Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

[Phys-L] Re: Why Smart People Defend Bad Ideas



At 02:19 PM 11/28/2005, Richard Hake, you wrote....

Scott Berkun <http://www.scottberkun.com/about/> wrote
///
I'm not proud to admit that I have a degree in Logic and Computation
from Carnegie Mellon University. Majoring in logic is not the kind of
thing that makes people want to talk to you at parties, or read your
essays.
///
The problem with smart people is that they like to be right and
sometimes will defend ideas to the death rather than admit they're
wrong.

*********************

[Dick continues...]
Closely related to why smart people defend bad ideas is why people
(both smart and dumb):

1. Defend the time-honored but ineffective passive-student-lecture
mode of instruction *in conceptually difficult subjects*

[several other worthy examples, then...]

5. Rail against beneficent cross posting such as this, see, e.g.,
"Cross-Posting - Synergistic or Sinful" [Hake (2005d)].


Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics


Richard reminds me yet again with this piece, that a light, even
humorous touch with a difficult, contentious topic, can make the
medicine go down remarkably better.



Brian Whatcott Altus OK Eureka!
_______________________________________________
Phys-L mailing list
Phys-L@electron.physics.buffalo.edu
https://www.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l