ok ok ok... here is my problem

[caligula]

Sorry guys, take back everything I said in my last post!

LOL

[Astec]

America is home to about 7 out of 10 of the top universities on this planet.

England is home to 2 possibly 3.

Cambridge is currently number 2 in the Global stakes, apparently.

What defines top
-Highest output of students
-highest number of students going on to jobs paying over x amount
-highest number of top level marks
-best as voted by experts?
-lowest drop out rate.

Facts cant really be assumed to be the be all and end all as there is no such thing as a hard fact, almost anything you say can be proved to be true depending on how you twist it to fit.

A

[caligula]

ok then.

the non-pedants guide to universities compiled by a far eastern university using a range of factors puts 6 or 7 of the top 10 universities in the world as being American.

a couple of those factors are percentage of students gaining certain grades and amount of research carried out and published.
Harvard is number 1

Cambridge is number 2 this year (was number 3 last year)

Oxford is around the 7 spot IIRC.

but yes, of course, these factors are weighted by every individual as to what YOU rate as important.

Unfortunately, employers tend to go off the rankings list also.

[grantman54]

just like to say that ive read only half of this post and find it hilarious. U guys are great.

[Ego]

hey now, i want to point out again that i'm talking about culture. there are a couple of knee-jerk reactions i'm seeing here



many people have simply said "generalities (meaning stereotypes) are bad. Generalities are bad when they are presented as actual fact about a specific group of people. to say that 'All americans are stupid' is very different than to say 'drug use is an important aspect of american culture.' the first is not only a generality, it is a stereotype - a general, usually negative statement based on, at most, 'general knowledge' and anecdotal evidence. the latter is not really a generality at all. it is an opinion, but is an opinion based on citeable evidence. the content of many famous movies, records, and television shows showcase drug use. the fact that people are stealing oxycontin, a drug related to morphine and heroin, from pharmacies is a pretty strong indicator. from personal experience on another message board, i have been led to believe that people of all ages and many walks of life enjoy recreational drug use, including illegal drugs. from personal experience in college and highschool, drugs are anywhere you care to look for them (adderol, a stimulant - same family as caffiene and cocaine - that increases ability to concentrate sold for $10 a pill). the evidence is overwhelming - drugs, medicinal, recreational, legal or not, are everywhere in american life. in a way, it is a generality. it is quite possible you live alone in the woods and have no contact with any relatives, and that your life has not been affected in any way by drug use, positively (how else do people enjoy SNL? better yet, how else would the writers of SNL turn out that garbage?) or negativly. but i'd bet good money against it. the charge of americans being superficial is similar - an opinion based on citeable evidence from the culture.

the other knee-jerk reaction was specifically from ratykat - 'poisoning your mind' with talk of drugs . that drugs exist is unavoidable. every time you drink pepsi, coke, drink coffee, eat chocolate, you're using a drug. caffiene isn't one people seem to really care about, but because i've read about its effects i choose not to drink coffee and limit the other sources of caffiene. the only way to make informed choices is with, well, information. besides, talking about drugs in general and drugs in culture particularly are somewhat different discussions.

if you want to read about the effects of drugs on society, and the reasons why people take drugs, you can read just about anything. sociology, the news. fiction author Vonnegut theorized that he and others of his generation smoke tobacco because it is a socially acceptable way to commit suicide. you can draw your own conclusions, if you like, from a movie like Half Baked - it's interesting that part of the attraction of drug use seems to be its very social stigma. judging by that movie, people who smoke marijuana are goofy losers even in the eyes of people who smoke marijuana. interesting, eh?

for unbiased information about the psychoactive effects and health risks of drugs, i recommend erowid.org. (for your convienance, a link to the erowid page on caffiene: http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine.shtml)

as regards the schooling question, of course there are smart people in america. there are many, many smart people in america. in my opinion, there is a strong connection between intelligence and wealth. as America has been basically the strongest nation on Earth, financially and politically, since world war two, it is hardly surprising that it would be home to many of the worlds top schools. the question i have is, what makes a country strong, politically? and, what happens when america is no longer the strongest political player in the world? (disclaimer: i am not attempting to boast american supiority with this sentance, and in fact wish that America were not an imperialist country, and had not acted against the UN with such impunity, and again that we had not gotten away with acting against the UN so easily)

-EGO

[baobab68]

Just kidding of course, but Ego, what are you *on*???

[I NEED HELP]

hahaha hes on glue cus he copied and pasted that article!

[caligula]

Originally Posted by Jhe3f2f0

hahaha hes on glue cus he copied and pasted that article!

with posts like this ^ you really cant argue with any of ego's points.

[Ego]

i definately did not copy and paste that article. see how it refers directly to things and people we've been talking about? thanks.

[occular]

Originally Posted by Jhe3f2f0

ok... i have deleted rockbox files off my hd and put on the old firmware
then i turned player off then back on
the reg firmware loaded.. and just to make sure i did a firmware update with the 1.29 firmware in the hd... without the rockbox patched firm ware.. so u would think because i updated to 1.29 it would be normal right... no!!!

A quick hint. The subject line is for listing your problem, or what the post is about. A subject of "ok ok ok... here is my problem" doesn't help anyone, except tell them you have a problem.

[occular]

Originally Posted by Jhe3f2f0

ok... i have deleted rockbox files off my hd and put on the old firmware
then i turned player off then back on
the reg firmware loaded.. and just to make sure i did a firmware update with the 1.29 firmware in the hd... without the rockbox patched firm ware.. so u would think because i updated to 1.29 it would be normal right... no!!!

Btw, it helps the readability of your post if you use capital letters and full words instead of 'u' and 'some1', which are irritating and cause many people (me included) to switch off!