Current Poll

[DrAlex]

Perhaps I'm just a little outraged that someone actually voted for Psychology, but if you define "pointless" as 'little to no directly relevant career prospects outside of acadaemia', then surely, say, medieval history and classics deserve to be mentioned.

[hr]

The Sinner: Where no one ever learned "if you haven't got any thing nice to say, don't say anything at all."

[Frank]

Indeed, as far as degrees go, the only one I really can't grapple with is Hospitality.

Tourism is essentially a fusion of management, economics and history, surely? A combination which, with focus, has merit academically?

As said, Hospitality really baffles me. Media Studies is the study of Literature expanded. It incorporates alot of management, economics, psychology and the study of society, so I still see it as having merit.

Similarly, Art History might well be viewed as Literature and History applied slightly to a side (indeed the study of art techniques and whatnot is surely quite valuable academically? Certainly within a society which prizes art, some expertise might also be prized!). But there we are...

Drama, like art itself, is something which may be said to have a wealth of academic background to it. If it's there, it can be studied.

But hospitality? I'm not sure I see the academic in it. But then, I think that, deep down, there has to be academic in it. by the above logic...psychology, social stuff, art...it's all there. All leering out at my own intellectual prejudice. Bah!

I'll still maintain it's pointless, but I'll probably be wrong...

[hr]

"There is only ever one truth. Things are always black or white, there's no such thing as a shade of grey. If you think that something is a shade of grey it simply means that you don't fully understand the situation. The truth is narrow and the path of the pursuit of truth is similarly narrow."
Also, some years later:
"here we are arguing about a few uppity troublemakers with a bee in their bonnet and a conspiracy theory."

[Frank]

Indeed, as far as degrees go, the only one I really can't grapple with is Hospitality.

Tourism is essentially a fusion of management, economics and history, surely? A combination which, with focus, has merit academically?

As said, Hospitality really baffles me. Media Studies is the study of Literature expanded. It incorporates alot of management, economics, psychology and the study of society, so I still see it as having merit.

Similarly, Art History might well be viewed as Literature and History applied slightly to a side (indeed the study of art techniques and whatnot is surely quite valuable academically? Certainly within a society which prizes art, some expertise might also be prized!). But there we are...

Drama, like art itself, is something which may be said to have a wealth of academic background to it. If it's there, it can be studied.

But hospitality? I'm not sure I see the academic in it. But then, I think that, deep down, there has to be academic in it. by the above logic...psychology, social stuff, art...it's all there. All leering out at my own intellectual prejudice. Bah!

I'll still maintain it's pointless, but I'll probably be wrong...

[hr]

"There is only ever one truth. Things are always black or white, there's no such thing as a shade of grey. If you think that something is a shade of grey it simply means that you don't fully understand the situation. The truth is narrow and the path of the pursuit of truth is similarly narrow."
Also, some years later:
"here we are arguing about a few uppity troublemakers with a bee in their bonnet and a conspiracy theory."

[Wonderboy]

Isn't life pointless anyway?

[exnihilo]

My degrees are in mediaeval history, DrAlex; they haven't hampered my career thus far.

[maenad]

I must admit to being quick to judge degrees with so-called "Micky Mouse" titles, but surely the most pointless degree is one from a crap institution, or a 3rd class one from any institution?

I'm looking to get a 1st/2:1 from a uni which is good for my subject. I have learnt two ancient languages (which, as I have discovered, makes learning modern ones a lot easier), how to debate and organise arguments, how to write most effectively, how to research, how to critique evidence and a whole host of other skills. I don't feel any more disadvantaged than the average arts student, just because my degree has few direct career links. Actually, there's quite a tradition of people going into law, which is quite lucrative, no?

[hr]

Tommy can you hear me?

[Haunted]

Any education is good education

[hr]

Now with 100% more corn

[DrAlex]

Quoting exnihilo from 10:17, 24th Apr 2008
My degrees are in mediaeval history, DrAlex; they haven't hampered my career thus far.

And far be it from me to imply that a degree in such a subject would impact negatively upon one in the future (except, apparently and unfortunately, in rectoral campaigns). My point was that, unless you are a historian, your degree was 'pointless' inasmuch as the skills you learned and use in your career probably weren't necessarily gleaned from your degree, but rather from a general higher education experience. In other words, the skills mentioned by maenad are likely learned by the majority of good students regardless of what they actually studied at university.

Perhaps, then, there's no such thing as a pointless degree, and we can lay this silly, yet 'unkillable', debate to rest.

[hr]

The Sinner: Where no one ever learned "if you haven't got any thing nice to say, don't say anything at all."

[Steveo]

No one put my degree, Sustainable Development on the list. Shocking.

[hr]

Get off my internet.

[exnihilo]

That's certainly my position, that no degree is pointless, providing that it is subject to certain standards of academic rigour. I've lost count of how often I've been in the "stupid degree" argument, and almost always on the side of said stupid degree arguing that it was nothing of the sort, the same sort of skills are developed and required for success. Certainly that's the case for arts degrees, I worry to an extent about more vocational courses being given degree status, but that's another argument.

(PS Thanks, I'd have been great. Still, October...)

[Bizarre Atheist]

Quoting Steveo from 14:39, 24th Apr 2008
No one put my degree, Sustainable Development on the list. Shocking.

[hr]

Get off my internet.

Or mine; English. I can say with some degree of certainty that it is almost entirely pointless. A glorified book club, I like to call it.

[hr]

[Thalia]

Sigh, there are now two votes for psychology. I despair

[hr]

You've been nothing but an angel every day of your life and now you wonder what it's like to be damned...

[Power Metal Dom]

Or mine; Philosophy! Which gets it in the neck more often that not. So much so a link is on the front of the dept webpage saying 'Philosophy graduates are in growing demand from employers' to boost the morale.

[hr]

Like flames on fuel...upon metal I drool

[exnihilo]

Does it specify which employers, and are fries involved?








(Only joking, my cleaner's a philosophy graduate.)

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

On Tuesday, I met a lawyer with a medicine degree from Cambridge.

:S

[hr]

Mmmmmmm, cake.
http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37102114

[Super Jock]

Quoting exnihilo from 17:26, 24th Apr 2008
Does it specify which employers, and are fries involved?


(Only joking, my cleaner's a philosophy graduate.)

ha ha, I'm not a phycology fan cause they breed annoying I understand you so I'm better than you traits. Not to mention the love of newbie Phyco.s labeling every characteristic you have and love as some sort of medical condition. Lastly this article is just embarrassing:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tay ... 359217.stm

It's not that I dislike phycologists, I know many really nice phycologists, but their stereotype is annoying. It was after all them that proved, some how, that a stereotype can affect some peoples opinion of them self.

[Amorphous]

Quoting Super Jock from 22:07, 24th Apr 2008
ha ha, I'm not a phycology fan cause they breed annoying I understand you so I'm better than you traits. Not to mention the love of newbie Phyco.s labeling every characteristic you have and love as some sort of medical condition. Lastly this article is just embarrassing:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tay ... 359217.stm

It's not that I dislike phycologists, I know many really nice phycologists, but their stereotype is annoying. It was after all them that proved, some how, that a stereotype can affect some peoples opinion of them self.

So... you're annoyed because psychologists have conducted a scientific study and found something out? Or because the article mentions the England football team? Chances are the latter wasn't really their choice, but the fact is that getting a finding published in the news is completely different from being published in a scientific journal. I'd imagine the process of talking to the BBC went something like:

Psychologists: "Hey, BBC! We did a study that shows being aware of stereotypes can be a self-fulfilling prophecy that alters your performance. Isn't that interesting?"
BBC: "Oh. Well, uh... that's nice. You have fun with that."
Psychologists: "I guess it could arguably be linked with football somehow..."
BBC: "OOOH! That sounds newsworthy!"

It's sad, but it seems a lot of findings (from any discipline) need jazzing up before they become approprate news-fodder: knowledge for its own sake doesn't seem to sell papers, or page hits in this instance.

[hr]

If Jack Bauer was put in a room with Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Nina Myers and handed a gun with two bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.

[Hevelius]

[b]

ha ha, I'm not a phycology fan

Who was talking about algae?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phycology