Philosophy Now Forum

Obvious Leo wrote:It's not so much a matter of memorising the Krebs as understanding the Krebs. Memorising the Krebs would be quite a feat of memory, even for a non-drinker which I certainly wasn't, but once you understand the Krebs you get an intuitive feel for the energy cycles and ultimately is is the energy cycles which determine all the cellular processes. You're on the opposite trajectory from the one I was on. I jumped ship out of medicine and opted for Biochem instead and essentially I've been jumping ships ever since.

I agree that understanding biochemical pathways sure beats rote learning but nowadays, aside from mnemonics, one can already rap it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMBIs_Iw0kE&hd=1 . Can I ask why you jumped out of medicine?

Zaranth wrote:

Hobbes' Choice wrote:

Zaranth wrote: I'm a glass half-full kind of person but I get the message, Hobbes Choice. I'm Montreal-born and bred and just started university (English) a few weeks ago- Biochemistry undergrad. Sometimes in the midst of a 'difficult' course, I'd get an existential moment and ask wtf am I doing here lolz.

Sorry - do you mean an English speaking uni in Canada?

No, I meant in Quebec province where there are only 3 English universities (2 located in Montreal) while the rest are all in French. We have complicated language issues here which are tightly woven into our education, culture and esp politics.

What do you mean "no"?
As Quebec is in Canada the correct response to my question ought to be "yes, I meant Quebec in one of the 3 English Peaking Universities."
No matter.
What is the situation there concerning fees for study, grants, and loans??

Zaranth wrote: Can I ask why you jumped out of medicine?

Sure. Because I was too immature and hadn't given it enough thought before I went in to it. It didn't take me long to discover that I was temperamentally unsuited to such a career although I found the subject itself fascinating. I then saw myself better suited to the field of medical research rather than the practice of medicine itself. Nothing much came of that either, as it happens, because of this:

" Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans"....John Lennon.

Hobbes' Choice wrote:

Zaranth wrote:

Hobbes' Choice wrote:
Sorry - do you mean an English speaking uni in Canada?

No, I meant in Quebec province where there are only 3 English universities (2 located in Montreal) while the rest are all in French. We have complicated language issues here which are tightly woven into our education, culture and esp politics.

What do you mean "no"?
As Quebec is in Canada the correct response to my question ought to be "yes, I meant Quebec in one of the 3 English Peaking Universities."
No matter.
What is the situation there concerning fees for study, grants, and loans??

Thanks for the correction, Hobbes Choice (you can give Professor Higgins a run for his money) . But seriously though, I've just demonstrated the language 'issues' I was referring to earlier.
your question: Do you mean an English speaking uni in Canada?
my instinctive answer: No, not in Canada but in Quebec (since our educational system is different from the rest of Canada plus it's Two Solitudes all over again). Compared with western provinces, the cost of education here (tuition fees etc) is still quite low and post-secondary students have relatively easy access to bursaries and loans.

Obvious Leo wrote:

Zaranth wrote: Can I ask why you jumped out of medicine?

Sure. Because I was too immature and hadn't given it enough thought before I went in to it. It didn't take me long to discover that I was temperamentally unsuited to such a career although I found the subject itself fascinating. I then saw myself better suited to the field of medical research rather than the practice of medicine itself. Nothing much came of that either, as it happens, because of this:

" Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans"....John Lennon.

I'm not familiar with Australian med school requirements but don't you have to finish an undergrad pre-med degree before you can get accepted? Most aspiring medical students nowadays start 'preparing' really early- getting excellent grades, doing volunteer work, building solid CVs etc since they are competing with others who are just as 'smart' or 'accomplished' and every tiny advantage counts. So once accepted, they'd stay focused and motivated...I would think.... esp since the drop out rate's not that high.

Zaranth wrote: I'm not familiar with Australian med school requirements but don't you have to finish an undergrad pre-med degree before you can get accepted?

This was in New Zealand and it was over forty years ago. Selection for med school was based on your grades for your first undergraduate year only, called med intermediate. If you got through that you were in. Your grades had to be good but you didn't have to do any of that other shit. I'm pretty sure that here in Australia med students get selected solely on their high school graduation grades but these need to be spectacularly high, like near perfect. In my opinion such a system is insane. I think I liked it better when the barber's trade and the doctor's trade were combined. If he couldn't fix your dodgy liver at least he could cut your hair.

Zaranth wrote:

Hobbes' Choice wrote:

Zaranth wrote: No, I meant in Quebec province where there are only 3 English universities (2 located in Montreal) while the rest are all in French. We have complicated language issues here which are tightly woven into our education, culture and esp politics.

What do you mean "no"?
As Quebec is in Canada the correct response to my question ought to be "yes, I meant Quebec in one of the 3 English Peaking Universities."
No matter.
What is the situation there concerning fees for study, grants, and loans??

Thanks for the correction, Hobbes Choice (you can give Professor Higgins a run for his money) . But seriously though, I've just demonstrated the language 'issues' I was referring to earlier.
your question: Do you mean an English speaking uni in Canada?
my instinctive answer: No, not in Canada but in Quebec (since our educational system is different from the rest of Canada plus it's Two Solitudes all over again). Compared with western provinces, the cost of education here (tuition fees etc) is still quite low and post-secondary students have relatively easy access to bursaries and loans.

Sorry to be pedantic. But since you made such a fundamental category error I thought maybe I'd misunderstood something.

For example Do you live on planet earth. No I live in London.

Hobbes' Choice wrote:

Zaranth wrote:

Hobbes' Choice wrote:
What do you mean "no"?
As Quebec is in Canada the correct response to my question ought to be "yes, I meant Quebec in one of the 3 English Peaking Universities."
No matter.
What is the situation there concerning fees for study, grants, and loans??

Thanks for the correction, Hobbes Choice (you can give Professor Higgins a run for his money) . But seriously though, I've just demonstrated the language 'issues' I was referring to earlier.
your question: Do you mean an English speaking uni in Canada?
my instinctive answer: No, not in Canada but in Quebec (since our educational system is different from the rest of Canada plus it's Two Solitudes all over again). Compared with western provinces, the cost of education here (tuition fees etc) is still quite low and post-secondary students have relatively easy access to bursaries and loans.

Sorry to be pedantic. But since you made such a fundamental category error I thought maybe I'd misunderstood something.

For example Do you live on planet earth. No I live in London.

Wish this 'fundamental category error' were as simplistic as your London-is-on-planet-earth analogy but you're right of course. My lame excuse is that many sees Quebec as separate from Canada (hence the raison d'être of the sovereignist/separatist movements) and I fell right into the same categorically erroneous thinking. Thanks for pointing that out.

Hobbes' Choice wrote: Hi, do not hold your hopes too high from the Forum,

The quality of the Forum discussion depends in part on your contributions Hobbes, and so far in my experience these have been less than satisfactory.

Blueswing wrote:

Hobbes' Choice wrote: Hi, do not hold your hopes too high from the Forum,

The quality of the Forum discussion depends in part on your contributions Hobbes, and so far in my experience these have been less than satisfactory.

This is exactly the sort of cheap meaningless jibe that brings down the quality of the Forum.
Improving the quality of the Forum would mean that you would have to contribute something worthy other than insults.
I'm not particularly aware of anything worthy from you, and this latest outburst does nothing to change my mind.