LVN wrote:

---

Thanks R. I'll Google it. Sweet dreams. btw, by that law, we really are all made out of stars. Think about that the next time we feel hateful towards someone! Or as my man CSL puts it, everyone you know is an immortal being.

---

Thanks for the pleasent thoughts, LVN.  Good night .

LVN, just a guy, Reporter--

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  You have all saved me from the abyss.  For tonight, at least, I will sleep with some hope.

Before I left for prayer meeting this evening, somebody was posting on another thread to the effect that everyone was entitled to believe anything, that all beliefs were equal, and that the only thing that should be taught was "fact." The poster went on to say that his or her mind was made up, and nothing anybody could say would change it. 

I was really bummed out. I thought "How sad.  Learning is such fun."  What is better than taking something you already "know" and looking at it from another point of view?  Sure it may look different, but it hasn't changed; you have. (After all, you can't change anything by studying it. Except for those "boxed cats." Know what I mean, Reporter?)  Isn't that what learning is? Isn't that what it means to be human? Forget opposable thumbs and walking upright.  Thinking is one trick that we do better than roaches.

I guess I was really bummed because I know there is so much I'll never learn.  I really wish I could figure out what's happening in non-representational art.  I wish I could appreciate atonal music. I wish I could understand Mr. Einstein's observations about time, mass, matter, and energy.  I wish I could speak French, Spanish, Italian, proto-Indo-European. Some things I just won't have the time for.  Other things are simply beyond my abilities.  (I have watched so many times as well intentioned folks tried to use a two-dimensional table to represent three-dimensional space, and my puny little mind just disengages when the table bends and I am unable to visualize a corresponding bend in three dimensions.)  I just ain't ever gonna get it.  But I say that in consternation and with regret.  It bums me out that someone would claim ignorance with pride.

Anyway, while I was at church, I picked up a book in the library and read about a geography teacher who was frustrated in her efforts to explain why the Nile River flows "up." Her students all "knew" that water always flows down! It was funny in a way, only because I understand the difference in "up" on a conventional north-at-the-top map and "up" in physical space.  But it was sad, too, because those students were locked into the limitations of their experience.  Their skepticism, based on their experience, kept them from learning, at least for a while.  We can only hope that with maturity and more experience, eventually they learned to relate the map to reality.

Thanks to LVN and "just a guy" for confirming my hope in the perpetual curiosity of humans.  And thanks to Reporter for your willingness to try to teach some of us who aren't always sure which way is "up."

ram,

I did Google the virtual particles. The article I read (well, tried to read) lost me between Planck and Heisenberg (the guy with the cat). I was proud that I remembered what the H. Uncertainty principle was, but then I got lost when particles started swapping momentum. And then the author apologised for making his explanation too simple!
I had the same experience with philosophy, went to hear Plantinga once and grasped "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen" and "thank you very much." Everything in the middle was pretty much a blur. My seatmate said it was like having someone teach algebra without a blackboard. (If this story sounds familiar, it's because I tell it a lot.)

People used to think that education made you curious about everything. It still should. If I could start over, I would do animal behavior or something like that, and save English until later.

LVN, aghast wrote:

---

 Did Heisenberg have a dog, maybe?

---

He was never certain about that.

LVN wrote:

---

ram,

And then the author apologised .

---

LVN, I have noticed that you seem to use British spelling fairly consistently. Do you have tyres on your car, write with a biro, and use a reel of cotton when you sew? As far as I know, you are American--why the Brit stuff?

pn, I have "ti-errs" and write with either a pin or pen (you can't tell by listening.) I say Y'all, katty-wonkus, call my parents "mama 'n daddy" and so on. I love tea and scones and bagpipes and trace my roots back to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but I'm a child of the South, born and raised at the edge of the Delta, and would about kill for some hot-water fried cornbread, a mess of poke salat and greens, and a fresh tomato! It's just the spelling for some reason.

define wrote:

---

What IS your definition of shared governance?  Does it differ from that of IHL Board policy?

---

My definition, in my own words, of share governance is, " a process to obtain input from the university community on issues that impact academics.  It is a method of checks and balances where innovations that may impact academics are debated before implementation. 

 

However, I think any good manager would seek feedback on major decisions from those who would be affected by the decision.  It keeps people connected and makes them feel a valued part of the overall operation. It’s just good modern business management.

 

I don’t know if the IHL Board has this term defined.  I rather think their professional staff realize it is one of the principles involved in the operation of any academic institution.  I do know that SACS requires the faculty to be in control of the academics.  That alone would require that faculty have input on decisions affecting academics.

Seeker wrote:

---

Sorry, so late. I had to fly to Chicago for a few days on business. Memorial Day in the Windy City was and experience. Not sure I can contribute much to this tread, so I will wait for the next one.

---

Well, at least you're back home safely and we can stop worrying about you.  Interesting that a dialog with you took place while you weren't even available to participate.  Sort of like one hand clapping...seriously, welcome back.

Seeker wrote:

---

Sorry, so late. I had to fly to Chicago for a few days on business. Memorial Day in the Windy City was and experience. Not sure I can contribute much to this tread, so I will wait for the next one.

---

I echo the welcomes.  I was afraid you had been kidnapped, although I wasn't sure by whom.

LVN, aghast wrote:

---

NO, NO!! H. didn't have a cat. Schrodinger had a cat! Duh and double duh. But hey, I knew how to spell "Schrodinger" so all that education did come in handy, right? Did Heisenberg have a dog, maybe?

---

Ja, but you need an umlaut on the "o."  You can always put an "e" after an umlauted letter, as in Schroedinger.

Ohne Schadenfreude, du Schatze,

ADGK

Carl Bernstein wrote:

---

Reliable sources report sightings of Seeker meeting with Judge Cooley at the base of the old Chicago Water Tower.  Both wore rumpled trenchcoats, fedoras, and sunglasses,  clearly an attempt to mask their identities.  A plain manila envelope was passed to the Judge, who seemed excited to receive the package.  As they parted ways,  Cooley was overheard to say,  "Good work young man.  I'll see that this makes it's way into the right hands in Hattiesburg."

---

I will neither confirm nor deny the report.

Whittaker Chambers wrote:

---

Seeker wrote:


Carl Bernstein wrote: Reliable sources report sightings of Seeker meeting with Judge Cooley at the base of the old Chicago Water Tower.  Both wore rumpled trenchcoats, fedoras, and sunglasses,  clearly an attempt to mask their identities.  A plain manila envelope was passed to the Judge, who seemed excited to receive the package.  As they parted ways,  Cooley was overheard to say,  "Good work young man.  I'll see that this makes it's way into the right hands in Hattiesburg."
I will neither confirm nor deny the report.

AHA!  Seeker, you are busted.  Now tell us what was in that envelope.

---

The only thing I will say is that I always wear a derby, not a fedora.

Giacamo wrote:

---

Like this one?

---

ooooo, that's a nice one.

Seeker,

I have posted a message on the Thread "Letters To Hattiesburg" that relates to many of the discussions that have transpired on this Board. It speculates on the future, or lack of, for USM.