Re: Was the ClimateGate Hacker Justified? Join the Debate!

[Valdis.Kletnieks () vt edu]

On Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:23:12 EST, Rich Kulawiec said:

> Can you -- generic you -- right here, right now, without any help,
> state the three laws of thermodynamics

So there I was some 3 decades or so ago, the 16 year old wunderkind who'd
somehow ended up in the thermodynamics-for-physics-juniors class, and the prof
giving me a dirty look because he was *positive* I was about 3 years too
young to be in there. Maybe 4.  So we get to the first exam, and the prof
is now giving me the "you can still drop this class without penalty" look.

Open the exam, and I read the first question: "State the three laws of
thermodynamics in differential form".  And I have a complete and total brain
fart. Nothing. Nada. Look at it for 2-3 minutes, decide to move on and salvage
the rest of the exam.  Chunk through it fairly well.  The prof calls "5
minutes", so I go  back to look at the first problem. Still nothing.  And my
mental block is complete - I don't even realize that I have at some point
already written down all three of the equations as part of the process of
solving the other questions - so if I just copied the 3 equations over, there's
an easy 20 points out of 200 total.  But nooooo...

Prof calls "1 minute", and in a panic, I try to salvage 1 or 2 pity points
out of 20, and scribble down:

"You can't win. You can't break even, You can't quit the game".

Go to the next class, and the TA is handing back the graded papers.  And he's
given me 20/20 for the first problem.  And written in the margin:

"I am assuming you misread the question as 'state the three laws in different
form'."

Best. TA. Ever. :)

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