Yet another absence topic

Letting everyone know that due to compulsory holidays, work-related appointments and other things I still cannot predict how much internet time they will require from me, I won't be able to guarantee my participation til the beginning of January. But I doubt that there will be much else happening in Pendor until next year anyway.

But I'll be offline, writing my alternative history of pendor on the trains and devising clever ruses against all who hate what is noble and fair like us Silvermists. So, evildoers beware.

I am not fully well. I will probably be postless in the forum for a few days, eventually peeking but not lingering enough to elaborate something, unless I feel it's urgent.

A researcher just like me has just received hundreds of death threats after publishing a paper in a medical ethics journal, concerning abortion. This affects me personally in so many ways, and I need to sort some things out and use my spare time to make her case known everywhere.

She is safe. If her (mighty) university hadn't offered her its support, she would certainly be dead by now. In real life. The paper has her address, full name and academic affiliations.

Players of the parallel event post may at will, I'll deal with that Sunday next.

Well, that's dire. Did she support or oppose abortion?

I know she is personally pro-abortion, but her article dealt with it neutrally and she actually gave arguments for anti-abortion activists, i.e. against herself.

I'll download the whole thing once I have access to the uni's subscription tomorrow.

Damn, that sucks. I hope you guys sort this out, stay safe.

I'm always safe

Keep up the fight...for women's rights! *little rally huzzah there*
See you when you get back!

Facepalms for the longest time and shakes his head

When will people learn tat other people's private business IS NOT UR BUSINESS!!? FFS.... "cough"republicans"cough"

Oh, if u dont mind me asking Saeros, wat are u a researcher for?

Watch it. While I don't condone death threats, I'm on the opposite side of the issue and the compulsion to argue is pretty strong. That and Saeros wasn't terribly specific on who is issuing those threats.

That said, I do hate to hear that. But, it happens to everyone who tackles controversial subjects or allows such subjects to be discussed. It's a shame, but true. Stay safe.

Sry, Laisha. I didn't mean to offend anyone. I'll watch wat I type next time and keep my accusations to myself. Again, I'm sry.

Well, I'm not necessarily saying you offended me or that you should keep your opinion to yourself. I'm just saying you should be careful how you say it. Just to avoid arguments in places where they really don't belong.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled "I'm currently hiding in my heavily fortified concrete bunker" thread.

jesus christ ...

- got her mail: she is well. Now everything is over until it's not.
- this doesn't put me into any danger at all, yet. One thing that worries me is the possibility that it will, as well as the fact that it has already happened to someone like me. She will probably have her e-mail account hacked and will have to take additional care for some months, but apart from that it seems there is no immediate risk right now.
- no bunkers. the best defense is being famous and contacting the media to offer them breaking news.
- currently in classics and phil., but soon I’ll start a project that combines "ancient and future ethics", which among other things will deal with a similar topic of her fateful paper. I hope my advisor doesn't hear of this. if she did, she wouldn't allow me to do it.

thank you all for the support.

Woah, man, that's a lot of drama.

Stay safe man!

Peoples of Pendor! I'm announcing a possible absence of my person until October 22. Next week I'll have the pre-defense of my phd thesis, so after this Sunday I may have to enter the so called challenge regime - you know, eating well, sleeping well, and not distracting myself with online stuff (though so much has been interesting lately! See the passive-aggressive conflicts of Turkey/Syria, Iran/Israel and China/Japan. See also that guy attempting to skydive from space and the many cool Nobel prizes. Yes, sure I can do it!).

Good luck! Eat as much ice cream and chocolate cake as possible. Because we all know that helps your cognitive processes and your cheerful disposition, which is an easy way to spot doctors.

Paging Dr Saeros.

Good luck! I am sure you will do absolutely fine, but I have done roughly the same thing (except the eating / sleeping well!) in trying to finish this darned book so I totally understand.

You will do greatly, Saeros! Good luck for everything

Thanks all! But this is only the pre-defense. The actual defense will take place by the end of the year and last twice as long. I need those neurotransmitters in good shape and a healthy balance of endorphine, epinephrine, and their lesser cousins.

...hacking my own neural system is much more fun than memorizing everything I should. Heh, micromanaging myself, that's neat.

Question: Are genuine doctorates (not including the random things like doctor of homeopathy) set to an agreed standard, or are they set by the institution awarding it?

I mean, obviously it's published, but I didn't think that has any real effect on the qualification.

It depends on the country, but in general every university differs slightly.

My personal belief is that it's utterly nonsense. The title is always the same, but some places also attach extra titles that hint to the work's quality (summa cum laude, etc), which in reality just says that "this university may eventually approve bad doctorates".

Not to mention that, while all have the same title, a phd in Berkeley, Oxford or Shanghai gives the researcher specific pros and cons that insiders should know.

Im personally interested in how Universities will change with the internet, anything they teach can now be actively learnt on the internet for next to nothing, the only thing a university can provide now is validation of knowledge.

We are NOT at the stage where you can learn everything on the internet. It depends on the subject, but there is far more than you can access online. Why do you think online degrees are viewed with suspicion?

Take business, for example. Sure, you can learn theory and applications of it, but try writing a market report without using the journals and databases a university has access to, or without the experience that comes with working in groups and having to travel. Plenty more examples. Even the expertise of the lecturers is a HUGE thing.
Want to do something science-related? Good luck testing your theories on a PC which has no way of predicting the result.

Plus, all the studies say that we learn best face-to-face.

@Sane: I strongly disagree with that. Have you ever attended a lecture or a seminar?

Even a lecture, where up to several hundred students listen to a single professor, is more helpful than just reading the scriptum of said lecture. During my studies I had to review several lectures that I was not able to attend when they were held and I found that, even if the professor officially only says what's in the scriptum, there are so many little side remarks and explanatory comments that make the live lecture infinitely more valuable than just reading the scriptum. This holds even more for a seminar where a smaller group of students is in direct interaction with a professor and where the students give talks themselves. You cannot replace what is learned by this by just reading through online stuff, nor can you learn the basics of academic teamwork on the internet and when you consider more practical subjects like physics or chemistry, then you will never find another place with such well equipped laboratories to learn doing experiments.

Of course this is a mathematician's view, but I daresay that - perhaps in contrast to dull stuff like economy and laws - the real sciences are only learnt properly at university.