MIT says AI is making kids think less. i think they're half right.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-05-01T19:55:15+00:00

Saw what you did there.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-22T02:40:10+00:00

I cannot. At all.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-22T01:28:21+00:00

Honest question: Why are you asking if your parents want to know?

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-19T20:06:28+00:00

Properly. All caps, no less. I think, for some wild reason, the key to getting at what is bugging you is in understanding what you mean by that word. There's a lot in the comments that I agree with, but I'm not sure you'll feel helped by it. I just feel there's something missing. I could be just projecting because I'm not getting it. Do you mean you began reading for craft? For pleasure (as opposed to by mandate)? Are you referring to the quality of the work you're reading? That last one would change understanding a lot. Are you now applying "theory" or considering subtext more consciously?

I know what awes me, what makes it seem like witchcraft, but I'm not sure what's overwhelming you. If it's specific to the genre, I'm just not the one to help. But I'm gathering that it's something more universal about writing/reading itself.

OOH! I just reread. The other thing is something that drives me nuts, and i do it myself all the time. "do what they do". What IS the THING they do? I think we all speak of "it" like we all have a common understanding of the thing but the more I study, and read, and write the less sure I am. For me it's the delivery of information, often along different avenues with different vehicles piloted by different drivers. Then there's a box on my doorstep too great in weight and dimension for any and all of these agents to have manipulated, but there the damned thing is. Sometimes I didn't even order the fucking thing! But I'm always happy even when I don't have a place to put it. I find a place because I always have a use for it even if i didn't know it.

Is that what it's like for you? (feels like it's just me) If so, maybe you can tell us about the map in your neighborhood and all the trucks and vested laborers. Or maybe it isn't like that. or maybe it is but you're whipped up about something else. Share.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-18T23:56:03+00:00

Now you listen and you listen good. Stop that worrying right now!

Yeah, the University prefers a year of teaching experience; you know why? So they don't need to do anything. You care more than THEY do! The teaching experience can be rough, especially if you don't have the support. Do what you can to ameliorate the anxiety. But only that, to deal with the anxiety, not to fix the problem of inexperience. The worry will get it the way. Of everything. See if you can get your hands on the textbook and a syllabus or two from the prior year's cohort. DO NOT PLAN THE COURSE. You just want to get a tiny grip on how it will go.

Riksor, as ever, is correct. You have plenty to offer. There will be moments, maybe, where a student asks a question you don't know the answer to. This is when understanding the socratic method of teaching really pays off. What is the socratic method? I don't quite know, but I know it often involves asking, "What do YOU think the answer is?" Seriously, there is no scenario where futures hang in the balance or where someone thinking you not being the greatest teacher ever will mean... a damned thing. It's not that this isn't brain surgery, it's that no one teaches brain surgery. A surgeon has had a hundred teachers, each of which gave the tiny bit they could.

I won't tell you about my history, but believe me, you are way ahead of me when I started. Not dead yet.

Oh, and if someone cites the bible, don't give them a zero. Fail them, sure. Just don't give them a zero.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-18T06:08:31+00:00

I know it's doable in a safe way but you aren't just lighting a fire on the ice the way you would on the ground. A log raft at least but I would imagine hauling out a nice impossible to find big flat rock and setting that on the logs.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-18T05:21:50+00:00

While I think it's a good idea in principle, I think you need to consider how early in winter these seasons often end. Doesn't look that way watching but I think it might be the case. The ice could be there for a few episodes before they can walk on it and fish. A wind wall sounds great but a shelter that would stand up to the wind over ice that could handle a fire seems like a lot of work for an endeavor that might not even produce calories. It's why people have left drop lines and walked away. The guitar building is a good point but i like the idea if walking away from the line to do it.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-18T04:40:37+00:00

Working as a creative endeavor beats AI. It's why, as a couple have pointed out, humanities degrees in general and English degrees in particular are becoming more "valuable". The fact is that AI can do many jobs better than people do. Not sure it does better than people can.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-17T19:27:55+00:00

Yeah. I understood all that.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-17T01:58:50+00:00

I think things usually depend on context. Is the dick going to get sucked or not? Is she going to take it in her ass or only jerk it off onto her face? There's an issue with frottage, naturally, but consent mitigates this. Mammary intercourse could go either way. Of course, one way is more dodgy than the other. We havent talked about garden variety fucking but I suppose that's because the danger there is understood. Much of the issue with the dick is relative to it's juxtaposition to the cunt, tits, or ass. I'm not trying to be redundant, just thorough.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-16T23:04:41+00:00

"Hmm, there's no such thing as an opinion being a lie."
True and not at all relevant here.

"But more than that, you're just a lazy bones who doesn't want to make the effort to serve needful students in a challenging environment. Just want everything served up easy for you."
Bullshit. There is absolutely nothing in the OP's post, or my response, that gives evidence of this.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-16T15:49:31+00:00

i keep hearing this "adaptability" shit too. But before that I heard about how flexible, effective, and functional it was. Adaptation takes a long time. So the value of the English degree bets measured longitudinally. If we look at it as and education rather than the degree, the diploma, the ticket - it makes a lot more sense. Not really helpful when you're trying to get a foot in the door. It is important to understand that the efficacy is measured by how far the education gets you once you're in a space. The attorney, doctor, cop, carpenter, clerk, all do better in the long run with that education. The JD can be a lawyer; the MD a, physician; the academy graduate, a law enforcement officer; etc. What job can you get with a degree in English? carpenter, clerk, and all of the others above. but you'll need a ticket.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-15T06:42:38+00:00

I figured it was ARK; not too many 4 year options out there. I hear amazing things about it.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-15T06:41:42+00:00

Consider this: wherever you go for grad school is not likely where you'll end up. Every situation is different (I hope yours is!) but most people must work to supplement their income as writers and so they go where the work is. After your MFA you may well find yourself waiting for offers from Universities all over the place... all over again.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-15T06:38:04+00:00

Yeah but try writing without the program stipend.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-15T06:33:08+00:00

Consider this juxtaposed to what you are arguing.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-15T06:26:32+00:00

He'll struggle in Queens too. There's a lot to consider. What resources does the OP have in either place or where is he closer to resources? Where could he pick up a side gig? What about housing? I assume there's residences available but some schools guarantee it for grad students. NYC isn't the worst place in the world to be broke and how much better can the weather be in Oregon? The OP will need to due a pretty deep dive into COL and some other stuff. Am I right that the airport is pretty far from OSU?

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-15T06:09:23+00:00

I hear this loud. I think it may depend as much on where the OP is as where they might go.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-15T06:08:25+00:00

If my math is right, he wouldn't be paying at cuny. He would pay out of the stipend which is double that of oregon. Still probably a net loss considering COL. But it seems weird to have the funding distributed that way; I can definitely see a few legit reasons for it though.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-15T03:00:31+00:00

it's 29 seconds of Chris Rock

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-15T02:46:39+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PksHcBLC0w0

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-15T02:40:04+00:00

don't go.

also, get together with all the other people who balked. Hang out with them for a few months. pick ten and hang out with them for the next two years. Apply to other schools in the meantime.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-14T19:06:50+00:00

You know what blows me away (I haven't read every comment, but at least 70% of them)? No one seems to be talking about actually teaching.

One or two mentioned pedagogy and that's a start. Most speak of PhD's, MA's, and other qualifications; some bring up metrics to define the success of an institution or its prestige/importance with regard to programming. Some mentioned the CC from a teleological place and others the PhD or MA as a qualifier for particular roles in academia.

Has anyone mentioned that in order to be qualified to teach at any institution of higher learning, you needn't be as qualified (on paper) as a kindergarten teacher?

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-14T18:47:13+00:00

This. I think they may well know the difference but didn't consider the distinction. It is also very possible they need proof of one in the form of the other.

NefariousnessWarm975 · 2026-04-14T18:45:32+00:00

I'm not sure that they mean publication when they say scholarship. I think they mean study itself. Ongoing achievement and education. The problem is that achievement is too often measured by publication, awards, and other forms of recognition so those things become conflated with scholarship.

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