[296] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: Workload (was: Re: Affirmative action )
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Sourav K. Mandal)
Sat Apr 28 16:52:02 2001
Message-Id: <200104282051.QAA03958@dichotomy.dyn.dhs.org>
From: "Sourav K. Mandal" <Sourav.Mandal@ikaran.com>
Reply-To: "Sourav K. Mandal" <Sourav.Mandal@ikaran.com>
To: mit-talk@mit.edu
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Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2001 16:51:23 -0400
"Laura G Dean <lgdean@MIT.EDU>" wrote:
> Where I was going with that: I don't think "smart" is just one
> dimension. I can't tell whether you were suggesting so.
Agreed. However, there is _some_ cross correlation, so one could think
linearly to some approximation. Since all of physics needs the basic
skills (abstract reasoning, spatial reasoning, abstract creativity,
etc.), I think the approximation I made is a decent one.
> Sometimes people over-commit; having done so, the choice is between
> work and the health-sustaining factors listed above.
I disagree -- that's why drop date is as late as it is.
> What's the big
> inefficiency in what the other 2/3 are doing, then?
Good question. My observations of inefficient behaviors (as seen
largely at Next House and among my peers):
* Procrastination.
* Poor work planning, esp. the failure to do work now, on the
assumption that one will not be hosed later.
* Lack of sleep. If you're sleep deprived, you can't work efficiently,
taking more time -- an obvious vicious cycle.
* Failure to use "shit time" productively. Often, one cannot always
avoid having 30 min. or 1 hour blocks in the middle of a daily
schedule. Instead of Zephyring for that time, one could get a leg up
on reading or a problem set.
Basically, one needs a strong sense of scheduling. I strongly dislike
having to regiment my time (my personality is not conducive towards
such organization), but it's a small price to pay for meeting my goals.
I recently started at a full-time job, and it's a total breeze by
comparison to MIT.
> > Once an overwhelming fraction of the student population maxes
> > themselves out, _then_ it would be fair to talk about the difficulty
> > and courseload.
>
> Ok. How do you suggest we get there? (You seem to think it's a good
> place to be, though I don't think you actually say so.)
I've been thinking about that, since my younger brother will be heading
off to college soon and his organization skills need work. One
possibility is to take away freshman year spring term pass/fail. This
will encourage folks to get their shit together while the work is
relatively easy. Other include having seminars during IAP or during
the term to help those who realize that they have poor study habits.
Other than that, I'm stumped -- perhaps, people just need to take more
responsibility for the lives, and look to themselves to improve their
own lives, i.e., "live consciously."
Cheers,
Sourav
------------------------------------------------------------
Sourav K. Mandal
Sourav.Mandal@ikaran.com
http://www.ikaran.com/Sourav.Mandal/
