in my physics class, we have these little iclicker, remote like things which he uses to take attendance and promote in class participation by answering questions. so at the beginning of each class, we usually have a question to answer to show that we are indeed in class and it usually has some sort of opinion or survey thing attached.
today, our choices were as follows:
(a) you are unaware of the event occurring in the country on 7 november
(b) you are aware but are choosing not to participate
(c) you are aware and are participating
7 november is election day, first of all. something that if anyone in this country has their eyes or ears open would be able to tell you.
and then the results came back.
14% of the class chose (a)
50% chose (b)
and 36% chose (c)
prof. h, who can be quite funny, although also tends to be scary, was obviously as appalled by this as i was. he made a very good point about the youth in this country:
"i know it's hard to think of something else why you only think of yourself. try to make room for the rest of the world"
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i'm remembering (most of this i've already told you before) about prof. mcdaniel, of freshman intro bio at RPI, when he surveyed the class to find out how many knew who had won the most recent nobel prize (at the time) in the sciences, or if anybody in the class even knew what sort of research that year's prize was recognizing. much like hercynzski, he was obviously saddened that not a single person in the class knew.
however, i always forget to tell about how he asked a question similar to that of hercynzski: how do supposedly learned, educated, thinking minds live in such closed off boxes of their own lives and minds? "how can you not care??" he asked. someone in the back row of the lecture hall retorted "we do care..." "no! you don't! you like to think you care but you don't even have a clue about the biggest scale, most important research happening in the world of your academic concentration. these are people who could inspire what you'll do for the rest of your lives and none of it even matters to most of you!"
i don't know how many students left that class feeling insulted or angry. or how many left with any form of altered outlook. but in hindsight i realize that mcdaniel really hit me that day. science, the world, and just my walks to classes and work have meant a lot more to me in the past three years with such pieces of advice in mind. sometimes, perhaps it's possible that the brutal, reality-check condescension of honest, hard nosed professors can be more powerful and lastingly effective than the actual academic material from which they may be making a tangent.
-bradley
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