omfg
Such an awesome fuckin' discussion. But most importantly, everybody seemed to share the feeling as we walked back that the discussion, heated, deep, and philosophical, was exactly what they came here for.
I explained it best to Mindy here:
(10:04:39 PM) Louis (GTalk): my personal faith is based around
(10:05:15 PM) Louis (GTalk): the value of education, of knowledge, of human endeavor, of seeking knowledge for its own sake, of critical thinking and analysis and reason
(10:05:29 PM) Louis (GTalk): as an absolute value to be aspired to universally
(10:05:54 PM) Louis (GTalk): it's the closest thing I have to a religion, something I take absolutely on faith
(10:05:56 PM) Louis (GTalk): and I said that it was as if I came to an evangelist university for that religion
(10:06:02 PM) Mindy Or: interesting
(10:06:07 PM) Louis (GTalk): and everyone around me was like yessss that's exactly it
Also, I feel like writing an essay on the following claim:
Better that no substantive mathematics should be required of non-majors, but rather the key ideas of critical thinking; of unification of concepts and generality and of sweeping concepts; of perfect rigor; of seeking to comprehend impossibly intrigate concepts: of these ideas that are in their own way far more applicable to and valuable in daily life than trigonometry or calculus.
...I would suggest this to any current high school senior as your choose-your-own-prompt on the Uncommon Application. Give it the length, quality, and lyricism it deserves; it should be beautiful, poetic, and intricate. Credit me, though, dammit.
In the meantime, please discuss the topic in the comments.
I explained it best to Mindy here:
(10:04:39 PM) Louis (GTalk): my personal faith is based around
(10:05:15 PM) Louis (GTalk): the value of education, of knowledge, of human endeavor, of seeking knowledge for its own sake, of critical thinking and analysis and reason
(10:05:29 PM) Louis (GTalk): as an absolute value to be aspired to universally
(10:05:54 PM) Louis (GTalk): it's the closest thing I have to a religion, something I take absolutely on faith
(10:05:56 PM) Louis (GTalk): and I said that it was as if I came to an evangelist university for that religion
(10:06:02 PM) Mindy Or: interesting
(10:06:07 PM) Louis (GTalk): and everyone around me was like yessss that's exactly it
Also, I feel like writing an essay on the following claim:
Better that no substantive mathematics should be required of non-majors, but rather the key ideas of critical thinking; of unification of concepts and generality and of sweeping concepts; of perfect rigor; of seeking to comprehend impossibly intrigate concepts: of these ideas that are in their own way far more applicable to and valuable in daily life than trigonometry or calculus.
...I would suggest this to any current high school senior as your choose-your-own-prompt on the Uncommon Application. Give it the length, quality, and lyricism it deserves; it should be beautiful, poetic, and intricate. Credit me, though, dammit.
In the meantime, please discuss the topic in the comments.