[alicebot-aiethics] Academic Ethics

[Robby Garner]

Tamara said:
> I've had an interesting life, and one thing I've never been able to pin
down
> exactly in words is how powerful university was for me.  (I respect Robby
> highly, and have heard his stories and others', about how stupid
university
> rules and regs can be, and how they can hurt a brilliant person)

I don't blame the university for anything, I am the one who made the choices
I made.  Granted, the high school counsellors I had didn't advise me very
well.  I wanted to go to GA Tech, but my math teacher said I'd never be able
to go there because the freshmen had to take calculus. Mr. Willoughby, the
school counsellor, allowed me to take joint enrollment at a nearby community
college, but wouldnt consent to let me take college algebra. He said "I used
to teach college algebra, and you couldnt pass college algebra."  He would
called me back to his office because I'd scrored the highest on some
standardized test, but all he asked me was "Why aren't your grades higher?
You have a low A average, but it should be higher."  I would have been Star
Student for my class, but they wouldnt give me the award because I'd been
absent more than 30 days that quarter (though I still had straight A's) I
had the last laugh though because I graduated early, which also disqualified
me as star student ;-)

So I think encouragemnt is important, but that didn't stop me from going to
college.  I went to University of Georgia. I was automatically enrolled into
the honor's program because of my SAT scores, so I got to go to a special
summer orientation where I took a test which gave me college credit for
having already taken "college algeba", and Trigonometry (a class I'd never
had before even in high school), and English 101.

I went on to take a year of honor's calculus, and continued my math
education with linear algebra, discrete structures, statistics, and was able
to take the more advanced physics classes taught with calculus.

So please don't ever think I complain about college having failed me, quite
the opposite actually. The university experience is both rewarding in an
academic sense, but broadens your horizons in many other ways. It opens your
eyes to the diversity of other people, you find yourself among other
intelligent and fascinating people.  History, social studies, and art
classes whet your apetite to know more about what other people have done,
and can do.

My first college experience lasted about 3 years and I did not finish.  I
had family obligations, and very little money, and even then didn't get much
encouragement to persist in getting my degree.  Stopping in mid-stream to
work for my family may have cost me the initiative to finish the degree, but
I never expected to need the actual piece-of-paper-degree, my dream is to
never end my education.  You don't just pass some deadline and say "I'm
totally educated now, where's my job?"

But I've gone back to college several times, and at different schools. I've
benefitted from the diversity of resources and the professors that I've had.
I've taken more than the number of computer science classes needed for a
degree, but I've been fortunate to have been able to put them in perspective
with the "real world" since I've always had a job. I worked for my family
until 1996 when my father retired, and I decided to strike out on my own.
I've learned alot about myself since then, because I'd always worked with my
family, it turns out the rest of the world isn't quite the same.

For one thing, people in the "real world" do only enough to get by. I was
used to giving my best to all tasks, but found that other people often
resent that because it makes them look bad, etc.

But I still wish I had that piece of paper sometimes, like a closure or
something. I admire people who can persist at something all the way to
completion.  But on the other hand, I'm engaged in a course of independant
study that started when I was a child and my father taught me how to teach
myself things. To me that's the most important thing a person can walk away
from university with is the ability to start teaching yourself, to realize
one's own ignorance is the wisdom it takes to improve oneself.

Sorry to ramble on so about this. I just don't want people to think I am
anti-education just because I never graduated. If I could have, and
circumstances had been different, I would have. I just never got around to
it, but I would encourage anyone to try their best to finish, or at least
better themselves in the process.

As for Richard's situation: If he is pissed off because you're not making
huge bucks that you feel should go along with having a PhD, maybe he should
re-examine his priorities. Richard is an intelligent and *educated* man.
That alone is a wealth that nobody can take away from him.  He's still
referred to as Dr. Wallace whether he's incapacitated or a billionaire.  You
just have to play the hand you're dealt with, and I personally have been
dealt some pretty bad hands at various points in my life, just like Richard
and the rest of us have.  Sure, there are individuals who foul up your plans
sometimes. You might hate them or daydream about revenge.  But distance
gives perspective, and sometimes we just have to look at our problems in
terms of status. "What have we got that isn't broken?"  And you build on the
parts that work until you've either reached your original goals, or discover
new ones more satisfying.  (or in one case, you make one orbit of the moon
and return to earth alive. (apollo 13))

When times are tough, I always think of the space program.  If the mercury
astronauts could endure what *they did*, surely I can do this! Those guys
were siting on a bomb just like the one that exploded on liftoff only weeks
earlier, built by the lowest bidder, with only themselves and a radio to
connect with any other human.  Not to mention the grueling physical testing
and mental stress they went through in training.

You'll notice that most of our astronnauts hold PhD's now.  The
determination required to get a PhD indicates a high degree of excellence in
an individual. And though political or other factors may affect one's
ability to obtain a PhD, it all comes down to dealing with other
individuals' behavior, and situations that must be faced and conquered.

To Richard: Keep facing and conquering my friend! Don't let these
individuals get you down, you don't have to take that guff. Just remember,
you can always send an email to right people and be reminded that all we
truly have is the right-now. and right now, you've got a lot to look forward
to whether you realize it yet or not.

Or in Zen philosophy, we are already enlightened, we just don't realize it
yet.

Live Long and Prosper,

Robby.