Comments on: Columbia Professor Strips In Bizarre Lecture On Quantum Mechanics

By: bigfatmike

bigfatmike — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 23:03:20 +0000

Much like Heisenberg his lecture left me uncertain.

By: Roger J

Roger J — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:29:44 +0000

Must be the new physics…coming to your high school soon.

By: Oro Lee

Oro Lee — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 04:03:59 +0000

By: nick spinelli

nick spinelli — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:14:34 +0000

Good thing the absent minded prof didn’t go commando that day. It must be a brilliant tactic, after all he’s an Ivy Leaguer.

By: drsigne

drsigne — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:34:37 +0000

Bravo! When I was teaching at B.U., there were no Blackberrys, etc.,but you still had to grab your audience’s attention and shake them out of their apathy or complacency. I never stripped. Good grief! It would never have occurred to me way back when. Besides Boston police would have tossed me in the paddy wagon to be hauled off to the pokey ASAP. So I had to rely on other creative tactics, but nothing so eye- and mind-opening!

I find cell phone usage so ubiquitous, mindless, and uncivil. I’d hate to be trying to teach now and have to deal with that ear- or thumb-attached appendageholding their interest. I may have gained a lot of patience and tolerance over the years, but not for putting up with cell phone discourtesy in class.

By: Dredd

Dredd — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:19:01 +0000

Was he wearing Hanes?

By: leejcaroll

leejcaroll — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:47:41 +0000

I second (or third) it, good for him What a sad commentary to get them away from their phones, text, etc he had to resort to this. I think maybe the getting you to strip of preconceived notions may have been a way to explain it within the confines of legitimacy for the school and naysayers.

By: Bud

Bud — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:17:49 +0000

You know the old saying…

When you are lying in a coffin,
It is never hard to think outside the box…

By: Darren Smith

Darren Smith — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:30:31 +0000

Students should just leave their i-phones and the likes at home. It seems like so many people are married to those devices lately, especially those under 25. I can see the need for this professor to break the focus away from the students twiddling their thumbs while text messaging but this went a bit too far.

My wife has to deal with coworkers text messaging at work a lot. Even though it is against company rules to do so the rule is widely ignored. She works at a hospital and patients view this as insulting because the other nurses have the time to twiddle their thumbs but not to answer the call button quickly or at least that is what they assume in their minds. It’s irritating to my wife as well.

By: rafflaw

rafflaw — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:28:46 +0000

At least he kep his underwear on. If it got the point across,then he succeeded. It is one lecture those students will not forget.

By: Anonymously Yours

Anonymously Yours — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:24:15 +0000

And I agree with mike and betkath…. Amazing…

By: Mike Spindell

Mike Spindell — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:22:49 +0000

I agree with Bettykath. Having in a small way tried to learn something about quantum mechanics I’ve found it daunting to wrap my head around its concepts. Hughes was being creative in introducing his course and I applaud his efforts. I’m not sure though that Our Professor would have the need to follow a similar procedure in teaching a Torts class, though from what I remember from more than 40 years ago it did require dropping some preconceptions.

By: bettykath

bettykath — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:16:21 +0000

“I’ve been tasked with the impossible challenge of teaching you quantum mechanics in one hour.”

The first thing he had to do was get their attention. And make the point that “In order to learn quantum mechanics, you have to strip to your raw, erase all the garbage from your brain, and start over again”

I think he made a good and creative effort.

By: Anonymously Yours

Anonymously Yours — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:01:21 +0000

That’s the problem with folks… They have preconceived ideals of how classes should be run…

How better than examples….

By: Gary T

Gary T — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:54:26 +0000

Ahhh, More power to him I say!!

By: mespo727272

mespo727272 — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:07:54 +0000

” … the search for Dark Matter,”

*******************

I think he found it. It’ s in his head.