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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Australia's conservative government announced plans Friday to double university fees for humanities students, in a bid to push people into more useful, "job-relevant" courses like maths and science.
Under the proposal—which critics panned as an "ideological assault"—the cost of degrees like history or cultural studies will rise up to 113 percent to around US$29,000, while other courses such as nursing and information technology will become cheaper.
Education Minister Dan Tehan—an arts graduate with two advanced degrees in international relations—said the government wanted to corral young people towards "jobs of the future" to boost the country's economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
"If you are wanting to do philosophy, which will be great for your critical thinking, also think about doing IT," Tehan said.
The plan would help pay for an additional 39,000 university places by 2023 and for cost cuts for courses like science, agriculture, maths and languages.
[...] "I'm an arts graduate and so is the minister for education so I'm not sure you can draw the conclusion that we're completely unemployable," said opposition lawmaker Tanya Plibersek.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Zinnia Zirconium on Monday June 22 2020, @12:35AM (36 children)
Haha! Force philosophers to study IT and you're gonna get hackers.
(Score: 5, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2020, @12:38AM (31 children)
Yes, but hackers with a strong sense of ethics.
(Score: 1) by Zinnia Zirconium on Monday June 22 2020, @12:45AM (29 children)
Nope. Moral nihilism is the philosophy that nothing is morally right or wrong.
Ask not whether it is right or wrong; ask whether it is possible.
Can it be hacked? If so, it's gonna be hacked.
(Score: 3, Touché) by c0lo on Monday June 22 2020, @01:54AM (25 children)
Ummm... forcing philosophers to study IT causes them to adopt moral nihilism? That needs to be demonstrated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Funny) by Zinnia Zirconium on Monday June 22 2020, @02:51AM (9 children)
OK so the budding philosopher of incorruptible pure pureness wants to live a bohemian lifestyle of contemplation but no, the philosophy student is forced to study IT. The machine is totally amoral which requires black and white thinking. It can't be reasoned with or persuaded to work. The machine must be programmed with precise correct instructions. Our philosophy student reaches intermediary programming class and discovers pointers and manual memory management and experiences the frustration of walking off dangling pointers like every novice programmer does. The machine is unforgiving. Its data structures are fragile and dangerously easy to break. Our philosophy student discovers stack smashing and nop sledding. The philosophy student realizes that from a historical perspective, the machine is based upon immature technology that is still in its infancy. The philosophy student realises IT is a field built upon sand, literally as the machine is constructed of silicon, and figuratively as the machine is riddled with potential vulnerabilities just waiting to be exploited. While suffering the frustrations of learning to make the machine do as it is told, the philosophy student has been trained by the machine to think rigidly in black and white terms. The philosophy student snaps. Soon our frustrated philosophy student is reading the collected works of Theodore Kaczynski and writing ransomware and hacking banks. All because the government railroaded the philosophy student into IT.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday June 22 2020, @03:06AM (6 children)
Makes a good literature, your piece.
Fails to demonstrate that's an absolute necessary course of action but ends in categorically blaming the government.
Are you sure you aren't missing some critical thinking education? If not, maybe you should work a bit harder to accomplish that agenda of yours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by Zinnia Zirconium on Monday June 22 2020, @03:41AM (4 children)
Hehehe, agenda. I don't have an agenda. But I sure know how technology can be a deep dark rabbit hole full of rabid rabbits and hopeless disillusionment that creative philosopher poets might could want to avoid if they don't want to become ever so cynical.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Monday June 22 2020, @03:52AM
Nothing wrong of being cynical, especially since cynicism != nihilism and neither immoral.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Monday June 22 2020, @03:56AM
nothing wrong with cynicism.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Monday June 22 2020, @04:02AM (1 child)
You can lead a philosopher to IT, but you cannot make him fail to recognize the insipid nature of a technology with no porpoise. We have people doing all those very nice frequency charts of terms, as if they meant something. We have studies of "likes" and the Argumentum ad Populam, forgetting that it is a fallacy, or incorrect reasoning. See the APA, Philosophy Bakes Bread [apaonline.org].
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday June 22 2020, @07:24AM
We can add a porpoise to IT, as long as it's only one porpoise for all philosophers and the philosophers promise not to hurt it.
It would also be easier to add more forks on the table, but then IT would be a lot more insipid · [wikipedia.org]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday June 25 2020, @02:07AM
If only they had empowered me to do the railroading. It'd be 100% maybe 200% better.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2020, @04:18AM
Quick! Somebody mod this up to +5, Funny!
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday June 25 2020, @01:53AM
damn you, don't talk about Azuma that way! yes, it is true she can't be reasoned with or persuaded to work, but she sees the world in shades of gray. GRAY!
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday June 22 2020, @03:07AM (14 children)
Yes, do they follow Sartre, or Rawls?
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday June 22 2020, @03:19AM (13 children)
Yes, they may follow both or none.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday June 22 2020, @03:22AM (12 children)
Yeah, no. That's like saying matter and anti-matter get along just fine in the same space.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday June 22 2020, @03:37AM (10 children)
Cognitive dissonance is a thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday June 22 2020, @12:19PM (9 children)
Yes. It's called "schizophrenia."
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday June 22 2020, @12:30PM (8 children)
Are you offending us on purpose?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2020, @01:02PM (1 child)
Offending you on a porpoise. It is a Phoenix666 thing, since it is very dry, where he dwells.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2020, @01:22PM
FTFY
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday June 22 2020, @02:16PM (5 children)
No. I avoid trolling and ad hominem attacks. I write how I see things honestly, though occasionally I am insouciant, which is sometimes moderated 'troll' by the simple, the weak, and the humorless.
Are you schizophrenic? Or do you relish opportunities to feel offended? Or is this some aspect of being Australian the rest of the world is not generally aware of?
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday June 22 2020, @03:52PM (2 children)
Who, we? But of course dear, such a nice multiplication factor to our paranoia (grin)
(apologies, I should've grinned in my prev message)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday June 25 2020, @01:45AM (1 child)
if you're seeing double you should have stuck with the pony instead of the schooner.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday June 25 2020, @04:16AM
Bah, there's more than only both of us now (grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2020, @05:26PM (1 child)
Aside from too many Fox lines of thinking I wouldn't call you a troll, but you are one of those special assholes that feels superior for couching your insults in long worded rationales and dismissive arrogance. It would probably do you good and speed up discussions if you would just let your feelings out. Being an asshole with an argument doesn't change that you're an asshole, and the arguments are rarely much beyond opinion. No pious holier than thou bullshit for you!!
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday June 25 2020, @01:39AM
ah, the aforementioned simple, the weak, and the humorless speak! dearest Herbert (i know your name's Bob, but i like to call you Herbert), how do things look from Langley, smoky or clear?
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2020, @07:41PM
I'd love to hear how you think the two are mutually exclusive.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2020, @02:18AM (2 children)
Can you cut the branch you're sitting on?
(Score: 1) by Zinnia Zirconium on Monday June 22 2020, @03:00AM (1 child)
Absolutely you can! How many times have I heard, "Oh no. I directed compiler output into the source file. And I don't have a backup. And the assignment is due at midnight."
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Monday June 22 2020, @07:17AM
And that's sufficient reason to fail the assignment [muntz laugh]
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2020, @02:39AM
No, more like hackers with the training to rationalize, to confound their adversaries with their forked tongued gibberish, and conquer the world!
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Monday June 22 2020, @05:01AM
More likely department funded lunches as part of the practical work requirement [wikipedia.org].
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Mykl on Monday June 22 2020, @12:14PM (1 child)
I did Philosophy as one of my courses through my IT Degree (Computer Science). It helped me to appreciate that there can be multiple 'correct' answers depending on the perspective of individuals, which as helped me in my career immensely (catering to a bunch of users who have a different set of priorities than I would have). The written language skills are also good if you want to rise above the level of code monkey.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 22 2020, @03:14PM
One thing that philosophy courses have unquestionably been proven to improve in their students is a sense of smug superiority.
"Socrates, you've got an irate customer on line 2!"
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Monday June 22 2020, @04:04PM
Boole was a philosopher. Just saying.