[alicebot-aiethics] Academic Ethics

[Richard Wallace]

I'm not talking about making big bucks or becoming a billionaire, even
though I know it comes across that way sometimes.  I never wanted anything
out of it except a job.  But when my Ph.D. colleagues were vacationing in
Hawaii while we were facing eviction last Christmas, yes, I was angered by
the "unfairness" of the system, and the feeling that it didn't live up to my
expectations, even remotely.

Anyway, Robby, you've got an honorary Ph.D. from my University any day.
Thanks for the encouragement.  Tamara and Brenda too.  It's wonderful to
receive group therapy from the A. I. Ethics committee!

Peace,
Rich


Donate to the ALICE A.I. Foundation "Cooler than Humans" -- TIME
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robby Garner" <meo1@bellsouth.net>
To: <alicebot-aiethics@list.alicebot.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2001 9:58 AM
Subject: Re: [alicebot-aiethics] Academic Ethics


>
> 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.
>
>
>
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