Yeahhhhh. 
I was going to say that I couldn’t hijack this thread - I’m too busy stirring up shit on the Playboy thread.
BUT, this was pretty cool info, huh?
I teach Algebra and Pre-Algebra (although my degree is in Political Science), and I couldn’t really work the pen pal thing into my class. More of a social studies thing. However, we do have a nice fat grant that allows us to take a week long field lesson at the end of the year. This year the 8th grade is going to fly to Washington, D.C. The seventh grade is touring some colleges in Texas. The 6th grade spends a week on a dude ranch in West Texas. The 5th grade goes to Houston/Galveston and NASA. The 4th goes to San Antonio and Austin (the Alamo/ state capital). It’s expensive and the kids have to earn their trip. Last year we left behind about 15% of the kids who either had behavior or effort issues. None of them complained. They knew they hadn’t earned it. The trips really open up their eyes to what is out there for them.
Another example: Doctors. As in MDs. As in the
profession now sporting the biggest egos
(well maybe after prof. athletes and rock
stars). How many MDs take the time out of their day to keep up with all the latest research that might be relevant to their patients? Uuhh…
Patricia wrote:
"The problem with most people is that they
become satisfied with the paper marked in bold
letters stating "DEGREE". And they go,
embarking on a career based on book studies
and that damn paper. And don't bother finding
out for themselves if what was stated in them
books is real and factual. ... These people
are satisfied and become complacent over what
they have learned. Sad. Because you should
keep learning - until the day you die."
"But really, the sad fact is the majority
of people are sheep and are willing to follow
anyone who can provide them with a easy and
quick solution. And these "experts" of
nutrition are willing to accomodate. Sad. Just
sad."
Right On! Couldn't have said it better myself. Hey Patricia, what part of Oregon are you from? I used to live in Portland and Eugene.
Michelle wrote:
"Nutritionists remind me of programmers"
Actually, as someone who runs a software company, too many programmers remind me of fashion designers, rather than engineers. (Since you work in programming, I thought you might appreciate *that* analogy.
Michelle wrote:
"I think any profession that demands
constant learning and adaptation is bound to
have people who are too lazy to keep up. ...
Ego is what gets in the way unfortunately, and
I doubt that will change any time soon."
This is going to become an even bigger problem, because we're getting the point where every career of any real value requires continuous learning. So it's going to come down to learn continuously and succeed, or stagnate into dysfunctionality. Not enough people see this yet, but they soon will.
Nic wrote:
"if the media can be so damn wrong about
nutritional info and exercise info why can't
they be wrong on a lot of the other stuff they
report on. "
The fact is, they frequently are. In todays world, the mainstream media has become like the old investing adage "observe the masses and do the opposite." In other words, if it's being reported in your mainstream media then it is most likely either has serious careless errors, or intentional distortion (agenda) (or both).
Question everything. Don't accept things due to "authority" (whatever that is). Verify facts. Learn about many different areas so you improve your bullshit filter. Use your own judgement and think for yourself. Thinking skills: the most important things they never teach you in public education.
To doogie: glad to see there are still some good schools out there. It's for certain, there aren't enough of them.
Beautiful and Green Portland, OR. Home of fine brewpubs and finer coffee houses!
Oh, and restless: I was considering mentioning "personal trainers" - but I think "personal trainers, trained and employed by commercial gyms" might be better? Cuz, there are some REALLY good private personal trainers out there - as well as some knowledgable nutritionists, like Doug K. Doug, I've been wanting to say that - really.
I’d like to add one more profession, that not only is wrong, but apparently knowingly perpetuates the incorrect information–optometry. Studies after studies have shown that myopia is caused by reading things up close and the disorder is tremendously accelerated by the wearing of corrective lenses. But what does every eye doctor say? Wear your glasses ALL the time. Whatever happened to the Hippocratic oath that teaches that the utmost priority is to first cause no harm? Instead they prescribe a “cure” that only makes the problem worse, and does absolutely nothing to prevent the disorder from happening or getting worse.
Patricia - thank you! You made my day! I appreciate your postings and admire your dedication. Keep it up! BTW - push KO to write that article!
Electrical engineers and consultants, they constantly specify parts that are obsolete and in some cases have been for over 5 years. Doogie glad to see that you have a school that takes education seriously, hours of school and homework played a huge role in the success of many Scandanavian and Asian countries. I
Being an electrical engineer/computer scientist, let me first defend the electrical engineers by saying that we don’t go to school to memorize chip numbers. Oftentimes, we use chips in our designs that were valid years ago, but the company arbitrarily discontinues or changes the number. There’s not a whole lot to be done about that, except to review designs and update the parts as you go along.
To my mind, though, computer scientists are the worst at not wanting to update their skills. The “old-school” compscis can oftentimes be wonderful, because they’re mathematicians at heart, and enjoy learning new things. These kids coming out now, however, often think that learning stops once they graduate. They think compsci is “lucrative” and don’t really have any interest in it.
Believe it or not, firefighting. There has been much research on improved safety and fire fighting techniques over the last few decades, but some departments, including the one I work for, are still slow to implement new ideas and techniques. You would think in an occupation that exists for the sole purpose of saving lives, new and valid ideas would be quickly embraced, but it’s not often so. When I look at firefighting, nutritionists, doctors, ect. I see one thing in common with each that is probably the biggest reason for this complacency. No $ bottom line. If you are the CEO of a company or even a manager of a department you are normally accountable for achieving or not achieving a certain amout of revenue. This forces you to constantly keep up to date on the current findings in your field. If nutritionists and doctors were paid based on the success rate of the patient, you bet your ass they would stay on top of new research and not simply rely on the information in there old school textbooks. Instead it’s too easy for these people to blame the patient and there lack of discipline for any failure. An example is a friend of mine at work. He has high blood pressure. He is not overweight and is quite active. He eats a decent diet, but it’s quite high in starchy carbohydrates. His doctor sends him to a nutritionist who prescribes him a hi carb, low fat diet. He follows the diet to a t as well as excercising. He makes a strong commitment to improving his condition. I see him at work making pasta dishes with low fat tomato sauce and baked potatoes with non-fat sour cream. His nutritionist tells him he can eat all the low fat frozen yogurt and fat free deserts he likes, just avoid saturated fat. He stops eating beef and has only small portions of chicken and other protein foods. After two months his blood pressure situation does’nt change and his doctor blames him for not following the diet and puts him on a prescription. My friend feels guiltly even though he did what he was told. Can anyone guess who the archaic, complacent asshole in this story is?
Most dieticians base their reccomendations on the “food guide pyramid” published by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
I’ve seen the food guide pyramid on the back of a pop tarts box with a few sentences touting the health benefits of pop tarts. Gimme a break.
I question if the primary goal of the USDA is to ensure that Americans are eating healthy. Maybe their goal is to keep the agricultural industries nice and stable. What would happen if the government reccommended people stop eating sugar and refined carbohydrates? Doug K. or any other T-mag experts. Any opinions?
My comment was directed more at general electrical work not computer related which I can appreciate would be harder to keep up with.