prabhaka@ucbvax.UUCP (Aloke Prabhakar) (04/30/84)
<odedoh> |** ED ** | |>>Things are not all that hopeless, indeed there are some here who are really |>>here for the education. You tend to find them in the more obscure majors. |>>When having a discussion with someone on campus , you'll find that if you're |>>a Philosophy major people are not impressed. Now if you say, "I'm in |>>Engineering." People tend to hold you in a higher regard. | |** ALLEN ** | |>GEEZ! Is this arrogant or what? Perhaps that is the way you feel when |>you meet a philosophy major, but I have a lot of respect for someone |>who can get through a major in philosophy (I doubt that I am alone in this.) |>Why the *hell* is an engineer more respectable than a philosopher? |> Because he/she stays up all night with programs that Seg. fault? |>I don`t think so. (By the way, I am doing a double major in |>computer science and philosophy.) | |** MOIRA ** | |Allen, perhaps your double major has made you sensitive. I dont think Ed |is being arrogant at all. There is a certain mystique about all this |computer stuff as far as the general public is concerned. I have experienced |everything from awe to envy in response to my confession of majoring in |Computer Science. | |With reference to the general discussion, educational institutions are there |to serve the needs and desires of the students. Some of those students just |want a good job; some are there for the joy of learning; many are there |because they dont know what they want to do and college seems like a logical |step after high school. (This last paragraph is purely my opinion. Any |resemblance to fact is purely coincidental 8-). Hmmm, around here, when one states that one is a C.S. major (as I do), the general response is something like "Ewwww! Like massively gross! You mean, like, you sit in front of a terminal for hours on end?" And my answer is typically something like "Yes, not only that, I *enjoy* it and I am getting something out of it." If you want "mystique" open up a philosophy text. Awe *from the people your speaking of* in response to computer science is mostly the result of ignorance and therefore should not be taken too seriously. I am not saying, however, the CS is not awe inspiring. Only for different people in different ways. I agree with you that eductional institutions can be used for vocational training, education, and confusion satisfying. In my words, they are what you make of them. By the way, my name is not Allen, it`s ... Aloke Prabhakar ...ucbvax!prabhaka prabhaka@ucbarpa.ARPA STILL getting an education at UCB.