The crap they're teaching your kids!

[Dandontdare]

we spent a whole year on the French Revolution and there wasn't a single bastard essay question in the exam about it!

And on the subject of the Spanish conquistadores, I learnt a lot more about Pizarro vs the Incas last Summer in Peru. He was a right bastard - As well as the usual tactic of recruiting oppressed tribes to rise up against the empire and then shafting them anyway, he kidnapped the Inca king Atahualpa (who his people regarded as a God) and basically ransomed him for the entire Royal treasury. And then when the Incas had paid up, they executed him anyway. In a final attempt to save himself, Atahualpa agreed to convert to Christianity, which just meant that they strangled him rather than burned him.

the 3 teenage witches (in rags and Tina Turner wigs) were like something out of a sixth form play. remember that because I traced the letters spelling 'sixth form play' on my partner's leg with my finger while we were watching it.

Aaaah, that's so romantic!

[TordelBack]

Hmm, a disturbingly relevant piece of history as it happens. Thanks for the links, you truly do learn something every day

[Bouwel]

I'm fascinated by this stuff about the Aztecs

Thank you to those who replied. Always nice to learn something new.

As far as being spoon-fed ready for exams, I remember this happening for my Geology A level. We spent the whole two years going over the British Isles during every blessed period of geological time. In the final exam the question did come up, however, they had worded it like this; 'Describe the geology of the British Isles during a geological period of your choice'. The more canny of us (which for once included me!) took the easy route and described....the present day.
And thus I came to pass A Level Geology and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth at the exam board.

-Bouwel-
(Who got to see Roman Polanskis' Romeo And Juliet at school)

[Dandontdare]

They told me at University, that once exams had been passed, we could safely begin forgetting the large amounts of knowledge we'd learned. Unless we studied philosophy, which would fuck you up for life!

[TordelBack]

Unless we studied philosophy, which would fuck you up for life!

No!  Philosophy graduates always struck me as the most balanced and genteel of correspondents!

[Dandontdare]

Unless we studied philosophy, which would fuck you up for life!

No!  Philosophy graduates always struck me as the most balanced and genteel of correspondents!

hmmmm -  the ones I know tend to be the most stupid intelligent people I know, if you get my drift - plenty going on in the noggin, fuck all idea how to work a VCR. Lists of igneous rocks and reason why Cortes beat the Aztecs can be easily discarded, but once your mind has been opened to Big Concepts, you're metaphysically screwed! That whole Ecstasian Dredd story was just a metaphor for an undergraduate philosphy degree.

[TordelBack]

I may have failed to include any empirical evidence for sarcasm in my comment, but believe me when I say it was there.

[Kerrin]

One of my housemates at uni was a philosophy student. After three years his conclusion was "Well it's all bollocks really, innit".
He did his final thesis on 'The philosophical aspects of shamanic drumming', field studies were conducted in 'The Zap' nightclub most friday nights with the aid of his kettle drum (we used to get in for free) and he got a 2/1. He had to do two and a half hours a week of actual lectures/tutorials, hilarious really, I mean I had as much as five hours a week at one point FFS.

[Peter Wolf]

Theres some very interesting relevant material that is well worth studying within the subject of Philosophy and in a way i wouldnt mind doing a degree in it myself if the right course was available.

Not that i ever will of course.

The fact it is often referred to as a subject you study if you cant do anything else and is a joke is absolutely wrong.

Its not Bollox at all .

[Kerrin]

I think it was more along the lines of being a quip as opposed to a considered comment on the whole of philosophy Peter. Depends on your point of view really. Much like philosophy. He's a very successful book indexer these days with his own business specialising in academic publications. Funny really because he wanted to be a drummer. I guess he's philosophical about it.

[Peter Wolf]

I think it was more along the lines of being a quip as opposed to a considered comment on the whole of philosophy Peter. Depends on your point of view really. Much like philosophy. He's a very successful book indexer these days with his own business specialising in academic publications. Funny really because he wanted to be a drummer. I guess he's philosophical about it.

My comment wasnt a direct reply to yours or your friend who studied the subject.

Its just something that i have heard over and over again over the years.

I didnt know anything about the subject until recently but because i have an interest in Politics and have gone further down the rabbit hole with it that i have realised that there is a direct relation with politics and certain philosophers or schools of Philosophy and that you cant understand political ideology without understanding philosophical ideology.

[House of Usher]

He did his final thesis on 'The philosophical aspects of shamanic drumming', field studies were conducted in 'The Zap' nightclub most friday nights with the aid of his kettle drum

Is this tongue in cheek? That's not philosophy! That's ethnography and phenomenology. And the Zap Club? Every Friday night? What a f****** w*****! (Not you, your mate with the kettle drum...   )

The philosophy student I had the most knowledge of was a bit of a hippy. Soap dodging eco-protestor type. Looked and spoke like a right Worzel. Ginger beard and bad teeth. Very left-wing, but not Socialist Worker: the political conscience of a then very corrupt Philosophy department. Became President of our student's union. Exactly what was needed. I think he left very disaffected, with a third.

[House of Usher]

The other philosophy students I knew were very middle class, scruffy poseurs. Their posturing wasn't about anything intellectual, just about being unconventional. They were involved in student union politics and the alt.rock scene (Throbbing Gristle; Revolting Cocks; Therapy?), were not very conscientious about their studies, took loads of drugs and stole from the bookshop instead of getting a library card. And they stole books from the library too. They didn't talk about philosophy very much, but one did once tell me an anecdote about Goethe's sexual proclivities.

[Kerrin]

Is this tongue in cheek? That's not philosophy! That's ethnography and phenomenology. And the Zap Club? Every Friday night? What a f****** w*****! (Not you, your mate with the kettle drum... )

No seriously, that was pretty much the exact title. And yes he was wankered most of the time as it happens, but then he was a philosophy student.

[Dandontdare]

//http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QgCfnBtF7M