A strange occurrence while studying

Frost

Silver Member
Just a random entertaining snippet from my life.

Sitting around, writing an assignment at University, as you do, and I was asked to discuss the plausibility of a concept in an essay, so far, standard fare.

So, as usual, I write the whole thing in one long tangent and begin to draft it, sifting through journals and books in the following days attempting to justify my ideas with references. The smart thing to do would be to track down references beforehand and base your arguments on them, it would be far less of a hassle then attempting to find a basis for an argument you've already made.

In my hours of searching, with no avail, I finally stumble across a book which draws similar conclusions to myself, though the overall focus is different (it was looking at method, rather than questioning validity). Great I thought, this is just what I need, so I sit down and start picking out the pieces relevant to my argument and making citations, and while doing so I happen to notice that the authors name appears familiar.

The one comparative book I could find on the subject and it happened to be written by my tutorial professor, the one marking the paper.
 
Sounds like an easy A! :p
 
I actually quoted my professor in a paper i wrote last semester. He didn't seem to care really....but just don't say his name in the paper. Rather strangely, I mentioned in my paper that a professor named [insert professor name here] wrote this article....when the guy who was reading it was that professor. He definitely thought that was weird, and told me not to mention him in a paper that he's grading, but using his article was ok!
 
I actually quoted my professor in a paper i wrote last semester. He didn't seem to care really....but just don't say his name in the paper. Rather strangely, I mentioned in my paper that a professor named [insert professor name here] wrote this article....when the guy who was reading it was that professor. He definitely thought that was weird, and told me not to mention him in a paper that he's grading, but using his article was ok!

I honestly don't think it should matter whether you do or don't use their name if the marking is supposed to be completely impartial, weird or not, sounds like a double standard.

My professor did mention it, with a grin on her face, the book was only wrote a couple of years ago, so it is not widely circulated and it is one of very few books comparatively looking at the two subjects, which was the reason she wrote it and why I struggled so much finding references.
 
Nice coup, Frosty. The approved method is to study the recommended reading and regurgitate it back in a way that's disguised enough not to be considered plagiarism.

I couldn't face the boredom so I preferred your approach - think about it and then hunt references, knowing that I you thought of something, chances were Google would tell me about 871,342 who thought of it earlier :)

Cool (or disturbing) that you were channelling your professor :)
 
This sort of thing occasionally happens. If you want pure narcissism on the other hand, you only have to look at one of the lecturers on a related degree scheme to mine who presents her own book as 'core' reading. This being despite the fact that it is utterly dreadful...
 
Cool (or disturbing) that you were channelling your professor :)

I'd claim discussions with her led to my mind wandering off down that path, it is strange that we both reached a very similar conclusion as I never questioned exactly what her opinion on the subject was.
 
Interesting. I don't think any of our lecturers would be able to write a decent book. The amount of mistakes they've made on material, one of them managed to mix up a unit of measurement with a constant and a variable!
 
Interesting. I don't think any of our lecturers would be able to write a decent book. The amount of mistakes they've made on material, one of them managed to mix up a unit of measurement with a constant and a variable!

This book was comparing the methodology of Advaita Vedanta Hinduism and Zen Buddhism, my essay was a comparative piece on plausibility.
 
Jazz is awesome, but I'm not looking forward to writing an essay on it due end of semester. I'd much rather practice haha.
 
Just a random entertaining snippet from my life.
The smart thing to do would be to track down references beforehand and base your arguments on them, it would be far less of a hassle then attempting to find a basis for an argument you've already made.

In my hours of searching, with no avail, I finally stumble across a book which draws similar conclusions to myself, though the overall focus is different (it was looking at method, rather than questioning validity). Great I thought, this is just what I need, so I sit down and start picking out the pieces relevant to my argument and making citations, and while doing so I happen to notice that the authors name appears familiar.

The one comparative book I could find on the subject and it happened to be written by my tutorial professor, the one marking the paper.
Is the ethos of your source not called into question? I operate the way you do as well, and I've been lucky that my sources have relatively sound credibility. I have a predetermined position on a lot of my research work, and only twice have I been re-calibrated on a topic.

Nice to know I'm not the only one haha.
 
The one comparative book I could find on the subject and it happened to be written by my tutorial professor, the one marking the paper.

HAHA. Academia..."it's a small world after all"...

I couldn't face the boredom so I preferred your approach - think about it and then hunt references, knowing that I you thought of something, chances were Google would tell me about 871,342 who thought of it earlier :)

Even as a high school student I do that...I get a hunch and then follow it...often I learn quite a bit about a subject in that investigative phase - things that the teachers seem to strangely leave out.

This book was comparing the methodology of Advaita Vedanta Hinduism and Zen Buddhism, my essay was a comparative piece on plausibility.
Haha, well at least you'll probably get a job once you finish your course.

Are you studying philosophy?...and how do you see your future after you have finished your course?...and how are those complex Oriental spiritual traditions racking your brains?
 
Are you studying philosophy?...and how do you see your future after you have finished your course?...and how are those complex Oriental spiritual traditions racking your brains?

Yes philosophy, I like oriental spiritual traditions, I have an enduring fascination for all things spiritual and religion.

I don't really see my future, not unless I stay on as an academic. My other majors are in humanities subjects, so likely I'll land up doing a law or education post-grad and getting an actual job. That or get into politics or journalism, it's all the same. No seriously. It is.
 
Yes philosophy, I like oriental spiritual traditions, I have an enduring fascination for all things spiritual and religion.

I don't really see my future, not unless I stay on as an academic. My other majors are in humanities subjects, so likely I'll land up doing a law or education post-grad and getting an actual job. That or get into politics or journalism, it's all the same. No seriously. It is.

I can sympathise with that. I'm going into teaching, but my degree is not one of the 'obvious job' degrees. I want to be a lecturer myself in twenty years - that would kick up the establishment a bit. Worst thing is, I know I'm capable of it...
 
I can sympathise with that. I'm going into teaching, but my degree is not one of the 'obvious job' degrees. I want to be a lecturer myself in twenty years - that would kick up the establishment a bit. Worst thing is, I know I'm capable of it...

I'm late getting started on my undergrad but I'm aiming for honors and doing well so far, I'll just have to see how it goes and not become complacent. There are obvious careers for the kind of subjects I'm studying, a lot of people just overlook many areas of the public and academic sectors when thinking of employment. There are jobs for arts/humanities majors in social services.
 
I'm late getting started on my undergrad but I'm aiming for honors and doing well so far, I'll just have to see how it goes and not become complacent. There are obvious careers for the kind of subjects I'm studying, a lot of people just overlook many areas of the public and academic sectors when thinking of employment. There are jobs for arts/humanities majors in social services.

I started a couple of years late too. I'm on for a very decent degree at the moment (as long as I get my dissertation finished...) and I looked around at the options but there was very little for me that appealed. I genuinely enjoy teaching so we'll see how it works out.
 
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