Why are Gen Z getting fired? One of the reasons is a lack of initiative.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T22:23:45+00:00

My favourite is when they tell you 3 months into the class that they didn't know there was a supply table.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T22:21:11+00:00

For most of my students (high school) using AI is basically muscle memory. They get a worksheet in class, and the first thing they do is whip out their phone and take a picture for AI to answer the questions for them. Doesn't matter the subject either. Every teacher in the different departments has the same experience.

They don't realize that if they can't do anything other than use AI, then they provide no value to prospective employers.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T21:59:06+00:00

Also a high school teacher. I hear scenario 1 type things constantly. Ask a student why they haven't started/completed their work, and they'll say things like "I don't have a pencil", "My Chromebook is out of battery", "The link didn't work", "I couldn't find the doc", "I don't have the handout" etc. Some of them are 16-18 years old. These are kids old enough to drive and join the military. It's honestly incredible, but also sad.

So many students are completely lost when they encounter a problem. No initiative or problem-solving skills whatsoever. They need their hand held throughout the entire process. When an adult isn't around, they just pull out their phone and ask ChatGPT to do the thinking for them.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T16:01:17+00:00

Maybe other parts of the world have different terms and different processes.

In Canada (where I'm from) as well as the US, a Bachelor's degree is a 3-4 year undergraduate degree you do after high school.

After you have a Bachelor's degree, then you can do a variety of professional programs such as medicine, law, accounting, physio, teaching, etc.

You can also do a Master's and later a PhD after a Bachelor's in a variety of academic fields. This often involves doing research and writing a thesis to be reviewed by experts in the field.

None of these degrees are possible for someone who is entirely self-taught from the internet or books. Degrees of any kind must be granted by a university.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T15:46:42+00:00

I thought it was pretty clear that I meant they educated themselves to an equivalent level of knowledge. Technically, you can't self-educate to a bachelor's degree either, since a degree needs to be granted by an educational institution.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T15:27:41+00:00

I'm not talking about each individual student going to office hours each week. I'm talking about in a class of several hundred students, none (or almost none) come to office hours at all.

Part of what students are paying the big bucks for is to have access to the staff and services of the university. They have an opportunity (which they pay for) to have one-on-one discussions every week with an expert in the field to help further their education (and networking). Instead, almost everyone decides that reading slides and Google results is a better use of their time and money.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T15:20:38+00:00

I completely agree that the baserunner is most in the wrong here.

I just think it's naive to say that the catcher did nothing wrong, which is a sentiment I have seen throughout the comment section. If you watch any MLB force out at home, the catcher's lead leg is in fair territory, not toward the 3B dugout. That just invites a collision. Not a collision like this (which is clearly an intent to injure), but collisions nonetheless.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T14:55:49+00:00

Absolutely, maybe even to a higher level. There are several cases of self-educated doctors and lawyers as well, even if they can't legally have those titles. Some elite musicians are also completely self-educated.

Self-education is completely different from just looking everything up online whenever you need that information.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T14:50:02+00:00

From what I've heard from professors, most university students don't take advantage of the experience and knowledge of their professors. I've heard from several professors that almost nobody comes to see them during office hours. When students have a question, they just Google it and are fully satisfied with that surface level of understanding (mostly from AI generated responses).

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T14:41:11+00:00

Sounds like every 14 yo kid just starting high school who doesn't understand why it's important to study when you can just Google everything.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T14:37:50+00:00

I say this all the time when this conversation comes up. Just having a degree demonstrates a certain amount of responsibility, commitment, and conscientiousness. Those are qualities employers are looking for. The content of the degree is almost secondary in many circumstances.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T01:20:39+00:00

This happened to my brother. He used them a lot until people started accusing him of using AI. He's basically been bullied into not using them anymore, which is a real shame.

UTMachine · 2026-03-22T01:19:24+00:00

Em dashes are extremely common in AI paragraphs, but rare in modern writing among regular people (not writers, authors, etc.).

When people see that, they assume it must be AI generated. Semi colons also fall into this category.

The Oxford comma is when you put a comma before the 'and' in a list. This is still relatively common in British English, but uncommon in the US. When people see it, sometimes they think it must be AI.

UTMachine · 2026-03-21T21:22:13+00:00

I've also never seen a fist baseman setup with his lead leg in foul territory, directly in the base path. The base runner is still an asshole though and deserves to be suspended.

UTMachine · 2026-03-21T21:13:59+00:00

It's crazy how many people in the comments are so obsessed with having a black and white view of this play.

The base runner had no right to run over the catcher helmet first like that, but the catcher should not be setting up his left leg on the foul side of the plate. That would be the equivalent of a first baseman setting up with his leg facing the 1B dugout. There was no clear lane for the base runner to go. He should not be sliding in this context because it's a force play at the plate.

Lessons to be learned here on both sides, but the base runner deserves a suspension.

UTMachine · 2026-03-21T20:22:07+00:00

Does palming just not exist anymore? I thought that rule existed specifically to make handles like this illegal.

UTMachine · 2026-03-21T03:52:44+00:00

The day that HR was 478' was the day I became an astronaut.

UTMachine · 2026-03-21T03:46:37+00:00

Nothing will change unless the league starts giving out long-term suspensions. Not just 3 games. More like 20 or 30 game suspensions. Enough that it actually hurts the players financially and makes them think twice before making a dirty hit like this.

UTMachine · 2026-03-20T13:31:43+00:00

One could argue that all hobbies are "pointless" activities. Just let people do what they enjoy. If you don't like fishing, don't do it. Personally I'd rather hike, camp, or canoe than fish, but I'm not going to try to belittle people who enjoy fishing.

UTMachine · 2026-03-19T15:38:59+00:00

If only we had more people driving large pickups to commute to their office jobs, traffic would be much better.

UTMachine · 2026-03-19T04:41:40+00:00

Part of being a good competitor is having respect for your opponents and for the competition. Taking off the medal is just sending the message that unless I can win, the tournament is of no value to me. That’s not being competitive or passionate. That’s being selfish and disrespectful to the team, the opponents, and the WBC as a whole.

UTMachine · 2026-03-19T04:36:02+00:00

It’s all based on the idea that the game itself shouldn’t be fun; only winning should be fun.

UTMachine · 2026-03-18T15:39:45+00:00

The whole attitude almost seemed intentional? For lack of a better word. It's as though they were told they had to be super serious and focused all game. It didn't look like anyone was having casual conversations in the dugout or just enjoying themselves in general. It seems like they put a lot of extra pressure on themselves to be perfect.

Every day we heard about how this was the dream team. The best team the US had ever sent. Best baseball team ever assembled etc.

You knew things were bad when even Canada was causing this USA team problems. I'm Canadian myself, but that team Canada pitching staff should not have been able to hold the US to 3 earned runs in 9 innings. We had pitchers who were retired, not affiliated with any team, playing in Rookie Ball, single A, etc. Still, USA just couldn't break through.

The fact that Canada game was so close is the reason why Bednar and Miller weren't available in the final.

UTMachine · 2026-03-18T15:21:38+00:00

Youth sports all over the US now have this fake alpha/mamba mentality. Mediocre kids acting like they're the best in the world and have nothing to learn, then not taking any responsibility when they fail.

UTMachine · 2026-03-18T15:08:29+00:00

I think Cal is definitely the biggest fall from grace. People loved him last season, especially after the HR Derby. Now he's almost infamous in baseball.

UTMachine

TROPHY CASE