It's not just golf! They're everywhere; taking our stuff!

[chequita guevara]

Gender segregated classes, even in public schools, seem to do better for everyone involved. I forget the name of the school, but due to a computer error their classes ended up 97% single gender. Since it would have been more work to equalize them, they just moved the few boys or girls from the rooms filled with the opposite gender. To the surprise of everyone, both groups are doing better in school. This is also a public school, so they don't just get the cream of the crop to deal with. One success story doesn't mean that much, however. More study is needed.

[Imran Siddiqui]

That it may, che... but it seems that the only place for experimentation has to be the private field. The public schools are unwilling to try it, and, at least in the collegiate level, there may be Constitutional problems (at least if we extend US v. Virginia - ie, the VMI case).

[The Templar]

[QUOTE] Originally posted by Agathon


But all the doctors keep saying that theirs is the most important research. Someone has to make an allocation decision somewhere.[QUOTE]

That's where the community norms come in. Doctors will have to hash out what gets priority. This can also involve the democratic process to some extent.

This is my current job. I have a hundred exams to mark this afternoon. Where were you an instructor?

Are they hand written? I could barely read formal logic exams that were handwritten half the time. The forced me to give a final in Intro to Philosophy in addition to papers (I hate exams) - so I gave a multiple choice exam and only counted it for 5% of the final grade.

I used to teach at Tulane (where I was doing my PhD) and for extra money, a couple classes at Southeast.

[The Templar]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
That may be so, but that is how societies have usually worked. The decision makers get the cash, whether it be businessmen or politicians (which is why in many countries it is made harder for politicians to agree to raise their own salaries ).

Granted - I'm saying the decision-makers and the experts in the field should be one and the same. Let the logistics people do the logistics - not the decision-making.

I disagree. These people would, of course, want all of the allocation in their own field or area of expertise. Someone has to decide who gets what. You can't give everything to everyone. The doctor at top of the hospital might be a neurosurgeon and thus give more to that field that is really required at the expense of others. Someone, detached from all that, should make decisions on what to allocate where, IMO.

Again, this is where shared norms and values come in. Experts as decision-makers will have to work together in allocating resources. Sure, each expert will think his project is the most important. But each businessperson sees his profit as most important. SO what? Tunnel-vision is part of the human condition.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I'm saying the decision-makers and the experts in the field should be one and the same.

I'm saying that I don't think that system would work very well because of biases towards their own field. Unless you wish to have 15 decision makers and the deal with the resulting chaos.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by The Templar

Are they hand written? I could barely read formal logic exams that were handwritten half the time. The forced me to give a final in Intro to Philosophy in addition to papers (I hate exams) - so I gave a multiple choice exam and only counted it for 5% of the final grade.

I used to teach at Tulane (where I was doing my PhD) and for extra money, a couple classes at Southeast.

Did you ever finish? What did you write on?

[The Templar]

Originally posted by Agathon

Did you ever finish? What did you write on?

A subject very appropriate to the current discussion: epistemic concepts as a method of facilitating the division of labor (as opposed to the classical epistemic concerns of skepticism - boring!).

How about you? What are you teaching?

[Agathon]

Originally posted by The Templar

A subject very appropriate to the current discussion: epistemic concepts as a method of facilitating the division of labor (as opposed to the classical epistemic concerns of skepticism - boring!).

Sounds interesting; although a bit beyond my circle of interests. Who were you responding to, or was this a new thing.

Did you have trouble finding a philosophy job?

How about you? What are you teaching?

I'm dealing with the tail end of an experimental introduction to philosophy course that I got roped in to TAing for this year (the professor is a mate). I did teach a course on Bioethics (which I can't stand) last year for the money, and I'll probably teach an Ancient Philosophy survey course next year. I don't really have the time to be an instructor every year; but I don't really need the experience as I've directly taught students since 1996.

I'm writing on Plato's view of mental representation (you didn't know he had one? Good - no one else seems to have bothered much with the topic either).

[Ben Kenobi]

(No, I won't bother to defend English majors - useless beggars).

Gee. All that school, and I can't express myself. It's like a treasure chest without a key.

[The Templar]

Originally posted by obiwan18


Gee. All that school, and I can't express myself. It's like a treasure chest without a key.

A conservative Canadian English major!?

[The Templar]

Originally posted by Agathon


Sounds interesting; although a bit beyond my circle of interests. Who were you responding to, or was this a new thing.

You had mentioned a stark division of labor earlier, and we were discussing expertise (I'm something of an expert on expertise - epistemology: the act of studying knowledge instead of acquiring it).

Did you have trouble finding a philosophy job?

Haven't looked for one. Decided academia was not for me and went into law.

I'm writing on Plato's view of mental representation (you didn't know he had one? Good - no one else seems to have bothered much with the topic either).

Its always good to find a new topic and corner the market.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by The Templar

You had mentioned a stark division of labor earlier, and we were discussing expertise (I'm something of an expert on expertise - epistemology: the act of studying knowledge instead of acquiring it).

I think I might withdraw from this debate then.

Haven't looked for one. Decided academia was not for me and went into law.

Fair enough. I hope you are enjoying it.

Its always good to find a new topic and corner the market.

It's a laugh actually. There are precisely three papers on the philosophers' index which come close to what I'm doing. The rest are about art or Heidegger. So I guess if I finish I will be a world authority.

[Ben Kenobi]

A conservative Canadian English major!?

History, actually.

I'm very thankful not to be a conservative Canadian Philosophy major.

Now there's an endangered species!