ok so what major or classes within a major has done the most to increase your intelligence.

for me having taken courses from many departments the ones i got the most benefit from are mechanical engineering and STS (science, tech, and society)

EE, CPE, and CSC are BS, they make you into a nerd and at the end of the day you dont know anything usefull

6/7/2008 1:18:44 AM

History. Except for this fucking American Environment History class that I'm taking right now. Papers I have to write for that rank up with the one I had to write on "The History of the Footnote": full of bullshit.

6/7/2008 1:22:35 AM

I wouldn't say it has ever had anything to do with what major the class was as to whether or not I felt smarter after taking the class. It generally had to do with who taught it and whether or not THEY were smart enough to structure the class well and teach the class something.

I mean if I really had to boil it down to a major, I wouldn't. I think they were all about equally valuable for my undergrad degree.

[Edited on June 7, 2008 at 1:24 AM. Reason : I also had an STS class that was all sunshine and puppies. It was quite a lot of BS.]

6/7/2008 1:23:36 AM

^you're wrong!

a major tell you the general subject you are studying.
take EE for example, its a very specific and narrow range of subject compared to mechanical engineering

with ME you learn the basic ways objects move, connect, and how to build complex structures
the knowledge you use and problems you solve have a more fundamental and broader feel than some other classes

same with STS, it covered grand subjects like society and science as a whole so you get to understand a very large subject area which has applications in almost all aspects of life

thats why i think some majors are way more beneficial than others

6/7/2008 1:47:47 AM

depends on your definition of beneficial

6/7/2008 1:54:01 AM

^^ But all that goes to shit if the teacher sucks and can leave you feeling like an idiot. Take the CE215 - Dynamics course offered by the CE department. If it was taught properly we civil engineers would've all had a much better understanding of dynamics. The class was taught so poorly for so long that I believe Dr. Parish has had to take over the position to get the ideas across. The class was so poorly taught that nobody learned anything besides what a magic square was (and for 80% of them it was a lesson in how to cheat efficiently).

I've found that with most subjects that aren't bullshit (which does encompass a large number of majors here at NCSU, and the courses taught), having a motivated, intelligent, skilled, and understanding professor can expand your understanding and appreciation for a subject and many things that are related to it compared to the same class taught by somebody who doesn't give a shit. This usually has to do with the depth that the teacher will cover topics related to the material in-class. Even just going through a design example in class for a drainage system that flows to a reservoir (something that didn't quite happen in a class I took on that subject until the very end of the class when somebody started asking stupid questions) can expand your understanding of what you're learning and how it applies and relates to things in the real world tremendously.

I'm not denying that some majors have a leg up on others, but with some of the classes I've taken it seems like the colleges that offer the courses are suffering from poor quality professors or instructors, which leads to the classes themselves offering very little in terms of educational value. ME gives you a solid base to do a lot of engineering things, and it has a pretty good base of instructors and teachers from what I saw when I did the "EU" asking around thing you're supposed to do to determine your major. I still think to just boil the issue of "what makes you smarter overall" doesn't work unless you take into account the fact that some subjects, while they may be very useful for understanding of the world at large, are taught in a shitty way that focuses on the core subject material only and not how it relates to the world at large (or why it's important to know it).

[Edited on June 7, 2008 at 2:03 AM. Reason : ^ I'm not ranting at you. ]

I also have a feeling there's a 95% chance this is a "this is my opinion and it's never wrong" thread.

[Edited on June 7, 2008 at 2:04 AM. Reason : ]

6/7/2008 2:03:42 AM

Well Real World: BUS 225

As far as science thinking. MA(CSC)416 - Combinatorics.

6/7/2008 8:20:53 AM

Nuclear Engineering

mechanical engineering + physics + mathematics

[Edited on June 7, 2008 at 9:03 AM. Reason : yo]

6/7/2008 9:02:06 AM

Quote :

"with ME you learn the basic ways objects move, connect, and how to build complex structures"

you're thinking of CE. ME has a lot more thermo and heat transfer stuff

6/7/2008 9:10:02 AM

^CE's don't study moving objects and how they connect, etc. Sure, they take dynamics, but no CE actually learns that shit.

CE's do:

structural engr (bldgs, bridges)
transportation engr (highways, roads, transportation planning)
water resources (water supply networks, pipe networking, sewer systems, stormwater, hydrology, hydraulics)
geotechnical (earthwork, soils, dams, foundations)
environmental (air/water/land quality, water treatment)

*not a complete list, obvioiusly

6/7/2008 9:51:18 AM

wait, so your major makes smarterest?

6/7/2008 10:01:51 AM

Quote :

" EE, CPE, and CSC are BS, they make you into a nerd and at the end of the day you dont know anything usefull"

sorry, did you just post that electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science were useless... on an internet message board?

[Edited on June 7, 2008 at 10:09 AM. Reason : fuck it, that's not just CSC]

6/7/2008 10:08:10 AM

Quote :

"EE ... make you into a nerd and at the end of the day you dont know anything usefull"

first, useful

second, whether its a troll comment or not, it depends on what you're going to do with the classes. In EE, I had to take computer programming, which I didn't like. But I also took power classes, which I excelled in, and decided to make a career out of it. And it's worked out pretty fucking well for me over the last couple of years.

But you're right, electricity isn't useful.

6/7/2008 10:09:47 AM

Quote :

"EE, CPE, and CSC are BS, they make you into a nerd and at the end of the day you dont know anything usefull"

the idea is to make so that everyone DOESN'T know it's a troll. that was way too obvious, -4/10

6/7/2008 10:14:51 AM

What he meant to name the thread:

"What major makes you take classes that you can talk to girls at the bar about, without boring them to death?"

6/7/2008 10:21:17 AM

answer: nothing. you don't talk about your classes at the bar.

6/7/2008 10:22:30 AM

haha

yeah, that "what do you do" question never goes well

6/7/2008 10:22:31 AM

Quote :

"the idea is to make so that everyone DOESN'T know it's a troll. that was way too obvious, -4/10"

not this time yo, I'm being serious, think about it, with an EE or CS degree knowledge is very limited to a specific area
with an STS or ME degree you have a much broader understanding and can go in many different directions

6/7/2008 10:28:04 AM

Most majors have concentrations to limit the broadness of a major and to narrow the focus anyways.

6/7/2008 10:29:27 AM

CHE is the best major

6/7/2008 10:29:51 AM

PRT

6/7/2008 10:30:37 AM

PRTy time!

6/7/2008 10:31:32 AM

Math.

You can blow up houses and shit:

6/7/2008 10:31:42 AM

MUSIC

6/7/2008 10:32:12 AM

Chemical Engineering

6/8/2008 12:51:03 PM

I actually think an MBA would be really productive towards this goal. I mean, monies is how the world works...

I don't see how mechanical is that special. Really, to get 'generally' educated about the world, you really need to suck from ALL different engineering disciplines. If you don't know how assembly code is written, you are honestly lacking a big important chunk of knowledge about the world. But still, you don't really need to have much skill in writing it if you have no plan on using such stuff in a job. I would vote strongly for Industrial Engineering, as it's one of those that makes you take a lot of courses in other disciplines, emphasizes the FE, for which the material is very relevant to this discussion, and you learn about how things actually happen.

But while it looks good on paper... I've known some pretty incompetent IEs.

6/8/2008 1:02:05 PM

Quote :

"Nuclear Engineering mechanical engineering + physics + mathematics"

+ overinflated ego

6/8/2008 1:04:02 PM

economics

6/8/2008 1:05:56 PM

physics would be teh winz hands down, if they were more aware of things outside their field.

6/8/2008 1:07:02 PM

what do you mean?

I was smarter than you BEFORE I declared my major

6/8/2008 2:08:07 PM

Political Science. we understand everything. and how everything works.

6/8/2008 2:10:40 PM

Quote :

"ok so what major or classes within a major has done the most to increase your intelligence."

Are you sure you understand the difference between intelligence and knowledge?

6/8/2008 2:11:55 PM

^^Didn't you just post in another thread that you are an engineer?

[Edited on June 8, 2008 at 2:12 PM. Reason : h]

6/8/2008 2:12:01 PM

Quote :

"Are you sure you understand the difference between intelligence and knowledge?"

I sure do. All majors increase your knowledge as well as the teacher and textbook can deliver it.
But some majors have a more well rounded subject matter that can increase your intelligence more than others.

6/8/2008 8:01:28 PM

this thread reeks of failure and inferiority complex

6/8/2008 8:02:20 PM

Honestly, probably none of them.

All majors teach you specific skills and information that other people wouldn't know.


This is talking about knowledge, obviously intelligence is different (and for the most part worthless by itself)

[Edited on June 8, 2008 at 8:05 PM. Reason : ]

6/8/2008 8:04:07 PM

Quote :

"this thread reeks of failure and inferiority complex"

illiterate? Have you read the thread?

This is not a "who's the smartest?" thread, it is where can you get the most comprehensive education and also become more intelligent.
How you end up with your conclusion only goes to show that you're stupid or too lazy to read.

6/8/2008 8:08:03 PM

yea i just read the first post and came trollin.

honestly, the smartest people are the ones who explore and pursue knowledge outside of their majors.

It's called a major for a reason, it's specialized education in a subject. Those who are "the smartest" supplement that education with personal interests and pursuit of knowledge outside their field.

So in all honesty, I don't know what you are qualifying as "the smartest," someone that knows Jeopardy trivia or takes tons of survey courses?



[Edited on June 8, 2008 at 8:13 PM. Reason : edit]

6/8/2008 8:11:20 PM

^ok forget the title, thats obviously not serious, and just look at the first post.
I talk about intelligence.

But you're going off on a tangent. Some majors teach you fundamental knowledge and you practice ways of understanding that subject matter that has a great influence on your greater understanding of the world.

Take an EE major versus a Philosophy major. Which would you assume to be more intelligent?

6/8/2008 8:17:29 PM

^

I think that's the classical debate. It really depends on your point of view, and what you value most.

I can't answer that, but I think if you possess the mental capacity for difficult technical majors, you can appreciate the finer points of abstract majors such as Philosophy.

tl;dr it takes both kinds

6/8/2008 8:20:28 PM

man i wish i took more Economics classes
i'd be rolling in $$$
too bad they only require 1 class for my major

7/16/2008 11:25:10 AM

lafta, you're really posting stupid shit lately.

7/16/2008 11:29:21 AM

Either communications or parks & rec. Because if you are in either one of those majors, you are smart enough to already know that a degree is just a piece of paper, and most companies just want you to have one regardless of what it is in.

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 11:31 AM. Reason : s]

7/16/2008 11:30:41 AM

Mechanical Motherfucking Engineering


thats why I have a BSME

7/16/2008 11:31:33 AM

Quote :

"^CE's don't study moving objects and how they connect, etc."

structural dynamics? earthquake engineering? finite? stress waves?

its not our fault you stopped after BS... you get more into the good stuff later

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 11:36 AM. Reason : ..]

7/16/2008 11:36:20 AM

^^^^^^ my generalization in that debate is that the EE major is more intellegient because they took advantage of the better credentials in that field of the university they are attending. I would propose that a philosophy student may be more intelligient at UNC though than a student in some sort of physical science.

My generalization is very circumstantial though.

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 11:38 AM. Reason : .]

7/16/2008 11:38:00 AM

underwater

basket

weaving

[nobox]

7/16/2008 11:43:54 AM

Quote :

"a major tell you the general subject you are studying. take EE for example, its a very specific and narrow range of subject compared to mechanical engineering"

you clearly aren't a very good EE, and lack the ability to conceptualize and apply learned knowledge to situations that aren't explicitly laid out for you. the basics of EE offer you a look into how physics is applicable across the board. For example, i was able to do some of the plumbing work in my own house because i grasp that water moves through the same way current does. EE offers you a lot of options and a lot of different areas in which you can specialize your knowledge and gain a large understanding and therefore a respect for the things that you use every day. If you failed to realize this, but more importantly failed to apply this then that is your own failure, not that of the major.

7/16/2008 11:49:18 AM

^studying anything makes you smarter in general
but would you be a better plumber as an EE major or a ME major
but especially when you try to apply your knowledge to a wide vareity of problems its harder on average to do that with EE knowledge rather than say STS knowledge

7/16/2008 11:54:13 AM

BS in Settin' em up!

7/16/2008 11:54:56 AM