French censored answer to Google Earth.
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From: Padraig Breathnach on 30 Jul 2006 04:20 Mxsmanic <mxsmanic(a)gmail.com> wrote: >Padraig Breathnach writes: > >> In academic life (including at a graduation or conferring ceremony, >> when people may literally parade in their academic regalia); > >Since academics have not actually accomplished anything other than the >collection of credentials, they have a vested interest in parading >them, since the alternative would be to admit their uselessness. > That's a silly claim. Much valuable work is done in academic institutions. >> where expertise needs to be proven; > >Credentials do not prove expertise. Only performance does that. > My GP has credentials. I would not go to him otherwise. Of course, if his performance was not adequate, I would seek another GP (provided that I survived the inadequacy). So it's credentials first, then performance. >> where authority is asserted; > >Unless the authority is attached _de jure_ to the credentials, there >is no connection between them. > Then you misunderstand either the purpose of credentials or the nature of authority. >> when it is necessary to put certain types of person in their places. > >Credentials won't accomplish that; performance will. > The certain types I had in mind are not the certain types you have in mind. -- PB The return address has been MUNGED My travel writing: http://www.iol.ie/~draoi/
From: Jim Ley on 30 Jul 2006 04:53 On Sun, 30 Jul 2006 00:52:59 +0100, Padraig Breathnach <padraigb(a)MUNGEDiol.ie> wrote: >Mxsmanic <mxsmanic(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >>It's ill-mannered to parade credentials no matter what the >>circumstances, but I don't see how that applies here. >> >There are circumstances where it is appropriate to parade credentials. In the annual Credentials Parade along Berwick St James high street? Jim.
From: Jim Ley on 30 Jul 2006 05:02 On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 19:51:50 +0200, Martin <me(a)privacy.net> wrote: >On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 18:46:04 +0100, "JohnT" >>I never thought of that. Perhaps one of the extra-terrestrials whom Mixi has >>been trying to contact? > >In the Leiden paper, there was a photo of two young guys fast asleep >on the pavement on an old sofa in Leiden. For some reason I thought of >Jim Gibbering. Ah, good, you think of me as young :-) As far as I recall, I've always made it to the hotel. Jim.
From: Mxsmanic on 30 Jul 2006 05:29 Padraig Breathnach writes: > That's a silly claim. Much valuable work is done in academic > institutions. By a few people, but not by the majority. > My GP has credentials. I would not go to him otherwise. Of course, if > his performance was not adequate, I would seek another GP (provided > that I survived the inadequacy). So it's credentials first, then > performance. You take a calculated risk. > Then you misunderstand either the purpose of credentials or the nature > of authority. Or I understand what _de jure_ means. > The certain types I had in mind are not the certain types you have in > mind. How do you know which types I have in mind? -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.
From: Padraig Breathnach on 30 Jul 2006 06:07
Mxsmanic <mxsmanic(a)gmail.com> wrote: >Padraig Breathnach writes: > >> That's a silly claim. Much valuable work is done in academic >> institutions. > >By a few people, but not by the majority. > What is the basis of this claim? I see a rare thing, a hint of you climbing down, in that you allow the possibility that some people who parade their credentials might actually do some good work. Research into the common cold comes to mind. >> My GP has credentials. I would not go to him otherwise. Of course, if >> his performance was not adequate, I would seek another GP (provided >> that I survived the inadequacy). So it's credentials first, then >> performance. > >You take a calculated risk. > The credentials are fundamental to the calculation. >> Then you misunderstand either the purpose of credentials or the nature >> of authority. > >Or I understand what _de jure_ means. > Authority is not derived from law. >> The certain types I had in mind are not the certain types you have in >> mind. > >How do you know which types I have in mind? > Because they do not behave as the ones I had in mind; therefore, either they are different people (or, something you possibly cannot contemplate) you are wrong about them. -- PB The return address has been MUNGED My travel writing: http://www.iol.ie/~draoi/ |