And I hope that last sentence about Computer Science drones was a joke. I pray it was. I'll assume it was.
Actually, I'd say that there's some truth to it. It applies to more than just computer science, too. If all you can talk about is your field, then the only people who will want to talk to you will be in your field and (by definition) the only conversation you'll get will be related to your field. If all you can talk about is your field, I can guarantee that other people will have a lot of difficulty relating to you. Some people might prefer this state of being, of course. I know very few people for whom that is the case. I know even fewer people for whom the idea of socially interacting with such "drones" is a palatable one.
If you honestly for one second think that not taking a college course in a subject makes you completely uneducated in it, then I think this conversation should end here, at least for my sake. The friends I've made in my CS classes are ridiculously diverse people with many different interests and lifestyles I never encountered in my hometown. Just because they major in a science doesn't make them robots. You'd think I wouldn't have to be telling you this, but just because some people act a certain way doesn't mean all people with the same interests act the same way. And I didn't need a humanities class to learn that. I'm done talking about these fake "drones" who don't exist (just because a guy is a drone when he's talking to you doesn't mean he's a drone when he's talking to, say, people he actually likes).
Perhaps you've noticed that pointing out problems with another person's ideas is not considered disrespectful here. Perhaps you've noticed that this is a technical forum. Perhaps you've noticed that the entire purpose of (most) technical forums revolves around pointing out problems with other people's ideas in order to help them. This is not a place where we pat each other on the back just for having an opinion. If you post an opinion here, you should expect that someone will eventually point out a problem with your opinion. That's what we do.
Personally, I'm of the opinion that posts that seem like teenage-level whining should be called out as such, so I don't blame people for doing just that if they make such a judgement. I'm sure many of us have had similar feelings to those OP expresses. I'm likewise sure that most of said people have had those feelings called out as detrimental to one's personal growth by our elders, our peers, or even those more junior than us. Personally, I welcome such calling out as useful to clarifying my own self-perception. I would rather have the entire internet tell me that my way of thinking is unhelpful - and therefore be aware of the fact and able to contemplate how to correct it - than remain unaware and potentially fuck myself over later in life.
Oh please. Your "this isn't a place to pat people on the back" argument is tired and inappropriate. I didn't pat him on the back. In fact, in my own post, I simply related with the feeling he's going through and offered my opposing opinion on humanities courses, with some perspective. I did it politely and peacefully. I didn't call him a child. I didn't call him a whiner. I didn't tell him that he didn't deserve to go to college. I didn't tell him his problems were worthless.
Maybe I can help you out, since you don't seem to understand the point of criticizing another person's ideas. See, the goal is to help the person refine the idea and, in responding to your criticisms, refine your own as well. We do this not just with other people, but with entire structures in our society. We criticize the education we receive because we want it to be better. When my parents tell me I'm doing something wrong, I don't respond to them "Well, if you don't like it, you shouldn't have had me." By the same logic, when a person criticizes his schooling, I don't tell him "If you don't like it, don't go to school." Just because I don't like certain aspects of something doesn't mean I should toss it aside completely. And I'm perfectly within my right to complain about those things I don't like. That's how change happens. Sitting silent and taking it is, ironically, the most drone-like thing to do.
Maybe because then you wouldn't have the fun job of just piling on a guy, post after post, joining the horde of "You don't know anything, young blood. You just so stupid and young and oooh."
I'm no longer certain that you and I are reading the same thread.
Yeah, I agree.
