should be able to make that clear.

Cheers,

AetheLove

**Alundil** · 01-01-12, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by AetheLove

Me too.

But I've also been on the other side of it. Sometimes what you're targeting is a method, and learning the process is more important than getting the correct answer to some simplistic problem.

A good (and moderately clever) instructor should be able to make that clear.

Cheers,

AetheLove

Thus is true. And some of those profs I mentioned were. There were, saddly more than a couple who were not.

Sent via highly charged bolt of electricity.

**AetheLove** · 01-02-12, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by AetheLove

I have no doubt there are decent quibbles to be had. "Peer Reviewed Articles" are a pretty loose metric. One trend over that same time period is growth in number of journals. Many of them are shitty. Crappy articles are sneaking into established and respected journals too (Ben Goldacre is another good pop-science writer, and he's given good examples of that over the last couple years).

Huh... almost on cue:

Cash for Citations? — Crooked Timber

Cheers,

AetheLove