Our shuttle lines used to be called A, B, C, etc. until last week…
No Professors Allowed
It’s finals week and there’s something unusual I’ve noticed about the way Stanford does exams. Most schools have something called the “Honor Code” that tells students they shouldn’t cheat on their tests and papers. Here at Stanford, the teaching staff participates in the Honor Code by not being present for exams. Once an exam starts, the TAs and professors are forced to leave the rooms (kinda like what they do during evaluations) and have to hang out in the hall for a few hours until the test is over. It all seems kinda silly and counter-intuitive to me. I suppose they believe this practice makes the students say “Oh they trust me so much, I should do my best to make them proud and not cheat.” I wonder if this practice has actually lowered the number of violations.
And Scientists at Yale discovered…
One of the things I’ve learned as a Stanford grad student is that research results can be utter BS.
Some of you might remember a study at Yale that discovered cell phone conversations, rather than the act of holding the phone, was the real cause of driving accidents. This caught some attention because of the recent cell phone law in California.
In the past I would have just accepted it as truth. “They are Yale scientists. Of course they have it right.” But as a graduate student I have done some “research” myself and can say that often it is not much different than BSing on your highschool essay.
One of my greatest annoyances is when we perform research that is not realistic or relevant. We can’t replicate the exact thing we are studying so we make something similar. We make a not-so-real simulation and try to make real conclusions from it. Often an experiment is set up to produce the results we want. The opposition never had a chance.
When I see test results from a university I see a PhD student, somewhere in his 4th or 5th year of conducting research, trying to graduate and get out of his or her program before turning 30. Successful results would be nice, would be really nice and would make the last 4 years worth it.
I’m not saying they are always or even mostly bad, but it’s always good to think twice =D
Graduate School Stylin
I noticed that in undergrad people always thought it was special if you wore a suit on any particular day. They would ask “Why all dressed up?” or “You got an interview today?” But in grad school it’s completely normal. No one says anything. That’s professionalism.
Stanford Ingenuity
It took all my Stanford genius to figure this one out: Where is the best place to store a mattress in your apartment?
