(or, “Why the RIAA is full of BS”) The Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) wants you to believe that unauthorized music downloads are responsible for the music industry’s recent decrease in sales and profits. It has two primary arguments (and since they made The War on Bullshit Blog, you can probably guess what I [...]
In my previous two posts, I established first that the grades assigned to students are subjective, if not entirely arbitrary; and second, that grades are pragmatically important because admissions, scholarships and jobs hinge on them. In summary, the system of grading is horribly screwed up, and we can’t just ignore it because careers, self-esteem and [...]
In my last post, I established that grades are subjectively, if not arbitrarily, assigned. This inevitably draws the ‘pure learner’ argument. Cynthia writes: “Why don’t you try being a pure learner, whose objective is knowledge, not grades??” This is another way of asking, what does it matter if grades are subjective? Why do grades even [...]
(or “Why your Teachers/Professors are Full of Shit”) I bet we’ve all heard this one: Student: “Why did you give me a C?” Teacher: “I didn’t give you a C, that’s the grade you earned.” This argument is based on the idea that grading is objective. Supposedly, your grades reflect your performance and are [...]