Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Dealing with an idiot for a professor (rantish)

Slims · 05-28-2003, 04:49 AM

Being a hard science person, I put off taking the basic required history courses until the last possible minute, and now I am stuck taking history 101 over summer school. I knew it wasn't going to be fun, but I did not expect this.

My professor (who talks like Mayor Quimby) gave us a lecture on prehistory and early man yesterday on the first day of class. To keep a long story short, I will go over some of the key things he told us:

The big bang was caused by exploding gasses, and celestial bodies formed as they cooled. And scientists don't understand why everything just exploded [into existence?] at a random point in time.

Since the law of entrofy (yes, entrofy) says that order always increases, scientists cannot explain why there is so much disorder in the universe. (talking about big bang vs. creationism) When I said something to the effect of "actually, the law of entropy says pretty much the exact opposite" he said "whatever, I am not a scientist."

At about this time, he took a class poll (had everybody raise their hands) to see how many christians we had.

Fish and turtles are mammals, and we know we evolved from mammals in the sea because fetesuses initially breathe through gills in the womb. (I tried to say something here too, but he said "I'm just a history professor")

The neolithic stone age was characterized by the use of better, harder stones, like shale, for chipped tools.

We evolved from monkeys in the trees, and our earlobes give us our balance, that's why all apes have earlobes.

--------

How am I supposed to deal with this guy? It's bad enough that I just have to sit there and groan, but most of the kids in this class are freshman who failed it the first time around....and who will take him at his word.

Is it unreasonable for me to expect that this guy stick to facts when I am paying upwards of a thousand dollars to take his course? I think he has a responsiblility to accurately represent these concepts, if he is going to go over them at all. Granted, it is not a science class, but still, he should just not discuss them, or he should STUDY up on them first.

What am I supposed to do when the first test has a question like:
The big bang was caused by exploding gasses. T/F?

or: We are descended from mammals in the sea, such as fish. T/F?

or neolithic man used hard, chipped stone tools made out of materials like shale. T/F?

Argghhhh! The worst part is I have to keep my mouth shut.

05-28-2003, 04:49 AM	#1 (permalink)
Slims Eccentric insomniac Location: North Carolina	Dealing with an idiot for a professor (rantish) Being a hard science person, I put off taking the basic required history courses until the last possible minute, and now I am stuck taking history 101 over summer school. I knew it wasn't going to be fun, but I did not expect this. My professor (who talks like Mayor Quimby) gave us a lecture on prehistory and early man yesterday on the first day of class. To keep a long story short, I will go over some of the key things he told us: The big bang was caused by exploding gasses, and celestial bodies formed as they cooled. And scientists don't understand why everything just exploded [into existence?] at a random point in time. Since the law of entrofy (yes, entrofy) says that order always increases, scientists cannot explain why there is so much disorder in the universe. (talking about big bang vs. creationism) When I said something to the effect of "actually, the law of entropy says pretty much the exact opposite" he said "whatever, I am not a scientist." At about this time, he took a class poll (had everybody raise their hands) to see how many christians we had. Fish and turtles are mammals, and we know we evolved from mammals in the sea because fetesuses initially breathe through gills in the womb. (I tried to say something here too, but he said "I'm just a history professor") The neolithic stone age was characterized by the use of better, harder stones, like shale, for chipped tools. We evolved from monkeys in the trees, and our earlobes give us our balance, that's why all apes have earlobes. -------- How am I supposed to deal with this guy? It's bad enough that I just have to sit there and groan, but most of the kids in this class are freshman who failed it the first time around....and who will take him at his word. Is it unreasonable for me to expect that this guy stick to facts when I am paying upwards of a thousand dollars to take his course? I think he has a responsiblility to accurately represent these concepts, if he is going to go over them at all. Granted, it is not a science class, but still, he should just not discuss them, or he should STUDY up on them first. What am I supposed to do when the first test has a question like: The big bang was caused by exploding gasses. T/F? or: We are descended from mammals in the sea, such as fish. T/F? or neolithic man used hard, chipped stone tools made out of materials like shale. T/F? Argghhhh! The worst part is I have to keep my mouth shut.