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The thread about "weakest school subjects" got me thinking about what everyone here at the caves is actually interested in. So guys and girls... What is, was, or will be your major in college/university?
I'm a little less than a year from my first degree, and my area of study is English with a focus on linguistics, rather than literature. I've always loved language, and I enjoy learning other languages, as well as teaching my own to foreigners. When I get my master degree (in a couple of years) I plan to teach at the college level in other countries around the globe.
What about you?

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Climhazzard is the timeless evil robot who runs some of the cool stuff at CoN (mostly logging chat, since there are no quizzes at the moment), all the while watching and waiting for his moment to take over the world. -Tiddles

I finished with a B.S. in environmental science with a minor in astronomy, but I've also taken 10-12 credits each in physics, chemistry, and the classics. Basically I'm a science guy that loves ancient civilizations. And video games.

This post has been edited by laszlow on 20th July 2009 19:56

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

I'm with Lasz, here. I'm a science guy through and through. I'm a Ceramic Engineering major, which combines some high-level chemistry and molecular theory with mineralogy. It's a really unique field that has a huge amount of applications and lots of room for experimentation.

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Is PJ

Quote (Caesar @ 19th July 2009 11:43)

It's a really unique field that has a huge amount of applications and lots of room for experimentation.

I can imagine, actually. There's plenty to which ceramics could be applied to simplify products and increase cost-effectiveness, no doubt, unless I'm mistaken. Wouldn't largely ceramic components and the like be a cheaper, though equally reliable alternative in many cases? And by all means correct if I'm wrong since I likely may be, I am a Theatre major, after all haha. Mostly graduated with a B.A. Concentration in theatre from good ol' Ottawa U. Woot.

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Games on the Go
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy: Four Warriors of Light
Baldur's Gate

Too much to play, so little time!

Greg

Quote (Perigryn @ 19th July 2009 13:09)

I can imagine, actually. There's plenty to which ceramics could be applied to simplify products and increase cost-effectiveness, no doubt, unless I'm mistaken. Wouldn't largely ceramic components and the like be a cheaper, though equally reliable alternative in many cases?

Absolutely! There has been a big focus on shifting to ceramics in a lot of industries, especially space systems. We can produce materials that withstand even the most inhuman temperatures and conditions that space has in store. Even some things you wouldn't think of are being made out of ceramics now, like small printer components, turbine blades, and even some structural components. Since a lot of our focus is just on super common materials like beach sand (silicon dioxide) and clays (which are then processed to yield aluminum oxide), the costs are extremely low and with just a small addition of some other common elements we can make really strong and durable pieces to be used in industry.

And of course, we're always interested in making dinnerware. Just a few days ago a friend of mine and I made a porcelain mug that survived 3 falls from 10+ feet before even cracking.

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Is PJ

Considering that I dropped out of secondary school I've done quite well in getting accepted into the number one law school in Scotland and one of the top ten in Britain, occasionally breaching the top five in some rankings. I had to do a year of entrance courses to get there, and it was worth every minute.

Expertise-wise, for the first two years I'm focusing on being an eligible bachelor of Laws (Scots law, to be precise) rather than specialising in anything just yet. All the usual criminal law, jurisprudence, method, civil liberties and rights, contractual and non-contractual obligations are covered. The second year does involve some choice but it's mostly based on recommendation.

The third and fourth years are when things will start to get interesting. There are masses of Honours courses to choose from. Some that stand out for me are American Constitutional Law, Animal Welfare Law, Renewable Energy Law, Private (or Public) International Law, Space Law, and The Use of Force in International Law. They're the most interesting, but I know I'll end up doing Conveyancing Law or something equally straightforward. The one I really wanted was Co-operative Law, but it's hard to find it in an individual Honours course.

The other alternative is the criminal law avenue (criminal law, evidence, criminology, theories of rights), which I was all but sure to specialise in considering I've worked in the courts for nearly a year now and enjoy the atmosphere and the work. The problem is that 'criminal justice', as a concept, is something that I've become alienated from the more I've studied. It's an oxymoron in my view.

Actually, graduation is only the beginning. Assuming I don't want to take a Masters or PhD, which will add a few more years, I then have to take the DLP (diploma of legal practice) for a year and train in a firm for a further two years, possibly unpaid, before I'm fully qualified.

At the end of it all I'm hoping to be a qualified property lawyer who can build, buy and sell property. It's very unlikely that I'll focus on criminal law when the time comes, but that's always another possibility. From my experience, the best lawyer is the one who can wing it the most.

Quote (Sephiroth @ 19th July 2009 09:03)

I'm a little less than a year from my first degree, and my area of study is English with a focus on linguistics, rather than literature. I've always loved language, and I enjoy learning other languages, as well as teaching my own to foreigners. When I get my master degree (in a couple of years) I plan to teach at the college level in other countries around the globe.

I had to complete two English credit courses as part of my entrance course. I really enjoyed it. I found myself answering the questions from a sociological point of view no matter what it was asking, so maybe I'm best leaving literature as a hobby. One of my tutors was actually a German woman who'd studied in an American university and finished her PhD there. There's obviously a lot of room for someone to work abroad in teaching at that level. Where are you planning to go?

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

Quote (sweetdude @ 19th July 2009 13:29)

There's obviously a lot of room for someone to work abroad in teaching at that level. Where are you planning to go?

My girlfriend is a Public Accounting major from South Korea. She and her family know a lot of people who own private English schools in Korea and I figure if I can get in one of them for a couple of years it will give me the experience I need to be desired by other schools in other countries. She and I have talked about moving to Japan for a couple of years if she can get on with a company that does business back and forth between Korea and Japan. I'm also interested in teaching in a few places in Europe, although, admittedly I don't have an interest in teaching those who are native to the language, so I would probably teach in Holland, Germany, Italy, etc.

This post has been edited by Sephiroth on 19th July 2009 19:20

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Climhazzard is the timeless evil robot who runs some of the cool stuff at CoN (mostly logging chat, since there are no quizzes at the moment), all the while watching and waiting for his moment to take over the world. -Tiddles

Math. I'd be happy to field any questions about it... get it get it?

Quote (FraudulentTommah @ 20th July 2009 05:45)

Math. I'd be happy to field any questions about it... get it get it?

LOL, so my question is, did you get a degree in math so that you could teach it or did you do math for some other reason?

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Climhazzard is the timeless evil robot who runs some of the cool stuff at CoN (mostly logging chat, since there are no quizzes at the moment), all the while watching and waiting for his moment to take over the world. -Tiddles

Always great with Writing. I can easily pick out flaws with grammar, spelling and sentence structures from a mile away. Second best expertise in school would be History, since I love to study cultures and important events from the past.

Quote (Sephiroth @ 20th July 2009 14:51)

Quote (FraudulentTommah @ 20th July 2009 05:45)

Math. I'd be happy to field any questions about it... get it get it?

LOL, so my question is, did you get a degree in math so that you could teach it or did you do math for some other reason?

I got into mathematics when I first studied calculus in high school. I found the theory beautiful, and I felt that the knowledge that comes with knowing calculus is indispensable in understanding how the world works. With the machinery of calculus, you can understand the theory of chemical reaction rates with little effort, marginal cost and profit in economics, everything in physics, how industry works (minimize/maximize problems, for example, given x amount of cardboard, what is the box of largest volume you can create?), and so much more. I understand all of those things because they are variations of the main points of calculus.

So I suppose my initial draw was to the range of problems the theory explained and figured out. Nowadays, my main love of mathematics is how beautiful I find it and that "high" you get when you figure something out. My goal is not to teach, but I do know I want to spend my life in academia, so I'll definitely get to teach, if only for awhile.

Quote (NeoEx-Death @ 20th July 2009 14:55)

Always great with Writing. I can easily pick out flaws with grammar, spelling and sentence structures from a mile away. Second best expertise in school would be History, since I love to study cultures and important events from the past.

Your outlook mirrors my own. My minor is History. I feel that culture and language play a large role in human progression. We must be able to understand each other and communicate to be able to educate other countries that are not as fortunate as us, and to help others that don't always have the opportunities that many in the US and developed parts of Europe and Asia have. I think if you and I were to ever meet we could have some interesting discussions.

Quote (FraudulentTommah)

I got into mathematics when I first studied calculus in high school. I found the theory beautiful, and I felt that the knowledge that comes with knowing calculus is indispensable in understanding how the world works. With the machinery of calculus, you can understand the theory of chemical reaction rates with little effort, marginal cost and profit in economics, everything in physics, how industry works (minimize/maximize problems, for example, given x amount of cardboard, what is the box of largest volume you can create?), and so much more. I understand all of those things because they are variations of the main points of calculus.

So I suppose my initial draw was to the range of problems the theory explained and figured out. Nowadays, my main love of mathematics is how beautiful I find it and that "high" you get when you figure something out. My goal is not to teach, but I do know I want to spend my life in academia, so I'll definitely get to teach, if only for awhile.

I've got to say, you make it sound poetic. I've always admired how math itself is a language of its own. To bad my mind doesn't process it so well. I've always enjoyed science (more as a hobby), but the math aspect of it can sometimes throw me for a loop, in which case, I have to have guys like you explain it to me.

This post has been edited by Sephiroth on 20th July 2009 20:19

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Climhazzard is the timeless evil robot who runs some of the cool stuff at CoN (mostly logging chat, since there are no quizzes at the moment), all the while watching and waiting for his moment to take over the world. -Tiddles

If my name doesn't give it away then my forte is astro-physics..

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If god is all-forgiving then why do we have to kill people in his name?

I've always enjoyed History and English, so I plan on double majoring, perhaps minoring in Economics as well.

As a high school senior this year, this conversation is actually pretty timely for me. I've been visiting a lot of schools lately: midwest liberal arts schools, to be exact. I'm actually really excited to move on to upper level learning.

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

Death Penalty, college is really amazing for those who love to learn. Sure it's a great experience overall, but for really ambitious go-getters, it is astounding what is available to you in college. All the professors generally love to talk and show off how much they know, and as such would be glad to have you in their office to answer questions or discuss whatever is on your mind. This is probably my favorite part about it all. You have every reason to be excited.

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Is PJ

I don't really have an "expertise" yet (though I do believe I am an expert at everything). But I plan on studying filmmaking, business, history and maybe philosophy (probably western because it's the only branch I really know about).

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Praise Be To Helix!

i dunno if it would be counted a s a mojor over in the states but im just learning CACHE (the childcare one not computor) whilost im in college on my 3rd year and im nearly 18

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I remember... That night, we talked for the first time. I
didn't know it then, but after that night, everything changed. For everyone...
For me...
~Tidus

Quote (Sephiroth @ 20th July 2009 15:19)

My minor is History. I feel that culture and language play a large role in human progression.

That was one thing that really surprised me during my theatrical studies, discovering that works in theatre, and in some cases out of, have heavily influenced much of how our history and methods of communicating ideas and societies desires developed. Freedom of speech and freedom of thought all were given a loud voice on the stage. I had never really thought about it being a vessel as such, but really, now that I've studied, it seems it could've been little else! One of those "Well, of COURSE it is!" moments, y'know?

Aside from theatre, I failed to mention my other areas of expertise are music, primarily singing and some piano, though I'd like to develop more theory, but not sure if I ever will. I want to become a better composer, but time may not allow for it because I really need to continue to better myself as an actor and a musical performer as well.

On that note, anyone ever needs some singing or acting done for anything, lemme' know! haha. I do adore voice acting and such, but it seems a lot of those fan projects people went on about simply vanished from the forums.

On another note, a great deal of seemingly brilliant people are out and about hear on CoN. Congrats to all of you on your laudable passions for higher learning and sciences, both applied and social. They're tough nuts to crack, but if you get them, more power to you. Physics wasn't my best friend, in spite of my long lasting desire to be a pilot for a while, and mathematics I can do fairly well, though calculus was the first and only class I ever dropped in highschool, and only one of three I've ever dropped in my academic career. (Woo 5ish long years in university!)

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Games on the Go
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy: Four Warriors of Light
Baldur's Gate

Too much to play, so little time!

Greg

Linguistics, Philosophy, Literature (most notably Russian lit,) and Theology.

Philosophy is more of a hobby for me. I love reading the books, but the classes have a habit of irritating me by being too shallow. One semester is NOT enough time to come to an understanding of any given philosopher's body of work- and most philosophers, in my experience, are best understood as a single body of thought and not a series of books. I figure once I've read everything I should need, I'll go back and take the classes, not to learn, but to prove I HAVE learned.

Linguistics is just great. The school I'm in now has no program for it, but they do teach a myriad of foreign languages, so I'm loading up on Arabic, (I finished 101 last semester, taking 102 in the next,) Japanese, and also, in the spring, continuing my understanding of German. Once I transfer, I'll start taking actual courses in the linguistics field, (I'd like to get into comparative linguistics, actually,) but for the nonce, it seems like the best I can do is immerse myself in as many different languages as I can for the purpose of understanding commonalities and differences between the way people speak globally- hence my eclectic choices. I can't WAIT to take Latin, personally.

Literature is another field that's more of a hobby to me. It goes hand in hand with writing, which is what I'd like to do after I get out of school and set myself up financially. I have a long standing love affair with the Russians, and I've just about cleared the complete works of Dostoevsky. I've got War and Peace and Anna Karenin under my belt by ol' Leo Tolstoy, Gogol's Dead Souls and a few of his short stories, Pushkin's Eugene Onegin and some short stories, Bulgakov's Heart of a Dog and Master and the Margarita, Solzhenitsyn's Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and, if you count him, Nabokov's Lolita (which was written in English,) as well as his The Luzhin Defense (which was written in Russian.) Naturally, I read books from other parts of the world too- recently, actually, I've developed a love affair with Flannery O'Conner- and as far as poets go, I could ask for one no better than good old American Emily Dickenson. I find the English before the year 1900 to be dry and dull- I really don't care much for Bill Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickens, Austen, or any of their romantic poets. (Herrick, Byron, Blake etc.) I am, however, obligated to read them, naturally, if only because they represent staples of the western literary diet.

Theology is just plain interesting. It's a great window that goes hand in hand with linguistics and literature into the workings of the human mind. These are the things we BELIEVE.

For this reason, Hesse, in my opinion, may just be the ultimate author- he bridges that gap between all of the above topics in such an incredible way.

I dunno how far my EXPERTISE extends into any of these fields, (other than Dostoevsky and the ideas of Hesse, and, consequently, Friedrich Nietzsche, who I've also cleared as an author/philosopher/poet and continue to read semi-religiously,) but they are my interests, and time coupled with my continuing education can only further progress my ability. In fact, when people ask me what I go to school for I sort of get embarassed- I didn't go for anything. I went to LEARN. It almost seems shamefully self-evident.

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If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

Like Sweetdude, I'm also a law student. Or rather, was a law student, and it feels very good to say that. I actually just finished taking the California Bar Exam, probably the hardest in the country, and hopefully will be a certified esquire when results come out in a few months. Woo hoo! My areas of study were entertainment law and international law. You've got some pretty interesting areas you're thinking about there, Sweetdude. Space law? Rock on. Maybe you can be general counsel for Virgin Galactic once they launch. I'm totally going into suborbit.

My undergraduate major was English, and I still write prose in my spare time. In fact, I recently finished a Sci-fi/Fantasy book, hopefully the first in a series, that I'm now trying to shop around to literary agents. Found an editor, so that's a start. I've always loved creative industries, and was naturally good at the law, so doing entertainment law turned out to be a good combination of those things.

Currently I'm a Jr. in college, but seeing as I'm at community college, my major is undecided, but I'm leaning to communications.

Course my best subject is history, it just came naturally to me.

Heh, "expertise." I graduated with a degree in Advertising, with the expectation of being an digital art director. I don't have that expertise, my education didn't give it to me. Thus (and for other reasons), I'm not in that industry and have no intention of ever being so.

I guess if I had to consider myself an expert in anything (which I really don't), you're looking at it. Been doing the web stuff for a very long time now, and I've been doing it professionally full time since 2004, and people seem to want to pay me decent money to do it. I guess I've been connected to some pretty big names along the way, too, so it seems to meet the criteria of "expertise," I suppose.

If I had my way, I'd be an expert in photography. I don't think it's in the cards.





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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I have two B.S. degrees in Website Management and Internet Commerce with minors in Psychology and History as well as an A.S. degree in Website Design.

I'm more like Rangers with an expertise in the web arena. I've been doing this since about 1997 and have enjoyed pretty much every minute of it. My current job is managing an E-Commerce site for a large fortune 50 company.

It's my job to make sure my team - and by default - the division - is heading in the correct direction when it comes to new Internet based technologies and best practices. Granted most of my day now is spent in meetings and taking care of more the business side then the actual development. However, I still enjoy it and couldn’t really see myself doing too many other things.

If I could do it all over again though, I would probably go into law enforcement. I have always – since a little kid – wanted to go into the FBI. I got fairly close at one time a few years ago but now with a family, it would be hard to take the severe pay cut!



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You tell me.

Not quite fitting in with the school subject discussion, but this summer I've sort of gained a bit of experteice in plants. I started working at a local nursery in mid May and by now I've gotten to be fairly smart in the area (at least much better than I ever expected to be). I started the job with absolutely no plant knowledge whatsoever (how did I ever get hired?).

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

The newest CoNcast is up! Have a listen!

Quote (MetroidMorphBall @ 31st July 2009 04:01)

You've got some pretty interesting areas you're thinking about there, Sweetdude.  Space law?  Rock on.  Maybe you can be general counsel for Virgin Galactic once they launch.  I'm totally going into suborbit.

Believe it or not, it is actually 'outer' Space Law, not 'area' Space Law, so maybe the Virgin idea is a good one. Sub-orbit would be nice, maybe I should set an office up out there and hire dogs and monkeys.

Hey, just out of interest, what kind of reception do you get from people when you tell them you've studied in the law? I either get surprise (hah!) and interest or "that's the last thing the world needs, more lawyers." Even my dad was against it to begin with.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

<- Good at IT/computer administrating/C++ and general internet and computer thingies. I just can understand them quite easy (at least better than many other people)

I am somehow very superior in mental math because of my very specific think system (for instance; 548 * 7 -> What I do think is: 548 + 10/2 (to get 548+5), then the result + 548*2 etc. pp.), but I got a 5 (6 is the worst mark in germany) at the grammar school in math - Stupid functions. Plus I was (and I am) just a lazy dude, and I didn't was at the grammar school since years, I took detours to arrive there (I was even at the secondary modern school).
I guess I would understand them now, since the overall learning process is much easier at my new school, we shall see.

At the moment I visit the vocational school, I have my training there (I train as a commercial assistent for economiccomputer scientist), and it is by far the best school I visited.

All you guys with interesting futures provide a lovely contrast for bland me

I'm honestly best at memory. I can remember certain conversations, clothes, events, with weird (but not photographic) precision. People probably think I'm creepy because I remember a lot of facts about them.

Schoolwise, I had a way with words and understanding other's. One time I correctly spelled Antidisestablishmentarianism drunk

But now, I guess my expertise is Texas Foodservice Health code, rofl. I've worked in a LOT of restaurants.

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You're telling me that there's no hope.

I'm telling you you're wrong.

Quote (sweetdude @ 4th September 2009 08:49)

Believe it or not, it is actually 'outer' Space Law, not 'area' Space Law, so maybe the Virgin idea is a good one. Sub-orbit would be nice, maybe I should set an office up out there and hire dogs and monkeys.

Hey, just out of interest, what kind of reception do you get from people when you tell them you've studied in the law? I either get surprise (hah!) and interest or "that's the last thing the world needs, more lawyers." Even my dad was against it to begin with.

I'm not familiar with the difference between "area" and "outer" Space Law but, like Dr. Evil, I do think space is cool. It's interesting to me from a legal perspective because space exploration is not territorial in nature, since no country has really laid claim to any part; it's almost all international.

The reaction I usually get for being a lawyer is respect or disdain, lol. I understand both. It does require a professional degree and a high work ethic, and a lot of very smart people are lawyers. At the same time, having gone to school and worked with a lot of lawyers, they definitely earn their reputation as a bunch of money hungry, unethical sleazeballs.

My expertise has always been words. While not being very persuasive on an actual conversation, I can, at best, make someone rethink his opinion. But only by writing (when I'm taken away, I stumble a lot. It's hard to take someone who stumbles seriously).

And it's not as useful as it seems. From here on, I either become a journalist or... a journalist?

Which means I'll starve.

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Snooping as usual, I see?

I'd hardly call it an expertise, but I do very well in the courses making up my English major. At the moment, I'm taking classes with a focus on Modernism, but I also enjoy Naturalism, Realism, and their Japanese offshoot Shinkankaku (Neo-Sensualism), which itself shares many commonalities with Modernism, hence the Modernism courses [ I wish I could read Kawabata's works--my favorite--in Japanese, but even translated into English, they are fantastic.]

Having said all that, as with Sephiroth, I too love Linguistics. I'm also pursuing a minor in TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages) and will be going to teach English in Korea after I graduate.

Though far beyond my expertise, I also love learning about astronomy and genetics.