musicalphysics
@musicalphysics@discuss.online
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
Texas, and probably other states, are openly attacking and censoring higher education as well. The provost for a place I was at carried around spreadsheets of costs since overall the university was always losing money. They are in for a tough time if populations get smaller as you say.
- Comment on The red bull guy who jumped from space what was going on with his body when him and his suit broke the sound barrier? 1 week ago:
Correct. No complete stop.
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
Textbooks have more features than they used to, like online homework and the like. The online component makes it easier for companies to push new versions. Professors are overworked, and intro classes, where book prices/versions rule the most, are massive. The dept probably doesn’t have funds for a full TA so grading becomes a massive undertaking. It isn’t possible in many cases to manage lecture halls without the features from the textbook publisher. So what is a young faculty member likely to do? Pick a text from a major publisher. Generally speaking, faculty aren’t out to get you, they are trying to teach you.
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
Sports programs that can afford expensive coaches don’t cost the university money. Big football programs pay for themselves and fund a wide variety of other sports, which don’t make money, at the university.
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
Universities got more expensive as state support generally declined. Features expanded as you said to draw students as universities had to compete more to get students. Plus you have these lists that rank each university. That drives students to demand more and requires more funds from universities to compete over listing items.
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
The guarantees for student loans actually go the other way - the guarantee is for the lender. Given the amounts people generally need for an education, along with a complete lack of income, students wouldn’t be able to get a loan of sufficient size without government stepping in as a backstop.
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
State governments realized they could reduce their funding towards universities (or keep it fixed while it devalues due to inflation) and push the cost onto students. Administration has also exploded in numbers. Many get paid much more than faculty. Universities have also expanded services and features to make students want to come. Universities can’t raise prices higher than students are willing to pay. Note students are also not guaranteed to get federal loans plus there are limits. Private loans aren’t guaranteed either but have a variety of programs.
- Comment on The red bull guy who jumped from space what was going on with his body when him and his suit broke the sound barrier? 1 week ago:
Perhaps not a complete stop but numerous aircraft were destroyed as they tried to break the speed of sound. The air building up in front of you can in fact form a wall. We shouldn’t discount the force supplied by air. It is a pressure wave from bombs, not fire, that causes explosive damage.
- Comment on Can energy be associated with/related to spacetime ? 4 weeks ago:
In physics theory doesn’t mean some random guess. Theory means it has been experimentally validated.
- Comment on [deleted] 4 weeks ago:
If you buy stocks that money goes to the previous stock holder, which is most generally not the corporation.
- Comment on The speed of light 5 weeks ago:
In relativity both the planet and the ship see the other as moving slow. Not one fast the other slow.
- Comment on Xbox makes more leadership changes, hiring analyst who said games were losing the attention battle with gambling, crypto and porn as chief strategy officer 1 month ago:
Corporations are not legally obligated to avoid risk.
- Comment on Millennials Owe 500% More in Student Debt Than Their Parents Did 2 months ago:
In the US states have reduced their funding for public colleges shifting the burden to students. On top of that universities have more programs and features than they used to. The university I was at constantly operated at a loss.
- Comment on Millennials Owe 500% More in Student Debt Than Their Parents Did 2 months ago:
I’ve also seen professors who get kickbacks from the sale of textbooks up to and including professors making their own textbook that they authored a required text for the course.
Nobody is getting rich by writing a textbook. The most likely reason for using a book they wrote is that it includes information they thought was important.