Liberal Democrat says Algebra is not necessary

[Lorizael]

My latest creative writing class taught me that most writers seem to lack the most basic of word processing skills, such as setting the margins in Word.

[Aeson]

No one's debating people's freedom to choose stupid things, Aeson. What we're discussing is the stupidity of said things. The fact that some people do something does not make it smart, for ****'s sake. Your chronic misunderstanding of KH's defense of the free market is getting old and is frankly retarded.

You obviously are missing the point. I am arguing as to how you determine if it is stupid or not. It's not about freedom at all.

[Aeson]

Look, if you want to be a writer, spending $200,000 on a Creative Writing degree is still a bad idea.

That is one possible case out of very, very many combinations of motivations and actions in regards to people who go after BA degrees.

[Kidlicious]

Look, if you want to be a writer, spending $200,000 on a Creative Writing degree is still a bad idea.

As much as you guys care about money it's amazing that you don't understand the very basics of economics. People get different utility from the same good or service. It is your personal opinion that $200,000 is too much to pay for a Creative Writing degree. Not everyone is like you. When prices increase less people consume the good or service but some still do. Not everyone has the same utility schedule.

[Fake Boris]

Do you think I went into college thinking "I'd really like to get a BA in literature so that I can spend the rest of my life analyzing Jane Austen novels for the New Yorker, but instead I'm going to compromise my principles and get a well-paid job in computer science even though I hate computer science"? Because you would be wrong.We have two secretaries, I don't know what their degrees are in (assuming they have degrees) but a BA in creative writing would qualify them for their jobs (although I doubt they would have gotten degrees in creative writing in the hopes of being able to write memos and the like). We have four technical writers, two who have degrees in finance, one with a degree in EE, and one with a 2-year degree; again, even assuming that somebody with a BA in creative writing were qualified for the technical writing positions, I doubt that this would qualify as "doing something that they like."

Incidentally, I enjoy creative writing, and having a career in computer science doesn't prevent me from pursuing a hobby of creative writing. (Nothing published, because while I may enjoy creative writing, I'm also not very good at it.) If I loathed computer science and were much better at creative writing then I would either a. go to college in order to pursue a degree/career that will pay well, so that I can afford to pursue my hobby of creative writing and hopefully turn it into a career, or else b. skip college and its attendant student loans (or else go to a community college for a cheap 2 year degree) so that I can get a job that pays poorly, so that I can afford to pursue my hobby of creative writing and hopefully turn it into a career. Under no circumstances would I get a worthless and expensive BA in creative writing, or literature, or philosophy, etc.

Really, so what?

[giblets]

As much as you guys care about money it's amazing that you don't understand the very basics of economics. People get different utility from the same good or service. It is your personal opinion that $200,000 is too much to pay for a Creative Writing degree. Not everyone is like you. When prices increase less people consume the good or service but some still do. Not everyone has the same utility schedule.

I already considered the possibility that someone wants to be a writer, which is the type of person who would presumably derive the most utility from a Creative Writing degree, and I reached the conclusion that even for them such a degree is not the best use of time and funds. Of course, if someone else is paying for it, or they're a stupid 18-year-old, they might decide to go for that degree anyway.

[giblets]

That is one possible case out of very, very many combinations of motivations and actions in regards to people who go after BA degrees.

Deriding all BA degrees as useless regardless of cost and subject matter is obviously silly.

[Kidlicious]

I already considered the possibility that someone wants to be a writer, which is the type of person who would presumably derive the most utility from a Creative Writing degree, and I reached the conclusion that even for them such a degree is not the best use of time and funds. Of course, if someone else is paying for it, or they're a stupid 18-year-old, they might decide to go for that degree anyway.

Do you know why we have a free market? Because we believe that individuals can make decisions for themselves. That they make the best economic decisions for themselves. This is what all economic theory is based on unless you are a communist or a nazi.

[giblets]

Do you know why we have a free market? Because we believe that individuals can make decisions for themselves. That they make the best economic decisions for themselves. This is what all economic theory is based on unless you are a communist or a nazi.

If you think all individuals, including children, make the best decisions for themselves at all times then you are deluded. I'm guessing you don't actually think that.

[Kidlicious]

If you think all individuals, including children, make the best decisions for themselves at all times then you are deluded. I'm guessing you don't actually think that.

Children don't understand the same as adults but they understand what they want. What kind of parent tells their kid that they can't have the kind of ice cream that they want because it's a stupid decision? A Nazi. Thank you.

[loinburger]

Really, so what?

I am in awe of what a ****ty poster you are. Kidicious at least has the excuse that he's stupid - you, on the other hand, are just incredibly lazy. Every argument you make boils down to "I'm right because I am channeling the collective wisdom of a million Quebecois "

[loinburger]

Children don't understand the same as adults but they understand what they want. What kind of parent tells their kid that they can't have the kind of ice cream that they want because it's a stupid decision? A Nazi. Thank you.

Telling your kid not to order vanilla is not equivalent to murdering twelve million people.

[The Mad Monk]

I think there's an outside chance that kid is using the absurd to critique the absurd, but your failure fo recognize that is forcing him to be ever more absurd in an effort to make you see.

...

Mind you, it is a very outside chance.

[MrFun]

I have a Masters in U.S. History and I vacuum carpet for a cleaning company.

[giblets]

I have a Masters in U.S. History and I vacuum carpet for a cleaning company.

If I called that a bad decision I'd be just like Hitler. I'm sure you had your reasons.