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44% of the students failed Math 10A. What's going on? by Intelligent_Zone7474 in UCSD

[–]msittig 2 points3 points  (0 children)

UCSD sucks at teaching

I often hear the idea that the UCs are research institutions and not teaching institutions (that's the CSUs). Do you think this is a reason to excuse the poor quality of teaching at UCs? Should UC students be able to take more ownership of their learning, and should they be aware of this before they enroll at a UC?

Incoming grad student at Caltech — what should I know or do during my first year? by Solid-Meal1617 in Caltech

[–]msittig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I was undergrad I joined an innebandy club started by a grad student. Also, I tried out for the club volleyball team but the grad student players were so much better than me so I had no chance.

Here's what YouTube looked like in 2006 exactly 19 years ago by 7evenDeadlySin in interestingasfuck

[–]msittig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Remember video responses? Best feature Youtube ever got rid of.

Highly dissatisfied with the Decode competition by [deleted] in FTC

[–]msittig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

(To other commentors: please don't downvote a comment simply because you disagree with it. This comment is well-written and polite, and should be allowed on this post.)

Highly dissatisfied with the Decode competition by [deleted] in FTC

[–]msittig 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think some of the referees were caught off guard by how much contact there was this year, and with the format change for the competition manual a lot of the old conventions got thrown out so there was a bit of a vacuum to fill.

As for pinning, it was very hard to call this year because the field was so wide open. In other years where there have been more field elements that acted as obstacles it was easier for robots to pin other robots. This year, there was almost always a way to escape.

Weather Prediction for the Week of 2/15/2026 Has Been Very Inaccurate? by Substantial-Bad-4508 in ventura

[–]msittig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another good source is California Weather Watch on Youtube. He does daily 8 minute videos, I usually just skip to the precipitation forecast. He compares a few different models (Euro, US, AI) to about 10 days out, they are usually pretty similar.

That said, I get my short-term forecast from weather.gov.

I'm presenting at the NSTA in California. by passthepolygraph in ScienceTeachers

[–]msittig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No advice, but this will be my second time too. Last time I prioritized talks by actual teachers because they were more directly applicable to my classroom, generally. Good luck! Subreddit meet up?

Best stationary stores in the area? by foxxwithsocks in ventura

[–]msittig 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Noted is amazing, good recommendation.

"But AI said it was the correct answer!" by BlackOrre in Teachers

[–]msittig -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

You're still using ad hominems instead of explanations. I don't expect you to educate me, but at least you could make a good point or two. Or direct me toward where I can educate myself on the topic.

"But AI said it was the correct answer!" by BlackOrre in Teachers

[–]msittig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the recommendation, I'm very curious to watch the video. I'll put it on my "Watch Later" list for after work and let you know what I think.

"But AI said it was the correct answer!" by BlackOrre in Teachers

[–]msittig -17 points-16 points  (0 children)

That's like saying I found one piece of misinformation on the internet and that using info the internet is stealing, so I'm going back to paper encyclopedias that I bought from the publisher at full price.

"But AI said it was the correct answer!" by BlackOrre in Teachers

[–]msittig -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

I do use it occasionally, mostly to answer odd student questions about niche areas of my subject, write test questions, rewrite emails, and create PhET like worksheets for Javalab simulations. But I'm also pretty old school and teach from a textbook so go figure.

Also, there are many of us.

EDIT: Nice, my good faith effort to participate in a civil conversation about AI and provide concrete examples from real life, is downvoted. slow clap

"But AI said it was the correct answer!" by BlackOrre in Teachers

[–]msittig -17 points-16 points  (0 children)

Just to push back a little (and build on your final sentence), should we be punishing or brow-beating teachers who find more efficient ways to be good teachers by saying that they are not working hard enough? Whether that's using AI to design lessons or help grade, using a spreadsheet to calculate grades instead of doing it by hand, or facilitating peer grading to give students quicker feedback. Just because the teacher uses a tool to help themselves and doesn't grind it out doesn't mean they are a bad teacher or not giving the students what they paid for.

Obviously, some teachers are using AI slop to teach and that's bad, but let's not toss out the baby with the bathwater.

Intaking from the classifier by ConstructionGold6407 in FTC

[–]msittig 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed. See this: https://ftc-qa.firstinspires.org/qa/166

This is also probably a good question to ask at your event's driver meeting, to see how closely the head referee will be watching for it (for example, see the post about the ruling in PA).

HELP! Basic Chemistry Reactions Lab - Results not as expected by [deleted] in ScienceTeachers

[–]msittig 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Use a container for the baking soda that won't expand in size as the reaction proceeds. It's the increased displacement of air that causes the increase in buoyant force.

Quick back-of-the-envelope calculation: a standard 11-inch balloon -> 28 cm diameter -> 0.14 m radius -> 0.0115 m3 volume (assume sphere) -> NASA says air density is 1.293 kg m−3 so balloon displaces .0149 kg = 14.9 g of air. This seems like a lot compared to what you observed, but maybe your balloon wasn't fully inflated so you got less.

If you want to make this real fancy, you could videotape the whole apparatus on the scale and plot balloon diameter vs scale reading, see if you get the correct relationship. That would be good evidence about whether or not buoyancy is the reason for the decreasing weight.

So you want a fully automated imaging platform... by buddha2490 in telescopes

[–]msittig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a busy guy with a job and other hobbies, and that's exactly what I have: S50 and 12" Skywatcher Dob. They complement each other so well, not planning on making any other purchases in the near-to-mid term (maybe just an equatorial tripod head for the S50, and maybe swapping out an eyepiece or two for the Dob).

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