This is so true, man. I've noticed this in my university: people (myself included) are sometimes afraid to ask questions to authority as they may make us feel weird or awkward for asking those questions. For instance, yesterday I asked my teacher why some course was compulsory, and he answered that it was because "every other universities around the world teach that course too". Imo that's not a valid reason to take a course; a valid one would be if it is useful for what the students want to do in their lives. It would be better if students could learn whatever they are interested in and only follow that path.
Yes! An answer along the lines of: “because it has always been done way” / “because everyone else is doing it” / “because I say so” is a BAD EXPLANATION as David Deutsch has explained in his book The Beginning of Infinity through and through.
That’s definitely not a reason why one should be taking a course, but it perhaps satisfies the professor and the school-like authoritarian system of university to be teaching a course.
This is so true, man. I've noticed this in my university: people (myself included) are sometimes afraid to ask questions to authority as they may make us feel weird or awkward for asking those questions. For instance, yesterday I asked my teacher why some course was compulsory, and he answered that it was because "every other universities around the world teach that course too". Imo that's not a valid reason to take a course; a valid one would be if it is useful for what the students want to do in their lives. It would be better if students could learn whatever they are interested in and only follow that path.
Yes! An answer along the lines of: “because it has always been done way” / “because everyone else is doing it” / “because I say so” is a BAD EXPLANATION as David Deutsch has explained in his book The Beginning of Infinity through and through.
That’s definitely not a reason why one should be taking a course, but it perhaps satisfies the professor and the school-like authoritarian system of university to be teaching a course.