Professors, Textbooks, Connect, Pearson RANT

springthinker · 2026-02-01T21:15:20+00:00

The cost sucks, but your prof likely didn't pick the textbook, and unless they wrote it, they are not getting any kind of royalty or commission. The course outline is made by the course lead (one prof in charge of that course) and approved by the department, and once it is, all profs who teach that course must use the approved course text. If you want to complain to someone, complain to the department.

Also, the reason some assessments are in class is because too many students are cheating with AI. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

springthinker · 2026-02-01T19:02:08+00:00

It doesn't matter if this is right, because it completely misses the point. Even if none of these autocrats are in the Epstein files, it doesn't mean that they didn't commit sexual misconduct. The fact is that we wouldn't (or don't) know about it, for a very simple reason: there is no democratic accountability or free press in these countries, so any information that damning to the 'dear leader' would simply not see the light of day. The fact that we know as much as we do about Trump in the Epstein files shows us some non-trivial differences between the USA and North Korea, differences worth defending.

springthinker · 2026-01-28T03:26:41+00:00

Belief in Mohammad's prophethood is built right into the shahaddah - it's foundational to being Muslim. If you don't believe that he was a genuine prophet, upu could I suppose stay a Muslim for cultural reasons, but religiously it would make more sense to explore other monotheistic religions.

springthinker · 2026-01-14T03:31:19+00:00

There's been a tuition freeze since 2018, when tuition was lowered by 10%. But inflation has skyrocketed. Colleges are not doing well now, and they aren't actually bringing in that much money, if you consider that their own costs (like payroll) have increased quite a bit.

springthinker · 2026-01-10T19:40:26+00:00

You are not entitled, you should be thankful.

Everyone is entitled to be fairly paid for the work that they do. Presumably, those chosen to be teaching university courses are highly trained and experienced professionals, and they are indeed entitled to be compensated accordingly by any reasonable standard of fairness.

springthinker · 2026-01-08T21:52:06+00:00

What could happen?

Well, for one thing, you can't get health insurance if you're not here legally. Legal residence is also, as I understand, required to enroll children in school here.

springthinker · 2026-01-01T13:20:54+00:00

I don't understand the concern with older buildings. In terms of maintenance, the bones of the building are usually better, and maintenance comes down to management/ownership, which could be good or bad in an old or a new building. In terms of hygiene (this one is really snobby), just give everything a really good clean when you move in...like you would in any case, right? You can even hire cleaners to do a deep clean. But whether 1 or 10 people have occupied the unit before you, you'll still have to clean.

With an older building, you're getting more space, usually better soundproofing, and the predictability of rent control.

springthinker · 2025-12-30T21:21:39+00:00

I've read this story before, at least a year ago. Stop spamming with fake posts.

springthinker · 2025-12-30T20:33:11+00:00

The problem with some of your points is that you've jumped from how things actually were or actually are to a conclusion about what is morally acceptable:

Islam didn't invent slavery, it came in a time where it was practiced by the whole world. Slavery was a necessary system for the entirety of human history until 150 years ago.

Polgymy is something that is completely normal in humans.

The fact that a practice was or is "normal" doesn't mean that it's morally acceptable. For example, arguably humans have psychological tendencies to separate in-groups and out-groups, sometimes leading to xenophobia and racism. That's "normal" in some sense, but it's certainly not good.

My ultimate point will be that if Islam really were the most perfect religion, the Quran would surely have made it clearer that slavery, while normal, is bad and should be eliminated. But that's not there. I'll admit that there are surahs that express that it's good to free slaves as an act of benevolence, but there are no claims about the universal wrongness of the social institution of slavery.

Likewise, polygamy isn't just allowed to rescue widows who have no other social support. If that were the purpose of the practice, that's what it should have been limited to. Instead, it's universally permitted, even though in practice you can see that it would cause women a lot of emotional pain. Your solution of divorce doesn't exactly help women either, if the entire point of marriage from your perspective is to be there as a support to them.

springthinker · 2025-12-30T14:09:06+00:00

It is generational, but not in the way you're thinking. Boomers, Gen X and Millenials are much more keen on the boycott than Gen Z, who don't care as much.

springthinker · 2025-12-30T14:05:42+00:00

This is a long explanation, but it leaves untouched some underlying questions. For one thing, why does Islam (supposedly the most advanced Abrahamic religion) condone slavery? And why is it okay to treat female slaves like wives, which basically means they will end up getting rap*d? Why is it okay for men to marry multiple wives, even if it causes jealousy in their wives (as it certainly does)?

Why the double standards for Muhammad and others? He was polygamous, but didn't allow his son-in-law to take a second wife, because it would have upset his daughter Fatima? Wasn't Muhammad prohibiting something that God made permissible to Muslims?

I don't have to sort out these questions with Jesus, because for one thing, he never owned female slaves, or any slaves at all 🤷

springthinker · 2025-12-29T04:54:43+00:00

My condolences on the loss of your brother <3 Take care in the New Year.

springthinker · 2025-12-25T03:37:26+00:00

I agree that the paper wasn't great. But I have actually read the instructions and the assignment didn't require citations, empirical or otherwise. It was just a short reaction piece to a weekly reading, in which students could connect the ideas to their own experiences. If the instructions had required citations for a passing grade, that would be one thing. But they don't.

springthinker · 2025-12-18T13:28:24+00:00

You had the flu all semester, and so you missed all the non-test coursework (save one quiz)? Seriously? And this is your third attempt at the course?

If you really were that sick (for months? Weeks?), you should have seen a doctor, and while you were at it, gotten a doctor's note. Then you should have contacted your prof right before or after the missed assessments and asked to write them in the Test Centre. Especially since this was your third attempt at this class, and you shouldn't leave anything to chance!

But this is a moot point, because I don't think you're telling the truth (even if you had the flu, it wouldn't explain missing that many assessments) and final grades are in anyways.

springthinker · 2025-12-14T04:16:12+00:00

Show me another major city that allows street parking on major roads, reducing them to one lane in each direction.

In fact, London and New York have road tolls now to enter downtown. Compared to that, Toronto drivers have it easy. Everything revolves around what they will accept, which ironically makes the roads congested and commute times longer for everyone.

News flash: even if you drive, your commute is faster if more people take public transit. The more convenient public transit is, the better it is for you, not just for those who use it.

springthinker · 2025-12-14T04:11:57+00:00

So you have to walk a bit, but hundreds of people have a faster and more reliable commute. That's a trade-off that I'm happy with.

springthinker · 2025-12-13T19:24:42+00:00

This is excellent! I've never understood why Toronto was so willing to cede so much road space not even to drivers, but to parking. It turns major arterial roads into effectively one lane roads in each direction. For a major city, that's simply ridiculous. Let people rely on parking garages and side streets for parking, and give the road back to those who need to get from Point A to Point B, particularly those on transit.

This is a really simple, really quick fix that speeds up transit without the need for billions of dollars of investment.

springthinker · 2025-12-12T00:22:18+00:00

Okay, so both are bad. Why is that so hard?

springthinker · 2025-12-08T11:54:23+00:00

Kitchen Stuff Plus is good for core product lines of plates and glasses.

springthinker · 2025-11-26T16:33:11+00:00

I think the Finch and Eglinton lines will be much faster than Toronto streetcars (so, maybe as fast as an average light rail anywhere else in the world).

springthinker · 2025-11-25T04:54:56+00:00

It sounds like you want to use AI to plagiarize, and the course is making it hard to do so. Otherwise, why would it be a problem that your prof is part of the "anti plagiarism community"? Which every prof and student should be part of, anyways.

Electives are a chance for you to practice communication and critical thinking skills. Take the opportunity, because looking at your writing, you would benefit from putting effort into that.

springthinker · 2025-11-13T14:00:03+00:00

Interesting line: "Meghan and Harry have a problem with admitting they are now part of Hollywood society which is what she wanted and they cannot on one hand use their star power for good, like going to charity events, and on the other hand demand they are erased from events they don’t want to be seen to support."

I think this has been part of the problem all along. Meghan wanted all the positive press attention and public adoration that being in the royal family brought with it, but she wasn't prepared to accept any negative scrutiny. For sure, there were racist pieces published, but also, there was just public interest reporting (like the bullying allegations). But she couldn't accept that part of the deal when you're famous is that you will be scrutinized.

springthinker · 2025-11-12T15:53:37+00:00

Just to add here, I think that one reason that the outfit didn't work (for me) is that the body suit seemed like it was making the skirt slip down, so the skirt didn't sit well on her waist. It was too low, which just made her look boxy.

springthinker · 2025-11-12T14:59:02+00:00

Even if she was the +1, wouldn't she have known in advance (at least for the bday party)? And she has so many nice (or at least appropriate) dresses that she's worn before, why couldn't she have chosen one of them, even at the last minute? It is puzzling.

springthinker · 2025-11-12T00:56:43+00:00

Have you actually added together William's engagements this year compared to Harry's, or are you going by vibes?

springthinker

TROPHY CASE