[KLUG Advocacy] Let's get this CS v. CIS v. moron v. other party started -- WAS: Oh, the joys of upgrading!

Doc Rea advocacy@kalamazoolinux.org
31 Dec 2002 11:40:41 -0500


Hmm...My one-liner to Justin seems to have started something....I guess
I'll weigh in...

First, a disclaimer...I am one of those who went to school for some
time. I have some advanced degrees (BA, MA, MS, PhD) and haven't stopped
learning yet. It doesn't make me an expert in everything (no matter what
folks tell ya), but I do know a little...

On Tue, 2002-12-31 at 08:20, Bryan J. Smith wrote:
> [ Let's stop playing footsies here and just start it on ADVO! ]
> 
> On Tue, 2002-12-31 at 06:30, Adam Williams wrote:
> > Include me if you do, mostly I'm interested in watching this debate. 
> > Personally,  I've worked with recent graduates with either degrees - and
> > in general they are both totally useless.
> 

I don't think that I'd go as far to call people with degrees useless.
Perhaps their skills lie elsewhere. In a given class I have folks with
strong programming skills, some who can see the whole picture (diagrams,
schematics, business objectives), and some who are great communicators.
It's very rare to find someone who can do it all. I've only run into a
handful so far...(10 + years of teaching...including Grad school).

> Of course traditional education is _practically_ useless.  It is by its
> very nature and focus.  Technical colleges and programs are far more
> intense, 4x the practical knowledge in 1/4th the time.
> 

Here we reach the crux of an argument...what is practical and is this
the purpose of a certain degree. If someone wants to be a programmer and
that's it. Perhaps they should go to a tech institute. If they want to
be a programmer and some more maybe they should go to the more
"traditional" school (whatever that is). 

> And I say this as a man who holds a BSECE from a top-25 EE department
> (according to the College Board).


Are you actually doing what you went to school for? I'm guessing you
aren't. But I'm also guessing that college taught you how to think
through problems, find your own answers, and a whole package of other
mental skills and techniques to learn the knowledge (on your own) I've
seen you display via the list.