Pope sends direct message to Ben

[MikeH]

I know I shouldn't have said easy. Can't resist taunting the engineers.

Rest of the point still stands though. Computer history is full of enthusiastic self taught amateurs (many of whom of course turned pro), not many Computer Science graduates in the 70s.

[kentonio]

Sure, just keep telling yourself that.

[Hauldren Collider]

Exactly. And electrical engineering is easy, and a classic practical hobby. There are tons of shops supporting it. Why would that be the example you'd pick?

I'm not talking about putting 555 timers on a breadboard. You don't design microarchitectures as a hobby.

Engineering degrees are about building actual human capital, not some philosophical humbling to respect your own ignorance. Maybe that's a side benefit. Regardless, for example, I'm learning things in my CS classes to apply later in my career.

A senior in ECE at carnegie mellon isn't doing things that are "easy" or can just be picked up from surfing wikipedia.

[giblets]

College is stupid... the value of getting a college degree represents a failing on the part of society.

[MikeH]

Exactly. And electrical engineering is easy, and a classic practical hobby. There are tons of shops supporting it. Why would that be the example you'd pick?

[kentonio]

Why? The information you learn at undergraduate level is not exactly out of the reach of an amateur with an internet connection.

[Hauldren Collider]

I've got a degree in Astrophysics. I think the main point of an undergraduate degree is to give you an insight into how much there is to know, and little you know about a subject.

A driven, enthusiastic amateur will know more than an average degree student. IMO.

This depends wildly on the subject. Even a driven, enthusiastic amateur is unlikely to know more than someone with a BS in electrical engineering about his subject.

[MikeH]

A driven, enthusiastic amateur will know more than an average degree student. IMO.

[MikeH]

I've got a degree in Astrophysics. I think the main point of an undergraduate degree is to give you an insight into how much there is to know, and little you know about a subject.

[Sava]

The repeated use of "I have a History Degree and you don't which makes anything I say more credible" is always the most hilarious. Especially when he's guessing about the education of those he's trying to cow with his degree.

Especially funny because pride is a sin.

[rah]

The repeated use of "I have a History Degree and you don't which makes anything I say more credible" is always the most hilarious. Especially when he's guessing about the education of those he's trying to cow with his degree.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Oh Jeez, is Ben the Pinball Wizard?!! I mean he's deaf and apparently blind. He's certainly dumb, but not the exact way as listed in the song itself...

[molly bloom]

Is Ben just a brilliant troll or is he really that stupid and blind to his own prejudices? I really can't make up my mind.

I don't mind the religious and political bigotry, but it's the sheer stupid snobbery of proudly announcing his history degree credentials and then proceeding to mock my education- which other than what he's gleaned from me, he knows nothing about- all the while demonstrating on a Cecil B. Demented scale his innate inability to understand simple concepts of English language, grammar and European history that are basic at pre-secondary school level.

I'd like to feel pity, but his obdurate refusal to comprehend the copious and cogent corrections to his many and varied errors and his eager willingness to post the same erroneous tripe over and over again becomes slightly tiresome.


Hence the use of capital letters. I figured perhaps it was poor eyesight.

[Ming]

He's not brilliant at anything, so I'm going with "that stupid"

[MikeH]

Is Ben just a brilliant troll or is he really that stupid and blind to his own prejudices? I really can't make up my mind.