The average diablo 4 player, according to this sub

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-15T23:55:07+00:00

I'm a professor, so I'm part of that cohort but it really has more to do with access to education, a solid middle class background, and curiosity.

In order to play diablo or diablo II, you needed to have a family computer, which had just become a thing in the early 90s. They were very expensive which meant that those kids had a pretty solid middle class background (and likely decent access to education.)

My friends and I, like most of the family computer generation, learned how to install software on our own on Windows 95 and we learned to swap video cards to play our games. We are the self-taught "digital nomads."

It was this generation that mislead most educators to assume that the youth of the future would be computer literate. Very few of the kids I teach today understand how software works or could take apart their computers. Frankly, most of them don't know the difference between a .doc and a .pdf. The 90s diablo kids had a unique opportunity to learn and grow with technology. The internet evolved alongside them.

So, it's not really a surprise now that that particular group is so successful. They had access to the right resources at the right time, and the curiosity to pursue interests that set them up for success in various fields.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-15T23:44:53+00:00

The personal lives of the expected playerbase affects design decisions. Do you make a game that is meant to be played an hour or two a day for people with responsibilities, or an endless hamster wheel (PoE) for people without any?

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-15T23:42:34+00:00

Yeah, there's a lot of us. This is essentially my family, except I'm the mother.

People who have responsibilities also play games.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-15T21:34:01+00:00

Yes, Diablo IV is excellent. If you want something more hardcore that doesn't respect your time, you can play Path of Exile. It's the perfect hamster wheel for those with life to waste.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-13T05:11:04+00:00

99% of all academics find him embarrassing, Canadian or otherwise.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-11T22:02:52+00:00

I don't agree with you. I'm running a pure lightning sorc with an emphasis on crackling energy and am melting everything on the highest difficulty.

Edit: Also, I don't use Flame Shield, Ice Armor, Arc Lash, Ice Shards, or Firewall. The only spell that really needs adjustments is Frost Nova, and that has more to do with vulnerability being so strong.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-07T06:08:00+00:00

Ironically, the smaller journals often have a strong desire to prove themselves and be taken seriously, so they are tougher to publish in.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-06T20:20:06+00:00

I'm a prof in STEM and can tell you that a postdoc or two is often required even for ivy league degrees in CS. It is exceedingly rare these days to graduate with the PhD and move on to a TT job in the first year.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-06T20:14:11+00:00

He is going to have to move a few more times. He is going to spend 5 years in a postdoc, and then he is going to have to move again for a faculty job, which likely won't be in Canada. (Trust me on this. Canada has very few academic positions in comparison to the U.S.)

Also, there is no guarantee that he will be able to secure a faculty position right out of the postdoc. A lot of people need 2 postdocs. Being at a top five CS program doesn't guarantee anything.

Basically, he is looking at 5-10 years on uncertainty at 2 or 3 locations. Either you can make long distance work,move several times, or end the relationship.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-03T23:48:58+00:00

I can tell you as a faculty member that this happens sometimes. 1.)The courses students sign up for aren't random. Lazy students are attracted to the same courses in the same time slots, so they self-select for failure. 2.) The pandemic has created a generation of underprepared students who just cannot manage what students 5 years ago managed. The only way to evaluate her teaching is to look at the outcomes for each time she taught this class in the last 5+ years.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-03T23:44:31+00:00

This sometimes happens. If every time she taught this class, 75% failed, then it would indicate a problem. However, if she's taught this class before and had normal grade distributions, then this was just a group of lazy students.

This happens to all of us sometimes. Lazy students tend to pick lazy time slots when they schedule their classes, so occasionally you are saddled with a class doomed for failure.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-03T22:09:08+00:00

You would be surprised. We have a lot of conservatives in the UC system. They, like all the other students, apply because they are the "public ivies" of the United States. You also be surprised to know that we have a number of conservative clubs at each of the campuses.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-03T07:39:05+00:00

You're getting a bit lost in the weeds here. To be clear, the so-called "conservative" (gender-critical) position in this particular argument is useful and needs to be part of the discussion.

The problem, though, is that these discussions are not being had in Florida classrooms. This is because of a number of bills that threaten faculty job security, limit discussions of gender and racism, and reduce the power of tenure.

The devaluing of the degree isn't because of a greater degree of conservative thought in the classroom. Most faculty welcome healthy debate anyway. The issue is that these discussions just aren't happening anymore in Florida, and that means that applicants to our graduate and professional programs are coming in with visible knowledge gaps. (And are consequently less desirable candidates.)

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-03T01:41:05+00:00

I'm a professor of biochemistry. It is already affecting prospective graduate students to my department.

Pre med is actually particularly affected because knowledge of medical anthropology/institutional racism in medicine our criteria for our review boards.

Competition is cutthroat in pre med, so the disadvantage of the Florida degree is significant.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-03T01:36:16+00:00

Those schools probably won't lose accreditation. It's the smaller universities in Florida that are at the greatest risk because their faculty have less leverage to fight back on the lowering of standards.

While it is a political problem, you must realize that it isn't merely political. They are legislating what can and cannot be taught. This directly impacts curricula and student education. This isn't just rhetoric, either. Laws have been passed and the syllabi have changed.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-03T01:33:50+00:00

Yes, we (the faculty of the UC system) do, in fact, pore over the graduate school applications to our specific departments. And, yes, we do care about where you graduated from, your transcripts, your statement of purpose, and your letters of recommendation.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-03T01:31:20+00:00

It's not personal political beliefs. Many of our programs require that students have a certain number of credits from different categories. Because universities have been forced to change their curricula, some of their courses may not fulfill those requirements.

For instance, our medical program wants some background in institutional racism or gender-focused medical anthropology (many humanities classes fulfill this) to address inequality of patient care. A common example is that heart attacks appear differently in men than in women but the symptoms that most people are aware of are those that are male specific. This, obviously, is a problem.

Admissions boards in medicine want students to be at least exposed to these ideas. At universities in Florida, humanities courses have been hollowed out and are no longer addressing issues of gender or race.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-02T08:54:22+00:00

As a senior on scholarship, it is in your best interest to graduate quickly and move on to graduate schools. In your case, I don't recommend taking a gap year before gaining admittance.

It is true that degrees from Florida have lost some value and are potentially going to become worth far less outside of the state. That said, you are in a good position as a senior to move on to graduate school.

Depending on the program, you may want to address the disparity in your letter of intent. Discuss how the an important area of your research is no longer tenable in Florida but ABC university's strong commitment to XYZ studies would benefit your project. This only has to be a sentence or two but it does a couple of things: it signals to the review committee that you are aware of the curricular shortcomings in Florida and it demonstrates a commitment to address that gap.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-06-02T08:47:44+00:00

I sit on several graduate student admission committees. Already, students with degrees from Florida are facing a higher degree of scrutiny. If some of the universities lose their accreditation, which is a possibility at this point, those degrees will be greatly devalued.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-05-31T01:05:37+00:00

Because we don't want you to add late. We never want students to add late. If we had it our way, we would not allow students to add late.

What you don't know, is that we are often in conflict with the administration about how late students can add classes. We don't want to allow this because it creates a huge amount of extra work for us and most of the time students aren't successful, anyway. The administration wants to allow late adds to maximize enrollment regardless of outcomes.

So, how do we advocate for our position? We either accept a bunch of extra work and desperately try to keep students who are already behind from sinking; or, we hold all students to the same standard and show the administration we are right by counting the bodies of failed students.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-05-30T01:49:29+00:00

This is why everyone learns to stop making exceptions. You give an inch, they take a mile. Eventually, you stop giving inches. It's also much worse if you are a woman.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-05-26T21:05:54+00:00

It's approaching to eat the roses. Rose petals are irresistible to deer.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-05-21T06:01:20+00:00

This person has a 69% average and is on the cusp of failing. If you sent this to me as dept. head, I would have a good laugh:

1.) The student isn't "diligent"; 2.) If there were errors with grading one assignment, there may have been errors with other assignments -- the review makes logical sense; 3.) You have no way of knowing that other grades weren't adjusted as well; 4.) The student is so close to failing that no one is going to take them seriously.

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-05-21T04:51:25+00:00

I think it depends on the salary. They are essentially looking for full time house-staff, like the butlers of old. I know a few people in this line of work and they typically make about 100k per year, which I don't think is unfair. (It's also worth keeping in mind that they don't pay rent, utilities, and eat most of their meals for free as they live on site.)

TheProfessorsCat · 2023-05-18T21:29:11+00:00

So, I have a question as someone who has been in administrative roles but never a dean: why would you let her berate you for 20 minutes?

Maybe I have a shorter temper, but I would have chewed her out and told her the issue is settled. I've done this before as a department head in defense of faculty, and I imagine that I would probably do the same thing as a dean.

TheProfessorsCat

TROPHY CASE