As a university professor, why don't you curve grades?

I have a few relevant stories. I took Marvin Minsky's class while I was an undergrad at MIT. On the first day, he announced that since the average grade at MIT was a B, everybody in the class w…

Top stories for Long   As a university professor, why don't you curve grades? Mark Kantrowitz, studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology • Updated November 20 I have a few relevant stories. I took Marvin Minsky's class while I was an undergrad at MIT. On the first day, he announced that since the average grade at MIT was a B, ever... Read more » 1.1K 76   I just refused to train in Army basic training. What happens next? Bradley Patterson • Answered November 9, 2020 I put through ~600 Marine Corps recruits in the early 80s. This happened to me a grand total of . . . once. The recruit assumed the position of attention after being assigned... Read more » 4.5K 634   Why did conservative Republicans decide in 1980 to increase the national debt by 400% and not care about deficits ever again? Aaron Brown, Columnist at Wilmott Magazine (1999-present) • Answered October 17 Let's start with the facts. Federal debt held by the public was 24.76% of GDP when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated, and 38.71% when he left office. That's an increase of 56%,... Read more » 703 224   How do Japanese people heat up the food in bento boxes if they contain both warm and cold elements, such as meat and salad? Hantani Sadahiko, lives in Japan (1967-present) • Answered November 5 Japanese bento is made so that it tastes good when it is cold. First of all, Koshihikari rice is very popular in Japan. The reason it is so popular is that it tastes good ev... Read more » 267 20   What are your thoughts on retirement? Should you retire before your job retires you, or should you keep working until you can't anymore? Why or why not? Philip McCutchen, former Marketing Director & Content Creator • Updated September 12 I was forced into retirement because I became too old and too expensive at age 67, as were others in the company. The company was looking to reduce its older headcount as i... Read more » 149 13   What kind of customers do waitstaff dislike the most? Christine Bornhop, 8 years of restaurant experience • Answered November 12 One I had a customer at my bar tip me $100. I was so grateful and thanked him profusely. He was a regular and after he gave me that tip he really felt entitled to special s... Read more » 1.6K 54   How do you feel when you read about families growing apart and friendships ending over political ideologies? Jean-Marie Valheur, have a few friendships • Answered November 18 Recently had a long conversation with my brother and discovered that he's a misanthrope. It caught me a little off-guard… because he seemed more hopeful, in previous years.... Read more » 280 28   Although they cannot be counted, is the number of numbers odd? If every positive number can be paired with a negative number apart from zero, and if zero is a number, the number of numbers must be odd. Alon Amit, PhD in Mathematics; Mathcircler. • Updated October 21, 2019 You've demonstrated how to pair the real numbers amongst themselves, leaving the number [math]0[/math] unpaired. This seems to suggest that there's an odd number of real numbers. However… ... Read more » 1.4K 28   What dish on a typical Chinese menu in a restaurant not in China is most like what people in China actually eat? Eric Ivers, Poobah (2019-present) • Answered January 24 I have eaten a lot of American Chinese food (and I love it). In Palo Alto, CA, my boss and I went to a local Chinese restaurant. He and I both look very American whitebread... Read more » 1.8K 178   Is there a loophole so a president can serve more than 8 years? James Keenley, studied History at Northwestern University • Answered November 19 Yes. In fact, there's a loophole written into the text of the 22nd Amendment. The text notes: No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no... Read more » 653 124   Modern astronomy says Earth is a sphere with a circumference of 25,000 miles. If so, why do we see lighthouses and landmarks at distances that we do? For example, the Statue of Liberty can be seen from 60 miles away. Tom Ferral, in data processing since 1973, avid reader, numerous cats • Updated May 4, 2018 Have you actually seen the Statue of Liberty from 60 miles away or are you simply quoting something you read? Please give me web addresses for pages which speak of the Statu... Read more » 99 32   Should passengers be allowed to wear anything they want on a flight, even if it is "offensive" or "annoying" to other passengers, as stated in Delta Airlines' policy? Elaine Lenzko, former Airline Passenger Service Agent (1988-2014) • Answered October 23 I once was working a flight, as a gate agent, and a passenger boarded wearing a T-shirt that had F___ in large letters on the front. Of course, he happened to be sitting in... Read more » 4.1K 349 Read more in your feed

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