Originally Posted by Fazor

I had a class like that. Though it was a freshman Phsychology 101 course that I was retaking because I sorta skipped 60% of the class (including 2 out of 4 exams) as a freshman. The things women make us men do... but that's another story.

Anyway the second time arround, I actually went to class. But I didn't buy the book, nor did I study my notes (I took them in class, but I rarely read back over something). I was averaging mid-90's on the exams, while everyone else was stressing that they studied for hours every night and were going to fail.

Psych was one of those things I just "got" with very little effort. Probably should have majored in it, as it interests me greatly aswell...but I never had much ambition to pursue it as a career.

If only I had the money to learn things for no other reason than the sake of learning them, I'd be a lifetime student (So far my list of wants is physics, psych, and culinary arts and my list of "have learned" is animation, law enforcement, and insurance).

Originally Posted by crosscountry

Ever hear of Physics Envy? I was at a party recently when an undergrad Psych major approached me (hearing a physics discussion) and described to me this phenomenon. Turns out Psychologists want to be real scientists and are constantly doing things to impress physicists. They'll work for years sometimes trying to make a big discovery, publish it, and go "look here" They physicist reads it, remarks that it is all "bean counting" and forgets it only to the dismay of our would be scientist.

Originally Posted by crosscountry

Ever hear of Physics Envy? I was at a party recently when an undergrad Psych major approached me (hearing a physics discussion) and described to me this phenomenon. Turns out Psychologists want to be real scientists and are constantly doing things to impress physicists. They'll work for years sometimes trying to make a big discovery, publish it, and go "look here" They physicist reads it, remarks that it is all "bean counting" and forgets it only to the dismay of our would be scientist.

Originally Posted by Fazor

Lol, no i've never heard of that...though I could certianly see it. I just find both subjects interesting; no real desire to make the next big break-through, just the desire to know the world around me.

Though I would get tired of being called a non-scientist too, if I was a psychologist. The human experience is real; the human psyche is real, and people act in very real, usually predictible ways. So why is the study of personal interaction any less real than the study of the interaction of matter? *shrug*

Originally Posted by crosscountry

The girl I am seeing is a geologist, and she takes offense when I say things like " you wouldn't understand how hard my E&M homework was"


Well, she wouldn't. It took me 6 years to understand how hard it was!

But when she says the same about her homework I have a hard time believing it.

Originally Posted by Kaptain K

When my astronomy professor was putting equations on the chalkboard, whenever he said "it is therefore obvious..." it was guaranteed that he was about to lose at least half his students!

Originally Posted by Kaptain K

Yep.

What was really fun though was the rare occasion when he made a math error. He'd be humming along and suddenly it would fall apart. That was followed by 10-15 minutes of everybody studying the board until "Hey, doc? "Shouldn't that "plus" be a "minus"?", and off he'd go again.

Originally Posted by Tobin Dax

On the flip side of that, I've taken to saying "obviously" during my trig-based physics lectures. A student finally decided to call me on that a couple weeks ago.

Originally Posted by Kaptain K

Yep.

What was really fun though was the rare occasion when he made a math error. He'd be humming along and suddenly it would fall apart. That was followed by 10-15 minutes of everybody studying the board until "Hey, doc? "Shouldn't that "plus" be a "minus"?", and off he'd go again.

Originally Posted by Kaptain K

Yep.

What was really fun though was the rare occasion when he made a math error. He'd be humming along and suddenly it would fall apart. That was followed by 10-15 minutes of everybody studying the board until "Hey, doc? "Shouldn't that "plus" be a "minus"?", and off he'd go again.

Originally Posted by crosscountry

that really helps students. They need to work through an entire problem to learn. Just showing them a powerpoint slide teaches them nothing.

Originally Posted by crosscountry

I found out yesterday via mail that I have been accepted into the Doctoral program at the University of Texas studying GeoPhysics.

I'm very happy and excited to tell you all. I've been waiting to hear back for some time, and finally it came through.

you can read a little about what I will be doing here
http://www.blog.crosscountryadventures.us/

I was also accepted to Texas A&M and the University of Missouri in St. Louis. Both would have been great choices for me, but this is more on par with what I wanted. Then last December I turned down A&M in a gamble hoping to be later accepted into UT. I had to wait nearly 4 months, but the gamble paid off. I'm ecstatic.

One other super benefit is that the school will pay all of my tuition and fees. So for the next 5 years I am guaranteed a paycheck and free school. The pay is not the main factor, but when you add that to the cost of a doctorate it looks really good on paper. Travel will be included in this job, and we expect to fly to New Zealand and then Antarctica twice during the 5 years. My research will be down there, and I'll probably spend most of their summer, our winter, standing on 3 miles thick of ice!



One day I'll be Dr. Crosscountry. I'm so excited!

Originally Posted by closetgeek

Congrads, seriously! I..ah...don't want to be the lead balloon in this picture but you did sort of promise my husband and I a day of picnicing and kayaking. We already cancelled our yearly trip to NY, bought plane tickets and stuff so you are just going to have to put this off for at least another year. Seriously, though, when do you start?