Globalisation

[AnchorClanker]

Voted neither.  I work for Uncle Sam, and globalization matters little in my line of work.

[Berkut]

A) People don't give a shit about anthropology and could not care less.

B) People care about anthropology so much that they actually decide to take a class on it, and maybe even pursue it as a career, but their interest came from fiction that contained, well, fiction about anthropology.

B is much, much better than A. Even if it means some professors will have to deal with (gasp!) intro students with incorrect ideas.

Or...

C) People care so much about about Clan of the Cave Bear that they'll bastardized anthropology to support their pet theories and spread their crank theories with a veneer of science acquired in a couple of classes. You know, much like most creationism and other Christian "science".

I don't think C actually happens. It is just a excuse for Profs to whine about B.

And even if it does, it is some tiny fraction of people, and it isn't worth throwing out getting new people interested in science because there are some cranks out there. The cranks will just find something else to be a crank about anyway. Whining about fiction is complaining about a symptom, not the problem.

[grumbler]

Or...

C) People care so much about about Clan of the Cave Bear that they'll bastardized anthropology to support their pet theories and spread their crank theories with a veneer of science acquired in a couple of classes. You know, much like most creationism and other Christian "science".

Where does this perception come from that there is some sort of religion built around Clan of the Cave Bear?  Have you actually read about such a thing (a source would be nice) or experienced it firsthand?

And what, exactly, is the "crank theory" that you believe CotCB has injected in the anthropology student body? Is it just the first book that promotes this theory?  Do people who read the whole series become more, or less, infected with the mysterious crank theory, or do later books make no difference?

I must admit that this is the first time that I have heard of the destructive power of this book.  You'd think there would have been stories about it in some newspaper or journal in the 37 years since it came out, but I am finding nothing.  Cites would be helpful in educating us about this menace.

[viper37]

nobody could ever think it could be true like Abraham Lincoln hunting vampires or something.

what?  Have I been fooled again?   

Wow I didn't think anybody actually saw the movie

it got me curious.  It wasn't as good as I expected though

[Savonarola]

Yeah I fundamentally disagree with Berkut's idea that false information is good if it inspires people to be more interested in studying something.

I watched an interview with Leonard Nimoy, and he was talking about how he had once been on a tour of Cape Canaveral and all these NASA engineers were talking to him about various systems like they expected him to know what they were talking about.  He didn't have a fucking clue what they were saying, but they talked to him like he was a peer, and he politely nodded accordingly. Because he was Spock.
To the end of his life, he was constantly receiving letters and notes from fans telling him that Spock was the reason they went into science, engineering, research.  And I don't think anybody would argue that TOS science would be the best base for an entry into the science fair, but there you are.

Yes, and I agree that science fiction is a great introduction to the STEM fields and it is a fun source of wonder.  Even a professional engineer can speculate how her or she would build Iron Man's suit or the Batmobile or a deflector shield; and, who knows, that speculation might lead to discoveries.  The difference, I think, from what Oex and PDH are describing is that in STEM classes, so far as there is classroom discussion at all, we don't discuss dilithium or warp drive or tachyon beam communication.  The social studies seem to be fundamentally different in this regard.

[The Minsky Moment]

The difference, I think, from what Oex and PDH are describing is that in STEM classes, so far as there is classroom discussion at all, we don't discuss dilithium or warp drive or tachyon beam communication.  The social studies seem to be fundamentally different in this regard.

I don't think warp drives and tachyon beams are regularly discussed in the social sciences either.

Except maybe this guy: http://www.standupeconomist.com/pdf/misc/interstellar.pdf

[Berkut]

You get a similar problem in the CS world.

People who come into class self taught coders. Often very bright, but with incredibly bad habits and screwed up ideas (often religious in their fervor over why Java sucks, or real coders don't use Eclipse or whatever) about what computer science is, much less how it is practiced.

[Razgovory]

A) People don't give a shit about anthropology and could not care less.

B) People care about anthropology so much that they actually decide to take a class on it, and maybe even pursue it as a career, but their interest came from fiction that contained, well, fiction about anthropology.

B is much, much better than A. Even if it means some professors will have to deal with (gasp!) intro students with incorrect ideas.

Or...

C) People care so much about about Clan of the Cave Bear that they'll bastardized anthropology to support their pet theories and spread their crank theories with a veneer of science acquired in a couple of classes. You know, much like most creationism and other Christian "science".

I don't think

Fixed your post.

[Savonarola]

The difference, I think, from what Oex and PDH are describing is that in STEM classes, so far as there is classroom discussion at all, we don't discuss dilithium or warp drive or tachyon beam communication.  The social studies seem to be fundamentally different in this regard.

I don't think warp drives and tachyon beams are regularly discussed in the social sciences either.

Except maybe this guy: http://www.standupeconomist.com/pdf/misc/interstellar.pdf

My mistake, I had meant that the bad science and technology of Star Trek is not discussed in STEM classes; but the bad anthropology of Clan of the Cave Bear is apparently discussed in social studies classes.

[Valmy]

Social Studies classes always want classroom discussions. This usually means having to endure the prattling of grandstanding ignoramuses.

I love history but man those history classes were brutal.

[Malthus]

Social Studies classes always want classroom discussions. This usually means having to endure the prattling of grandstanding ignoramuses.

I love history but man those history classes were brutal.

Evidently, despite what you say, you missed it ... since you voluntarily came here. 

[Valmy]

Social Studies classes always want classroom discussions. This usually means having to endure the prattling of grandstanding ignoramuses.

I love history but man those history classes were brutal.

Evidently, despite what you say, you missed it ... since you voluntarily came here. 

Context is important!

I came to that class to be enlightened unlike my purpose for coming here

[viper37]

Voted neither.  I work for Uncle Sam, and globalization matters little in my line of work.

Actually, it does.  Less money pouring into the USA from commerce means a smaller army and less cool toys to play with.
Less commerce means less interests around the world, then less needs to deploy an army oversea.

Who knows, without globalization, you might still be working for uncle Sam, but you could be a lawyer too, like half the board

[viper37]

Yes, and I agree that science fiction is a great introduction to the STEM fields and it is a fun source of wonder.  Even a professional engineer can speculate how her or she would build Iron Man's suit or the Batmobile or a deflector shield; and, who knows, that speculation might lead to discoveries.  The difference, I think, from what Oex and PDH are describing is that in STEM classes, so far as there is classroom discussion at all, we don't discuss dilithium or warp drive or tachyon beam communication.  The social studies seem to be fundamentally different in this regard.

if people take finance to live a life like the Wolf of Wall-Street, they'll be disapointed

I don't think we ever discussed the movie Wallstreet in class, except once, with a teacher saying he loved that movie.
And there weren't a ton of movies made about finance or business admin when I studied.

[Valmy]

I bang on my chest like Matthew McConaughey every time I add more money to Usury Quest