1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: Guess what will? What's that? Man? Do you know that 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: Read College in Oregon actually offers an underwater basket weaving course? 3 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: Are you serious? I mean Read is known for being 4 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: a strange and wonderful place. It's actually one of those 5 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: campuses I've always wanted to visit, but I can't say 6 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: i'd heard about this course. Yeah, so, I know underwater 7 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:18,959 Speaker 1: basket weaving has been a punchline for so long, but 8 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: it's actually todd each year during a festival at Read 9 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: and does account for credit. I mean, it's more for fun, 10 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: but I love that you can actually learn the skill. 11 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: And actually I read this note from a student defending it, 12 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: where he was saying basically that in this a d 13 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:34,480 Speaker 1: h D world where we look at our phones every 14 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 1: three seconds, and you know, we need to constantly be 15 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: stimulated by technology and being forced to concentrate on basket 16 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: weaving in a pool with your face stuffed into a snorkel, 17 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: that that was actually good for both his patients and concentration, 18 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: and it also reduced his anxiety. I kind of like 19 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: this defense, and I mean, I think that's kind of 20 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: the point, right, Like, when you start looking around, there's 21 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: so many of these quirky classes being taught around the country, 22 00:00:57,720 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: and many of them are way more valuable than you 23 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,319 Speaker 1: inc So I thought today would be a great time 24 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:04,559 Speaker 1: to spotlight some of the weirdest classes we could find. 25 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: What do you say? We dive in? Heay their podcast listeners, 26 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Part Time Genius and Will Pearson And as 27 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 1: always I'm joined by my good friend man guest I've 28 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,399 Speaker 1: taken up and we're so happy to welcome back our 29 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: producer Tristan. He's a super important part of this show 30 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: and he's been out for a few days, but we're 31 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: very glad he's back. Well, speaking of back, it is 32 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: back to school time, and to be honest, we're a 33 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: little bit jealous. I mean, there's all these weird college 34 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:47,960 Speaker 1: classes out there, and we wish we could take them all. 35 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: I mean, maybe not all of them, but definitely way 36 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: more than we'd ever be able to. But that doesn't 37 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: mean we can't talk about them. So that's what we're 38 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: gonna do today. We'll also talk to a couple of 39 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: daring professors who spearheaded some pretty unique courses of their own. 40 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: So who's on the line today? Mego, yeah, So we've 41 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: got Kenneth Goldsmith, the poet and professor at the University 42 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: of Pennsylvania. Kenneth actually teaches two unusual classes. One's called 43 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: Uncreative Writing and the others titled Wasting time on the Internet. 44 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: And we'll have some wonderful quizzes too. All right, Well, 45 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: before we dive in, we want to hear from you listeners. 46 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: Let us know the weirdest college class you ever took, 47 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: or the one offered at your school that you always 48 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: wish you'd taken but maybe didn't get a chance to. 49 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: So send that into part time genius at how stuff 50 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 1: works dot com or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter, 51 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: or you can call us on our fancy new fact 52 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: hotline one eight four four pt genius. So we look 53 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 1: forward to hearing from you, and of course we'll be 54 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 1: sending some swag to the top three entries, so we're 55 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: really looking forward to that. All right, great, alright, So 56 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: fair warning to any listeners who haven't perused the college 57 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: course catalog in a while. You need to prepare to 58 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: be jealous. I mean, these catalogs have expanded in some 59 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: wild directions over the past decade or so, and the 60 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: result is this mortgage board of strange and quirky classes 61 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:58,239 Speaker 1: that you know, they kind of bring new meaning to 62 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: the term liberal education. But I remember like some house 63 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: courses that people used to teach even back when we 64 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: were in college, Like during spring break, you could take 65 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:09,799 Speaker 1: this course called just Enough Guitar to Impress someone and 66 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: and by the end of the class you learned to 67 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: play something that sounds impressive but actually isn't that hard, 68 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: like Tangerine LEDs up. But I I agree with you, 69 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: these courses tend to stray pretty far from the core curriculum, 70 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: but that definitely doesn't mean that they're all together silly 71 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:25,919 Speaker 1: or or that their merit lists, although trying to sell 72 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: your parents on the worth of them might be another story, right, 73 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: you know, Because we want to cover as many of 74 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: these weird courses as we could. Mango and I actually 75 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: split up our research for this episode, so we found 76 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: the most interesting surprising courses we could across, you know, 77 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: a few few different broad categories. So we'll share our 78 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: findings and see if we can build our own ideal 79 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: course load for the fall semester. So, so where do 80 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: you want to start? Mango? So I want to skip 81 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: straight to the mouth watering food classes because they're the 82 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: most fun. And the first one we're gonna start with 83 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: is from Alfred University. It's called maple Syrup, the real Thing, 84 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: the real like that day they're throwing there And wait, 85 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: isn't that the coke slogan? Though? Yeah, but this stuff 86 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: is genuine thing. And the fact is that some senators 87 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: from Vermont and Main have actually introduced legislation that would 88 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: make it a felony offense to sell fake maple syrup. 89 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,279 Speaker 1: So the stakes are actually pretty high. But the class 90 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: sounds fascinating. It covers the history of maple syrup production 91 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 1: and that spans from traditional methods to some of the 92 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: more cutting edge harvesting methods that are used today. And 93 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: students also get to take field trips to restaurants and 94 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: local syrup producers, and they even get to go to 95 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: a maple syrup festival. So but but the best part 96 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: of the best part of all of this is that 97 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: every student gets to create and eat their own maple syrup. 98 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: I mean, it does sound like a lot of fun. 99 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: And you know, I'm a total sucker for a good 100 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 1: course description. Like in college, I almost took organic chemistry 101 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 1: just because the class promised that um that you get 102 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: to make something that's the scent of pairs, like you 103 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: get to manufacture that in the lab. And and I'm 104 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: terrible at chemistry, but I like pairs. I love how 105 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,279 Speaker 1: you felt for that with organic chemistry, which is maybe 106 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:00,719 Speaker 1: like the hardest class or the we eat out class 107 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:03,839 Speaker 1: in college. But anyway, what did you learn about maple syrup? So? 108 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: You know, I couldn't resist looking up some more facts 109 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: about maple syrup. So here are a few facts from 110 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: my new favorite website, cottage Life. Yeah you want to 111 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: shut up about this one, I know. The first one 112 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 1: is that of the world's maple syrup actually comes from Canada. 113 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 1: So that surprises me. I mean, I feel like, you know, 114 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: you always hear about Vermont's maple syrup that I wouldn't 115 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: have guessed that that larger percentage came from I feel 116 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 1: like Vermont is always bragging about it, but Canadas, so 117 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 1: they're king. Yeah, I guess so and and and it 118 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 1: takes forty years for a tree to actually become ready 119 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: to tap. And then once it's ready, it takes about 120 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: forty liters of sap just to make one leader of syrup, 121 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: which is crazy. That is crazy. So I mean that's 122 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: a pretty serious long term investment to be able to 123 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: get anything. So you said, forty years before they can 124 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 1: get any syrup from this, which is which is why 125 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: class is a good idea, right Can you imagine just 126 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,039 Speaker 1: diving into the business without knowing about it. But back 127 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:54,039 Speaker 1: to the college classes. There are actually a ton of 128 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 1: classes out there that deal with the history of production 129 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: and of specific foods and drinks, and so for example, St. 130 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 1: Mary's College of California offers a course on the science 131 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: behind craft beer and brewing it. And Purdue University in 132 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,040 Speaker 1: Indiana has this wine appreciation class that helps students develop 133 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 1: their palates. All right, wait, so let me make this clear. 134 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,479 Speaker 1: So California has the beer class and the Midwest has 135 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: the wine appreciation class. I know, it almost seems backwards, right, 136 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:21,240 Speaker 1: but in fact, there are a lot of California schools 137 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 1: that offer courses on the business of wine making. But 138 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: produced class is purely about appreciating the wine. But for 139 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: all the listeners out there, like, it's only open to 140 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:31,679 Speaker 1: students who are twenty one or older. So for anyone 141 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: who's going to college there, they've got to pay their 142 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,600 Speaker 1: dues before getting the indulge into weekly wines and things. 143 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 1: Yeah that makes sense, alright, So the maple syrup classes 144 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,119 Speaker 1: a little lot, and the beer and wine classes would 145 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: definitely make your parents take a second look at your 146 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:44,599 Speaker 1: course load. But what would you say as the food 147 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: class that you found the most surprising? So Penn State's 148 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: College of Agricultural Studies has a course that's all about 149 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: ice cream making. Oh wow, all right, well, what's the 150 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: scoop on that? So the course is actually called I said, 151 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,599 Speaker 1: what's the scoop? Just making sure? The course is actually 152 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: called the ice Cream Short Course. And it's this seven 153 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: day long class that's open to industry professionals as well 154 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: as students. Basically, people come from all over the world 155 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: to take part in a bunch of workshops that teach 156 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: them about the different aspects of ice cream and you 157 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: know the technology used to make it. But the really 158 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: crazy thing is just how long the class has been 159 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: going on for. Hence State has been offering it every 160 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: January for the last six years. Oh wow, seriously, Yeah, 161 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: it's crazy. So, in fact, it's very likely the first 162 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:29,600 Speaker 1: continuing ed course ever offered in the US. It first 163 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: started back in two when the School of Agricultural held 164 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:36,440 Speaker 1: this uh dairy manufacturing class in the winter and this 165 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 1: is courting the school. This is when farm work is 166 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: least pressing and the boys can be spared. Is that 167 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 1: really what it says, the boys can be spared? That 168 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:47,679 Speaker 1: kind of sounds like an ad for like a group 169 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: that likes to go without underwear. They commando grew anyway, 170 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: So sorry. Ice cream making was was always part of 171 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 1: the curriculum, but by the Frozen treat became so popular 172 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: in the US that the course exclusively focused on ice cream. 173 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:04,640 Speaker 1: And so so you've got to figure in this time, 174 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 1: reps from every major ice cream place and started taking 175 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: the course. So you've got good humor. Baskin Robbins, Ample Hills, 176 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: Bluebell Hog and does. It's like a finishing course for 177 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: every ice cream maker in the country, even Ben and 178 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 1: Jerry's they learned their craft there. That's quite a crew 179 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: that's been there. Well, did you find any other food 180 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: classes that were kind of like that, you know, a 181 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:26,239 Speaker 1: bit more prestigious, but it still a little bit weird. Yeah, definitely. 182 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 1: But before we get to any of that, I've got 183 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: to share at least one more ice cream factor. So 184 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 1: did you know in nineteen seven, Fidel Castro was so 185 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 1: threatened by Baskin Robbins and the fact that America had 186 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: thirty one flavors of ice cream that he bragged that 187 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: Cuba was already producing twenty six flavors and they'd soon 188 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,599 Speaker 1: be producing for I love the ramp up that he 189 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:47,680 Speaker 1: didn't just say they had more, that they really were 190 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: working towards this goal. I know, if I understand why, 191 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:53,080 Speaker 1: like eleven more flavors makes Cuba like a superior society 192 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: is pretty intimidating. Hey, he said they were gonna put 193 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: America to shame. But back to your question, and this 194 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: one is maybe my favorite class of this whole food category. 195 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,559 Speaker 1: It's called gastro Diplomacy and it's offered at American University 196 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: in Washington, d C. It's this really neat course based 197 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:11,680 Speaker 1: around the idea that food can be used to help 198 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:15,559 Speaker 1: increase cultural understanding between countries. Oh wow, well that's pretty interesting. 199 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: I mean, especially when you consider that for a lot 200 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 1: of Americans, you know that the most personal interaction they'll 201 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 1: ever have with some foreign cultures really is through the 202 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,200 Speaker 1: cuisine they might try at their own home. Yeah, so, 203 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 1: Public Diplomacy Magazine which I mean, we were in the 204 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: magazine business with Metal Plus for fifteen years and I've 205 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 1: never heard of it, but now I'm totally hooked. They 206 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 1: did a study a few years back where they surveyed 207 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: a hundred forty people about eating other cultures cuisine, and 208 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: more than half the respondents said that eating a foreign 209 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,280 Speaker 1: country's food lead them to think more positively about that country. 210 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 1: So you know, it's true. The way to people's hearts, 211 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 1: it really is through their stomach. Well, I like that idea. 212 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:53,560 Speaker 1: And how exactly though, does this translate into a college class. Yeah, 213 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: I was curious about that too. But the students study 214 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 1: wars and conflicts, so they might look at the Vietnam War, 215 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: or Ethiopia Civil war are or the Soviet War in Afghanistan, 216 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 1: And then they actually take field trips to local ethnic restaurants, 217 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,240 Speaker 1: you know, so they can actually taste traditional meals from 218 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 1: these cultures and even get some face time with immigrants 219 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,079 Speaker 1: who prepare them. It's pretty awesome. And the instructor and 220 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,840 Speaker 1: Mendelssohn Foreman said, I've got this quote. The ideas for 221 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 1: students to hear from the cooks, from the owners of 222 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,679 Speaker 1: these places about how they see their cuisine as a 223 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: communication tool in their own communities. I think this one 224 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: might be my favorite too. That that's that's pretty cool, 225 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,840 Speaker 1: all right, Well, do you have any others in that category? No, 226 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: I think that covers it. Well, let's switch gears now 227 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: from a course that challenges students to look outward at 228 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:36,679 Speaker 1: the people they share the world with, too, one that 229 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 1: does the exact opposite. So I'm guessing you're talking about 230 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:42,199 Speaker 1: that selfie class you were telling me about earlier. Is 231 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 1: indeed that one? All right? So this course falls into 232 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 1: one of the broad categories I looked into, and that 233 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: these were classes that examine the use of social media 234 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:53,080 Speaker 1: and digital technologies. And the first one is commonly referred 235 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: to as the selfie class, but it's more formally known 236 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 1: as Writing and Critical Reasoning Identity and diversity, and it's 237 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 1: you know, it's part social studies, part writing workshop, and 238 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: one of the courses assignments challenges students to take five 239 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: selfies of themselves and then write an essay on how 240 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 1: the selfies produced or obscured a sense of their identities. 241 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 1: You know, it's a pretty thoughtful course actually, Like the 242 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 1: students are encouraged to consider every aspect of their pictures, 243 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: whether it's how they're posing their clothing, their facial expression, 244 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: the lighting and background, even the gaze and the camera angle, 245 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 1: and so actually here a few questions. The students were 246 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,480 Speaker 1: asked to think about what in your selfies is accurate? 247 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 1: What is obscured or ambiguous? Does the image portray one 248 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:41,239 Speaker 1: identity trait more than others? How is the viewer addressed 249 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: in the image? What is the apparent context of this image? 250 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,200 Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's so philosophical. Can you imagine if 251 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: Instagram or Snapchat made this the assignment that before you 252 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 1: hit the published button, that everyone has to write an 253 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,280 Speaker 1: essay exactly. I love it and and I also love 254 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: things that don't sound that smart on the service and 255 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: then end up being so much deeper, and taking selfies 256 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 1: is like perfect. It's like the simple act of vanity. 257 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 1: But but it's fun to think about what it actually 258 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,680 Speaker 1: says about ourselves, right, right, And it's a crazy phenomenon. 259 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:12,800 Speaker 1: So Google reports that more than twenty four billion selfies 260 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,600 Speaker 1: were uploaded in two thousand and fifteen, and that number 261 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: only seems to be growing every single year. So did 262 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:20,440 Speaker 1: you come across any other courses that do this, you know, 263 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:23,120 Speaker 1: look at some of our questionable digital habits. Well, there's 264 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: an interesting course at a pits or college called Learning 265 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:28,679 Speaker 1: from YouTube, and it was designed to evaluate what YouTube 266 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:30,680 Speaker 1: can teach us, you know, given that so many of 267 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:33,560 Speaker 1: its videos or someone educational and it's in their nature 268 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 1: and you know, how to videos or video essays about 269 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:40,520 Speaker 1: the philosophy of popular movies or TV shows. And one 270 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: of the weirdest things about it, though, is that all 271 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:45,560 Speaker 1: of the coursework was not only about YouTube, it was 272 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:49,080 Speaker 1: actually on YouTube. So the classes were all recorded and 273 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: posted on the site, and all the students essays were 274 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: done in the form of videos and the comments on 275 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:57,520 Speaker 1: those videos. That sounds super fun. Like when I was 276 00:12:57,520 --> 00:12:59,160 Speaker 1: in school, I always tried to do the project to 277 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:02,199 Speaker 1: get out of doing the right But is there an 278 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: advantage to that style of learning? Well maybe. Unsurprisingly, students 279 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,520 Speaker 1: determine that YouTube isn't all that great for learning, or 280 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: at least not in the big classroom way that we're 281 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: used to. It was. It was daunting for them to 282 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: have all their classes and homework on public display where 283 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,840 Speaker 1: commoners and trolls could ridicule them, and they basically concluded 284 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,520 Speaker 1: that YouTube can be a decent educational tool on an 285 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,960 Speaker 1: individual basis, but it's much less useful in a communal 286 00:13:25,960 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: setting and probably works best just as a means of entertainment. 287 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: That's fascinating. So I actually remember visiting one of my 288 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:34,200 Speaker 1: best friends who I thought was pretty handy, but then 289 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,600 Speaker 1: he suddenly put a whole new roof on his house 290 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,560 Speaker 1: by himself, and I asked her, like, how did you 291 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: do that? How do you know what to do? And 292 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: he said YouTube, he learned how to. I hope the 293 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 1: roof is still work. It was follow up on that, 294 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 1: but it's amazing all the information that's out there and 295 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 1: like all this step by step instruction, but also you know, 296 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: to know where YouTube's failings are really interesting to think 297 00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:58,920 Speaker 1: about it too. Did you find a new media classes 298 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:02,520 Speaker 1: that seemed, I don't know, a little more practical. Well, yeah, 299 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:06,079 Speaker 1: I mean there's stuff like there's one called smartphone photography 300 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: at Portland Community College, and I'm sure there are other 301 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 1: colleges that that teach this as well, and you know, 302 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,400 Speaker 1: basically teaches about the composition and lighting for the cameras 303 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 1: that we're all carrying around in our pockets. And and 304 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: I suppose that's useful at least the kind of skill. 305 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 1: And for me, you know, the most compelling course in 306 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 1: this category was definitely Kenneth Goldsmith's Wasting Time on the Internet. 307 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: And we actually have him here to talk with us today. 308 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:29,160 Speaker 1: What do you say we get him on the line. 309 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:33,760 Speaker 1: I love No, let's do it. Our guest today is 310 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:36,200 Speaker 1: a poet and in fact the first poet Laureate of 311 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: the Museum of Modern Art. He's an author of several books, 312 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,040 Speaker 1: but the one we're focused on today is called Wasting 313 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:44,320 Speaker 1: Time on the Internet, and it's based on a course 314 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: he's taught at the University of Pennsylvania. Kenneth Goldsmith, Welcome 315 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 1: to part time genius. I'm glad to be here. So, Kenneth, 316 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:53,600 Speaker 1: I was reading the first part of your of your 317 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 1: book Wasting Time on the Internet, and I saw that 318 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 1: you were talking about this tweet that you you put 319 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,440 Speaker 1: out in the Fall of tooth Ius and fourteen were 320 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 1: you announced this new course and the tweet said, my 321 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 1: class called Wasting Time on the Internet will be offered 322 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: at pen next semester. And apparently this tweet just kind 323 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: of blew up. Tell us what happened after you sent 324 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: this tweet out well, you know, I mostly got a 325 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: return tweet saying, you know, I've got a PhD in that. 326 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: You know, it kind of went slightly viral, and you 327 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: know the way things go on Twitter. I got a 328 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:32,040 Speaker 1: request from uh, the Washington Post for an interview, which 329 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: I gave UH and it was published shortly thereafter, and 330 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 1: then I think maybe another one for Vice. And I 331 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 1: didn't give too many other interviews about it. But what 332 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 1: starts to happen is that these UH news sources get 333 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 1: cannibalized by lesser fish and they go down the food chain. UH. 334 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:54,400 Speaker 1: And each time it's like a giant game of telephone. 335 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 1: My facts get more and more twisted. As a matter 336 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: of fact, a lot of people were simply cutting and 337 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: pasting what had been written before slapping a new headline 338 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: on it, changing the first sentence, and then posting it 339 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 1: as their own original content. Finally, at the end of 340 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 1: the chain of telephone, about a month later, evidently a 341 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 1: professor named Kevin Goldberg at Penn State was giving away 342 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: PhDs in wasting time on the Internet. That's pretty funny, 343 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 1: So would you tell us a little bit about the 344 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 1: class and what actually takes place in it? The promise 345 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: the classes. This fIF team people get together in a 346 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 1: room with all the technology that they can possibly muster, 347 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: and we waste time together. And that's the only thing 348 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,960 Speaker 1: that I require from the students. There's no papers being written, 349 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,240 Speaker 1: there's no nothing other than to actually be together in 350 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: this room, wasting time on the Internet together. And what 351 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 1: do you discover from that? I discovered the contrary to 352 00:16:55,120 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: the popular idea that technology separates us, in fact, when 353 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:03,680 Speaker 1: we put technology in the room with us as a group, 354 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:10,800 Speaker 1: technology tends to act as amplifiers of emotion and affect. Uh. 355 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 1: It becomes a hyper emotional space driven by technology. So 356 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 1: when we waste time on the Internet, we normally waste time, 357 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: you know, at a Starbucks or library, and we're alone 358 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,480 Speaker 1: and we're feeling lonely. But once you begin to put 359 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: those machines into a room with people who can actually 360 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,439 Speaker 1: talk to each other, some real magic happens. Now. I 361 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,199 Speaker 1: saw some of the assignments that you gave up made 362 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:37,439 Speaker 1: students a bit nervous at first. You know, one of 363 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: them was you know that they could um basically take 364 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,760 Speaker 1: the laptop of another class member and look up anything 365 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 1: that they wanted to on that person's computer. Any files, 366 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 1: any documents, anything like that, and then they passed the 367 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 1: laptop along to the next person and looked at another laptop. 368 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:57,360 Speaker 1: And whether it was that or another assignment, I think 369 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:00,240 Speaker 1: I saw was that the class together was us to 370 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:03,000 Speaker 1: start some sort of rumor and then spread that rumor. 371 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:06,520 Speaker 1: So with these sorts of assignments, which do sound really interesting, 372 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:08,679 Speaker 1: did did you ever run into any trouble that did 373 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,480 Speaker 1: ever get ugly? No, it never got really ugly, because basically, 374 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: what I have on my computer is pretty much what 375 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: you have on your computer. And it was kind of 376 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: like we, you know, we think all of this data 377 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,399 Speaker 1: is so precious, but in fact it is precious to 378 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 1: us um but in fact there's not much revelation. I 379 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,719 Speaker 1: remember when I tasked my computer around, no sort of 380 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:31,640 Speaker 1: what what came up. I made everybody leave the windows 381 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:33,639 Speaker 1: open that had that they had been open, so everybody 382 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: could see exactly what you would looked at. And you know, 383 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: my photos were open, and somebody went in for a 384 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:41,199 Speaker 1: bank statement, and you know, there were a couple of 385 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: searches for porn, and maybe somebody cracked in the book 386 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: of mine that was in progress. You know, first of all, 387 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,440 Speaker 1: there wasn't enough time to really dig down on it. 388 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,119 Speaker 1: And second of all, you weren't really allowed to alter, delete, 389 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 1: or share anything on that. You could just simply look. Now, 390 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,359 Speaker 1: I've done this in in in groups of up to 391 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:02,760 Speaker 1: four people, were four hundred people put their laptops out, 392 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 1: and all four hundred people, for twenty minutes could go 393 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: around and see what was on everybody else's computer. I 394 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:11,359 Speaker 1: mean it's really intimate. I mean, it's really it's a 395 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:16,359 Speaker 1: way of breaking down the you know, the kind of 396 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: social neurosis that does happen in a class. We all think, 397 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:25,399 Speaker 1: you know, everybody feels they're surprivate and so preserved. It 398 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 1: was really a way of sharing, almost like meat space 399 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:32,159 Speaker 1: social media over sharing, which is really fascinating. Um, I'm curious, 400 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 1: what's your hope for students takeaway from the class. Well, 401 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 1: I don't have any hope. It's not really it's not 402 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:42,439 Speaker 1: really achievement oriented. It's more immersive. I mean, it feels 403 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:44,920 Speaker 1: like a yoga session or something, you know, it feels 404 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:49,360 Speaker 1: like it feels like a psychotherapy encounter group. The digital 405 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: tide sweep us into these incredible emotional directions and we 406 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:55,159 Speaker 1: really can't tell where we're going and in the end 407 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 1: of the day, Um, it gets uncomfortable, but that's sort 408 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 1: of part of it because if it's on the internet, 409 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:03,600 Speaker 1: it's part of the class. Well, we can't wait to 410 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:06,800 Speaker 1: post this episode under the title Kenny Goldstone gives away 411 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 1: PhDs to everyone. But thanks was Kevin Goldberg at Penn State. 412 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:18,320 Speaker 1: Now this is our own headline. So, yeah, we really 413 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 1: appreciate your time. Thanks so much for joining us on 414 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius. You're listening to Part Time Genius and 415 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: we're talking about the weirdest things you can study at college. 416 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 1: Somno I mentioned before how YouTube has become a place 417 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 1: where armchair philosophers can think their way through the deeper 418 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: aspects of pop culture, and you know, then we checked 419 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:48,640 Speaker 1: out how this phenomenon is playing out in the classroom 420 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,160 Speaker 1: as well. So what are some of the strangest pop 421 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,399 Speaker 1: culture centric courses you found? Yeah, so their classes like 422 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 1: this for just about any movie or TV show or 423 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,400 Speaker 1: music act that you can think of, including at least 424 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:02,000 Speaker 1: four different ones in the world of Harry Potter. I mean, 425 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:04,360 Speaker 1: there was a symposium on Jersey Shore. But the one 426 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:06,239 Speaker 1: that really caught my eye is this class at UC 427 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,680 Speaker 1: Berkeley called arguing with Judge Judy popular logic on TV 428 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 1: Judge shows, there is no arguing with Judge Judy. But 429 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:15,360 Speaker 1: I think I do have a couple of older relatives 430 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:18,000 Speaker 1: who would probably ace this course. Yeah. So what I 431 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:19,960 Speaker 1: love is that the class doesn't take aim at Judge 432 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,399 Speaker 1: Judy herself, who is actually an important judge in New 433 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:25,640 Speaker 1: York City before she became this like sassy TV Justice. 434 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 1: But instead the class focuses on dissecting the illogical arguments 435 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 1: that the people use. So the example given in the 436 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:34,399 Speaker 1: course description is that when someone is asked did you 437 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: hit the plantiff, respondents will often say something like if 438 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,919 Speaker 1: I would have hit him, he'd be dead. You know 439 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:44,240 Speaker 1: that that's a kind of response that avoids answering yes 440 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,400 Speaker 1: or no and instead presents a perversion of standard logic. Yeah, 441 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: I mean those kinds of shows aren't exactly known for 442 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:52,720 Speaker 1: their strong legal defenses though. Yeah, that's true, But it 443 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,520 Speaker 1: also isn't billed as a class on law or legal reasoning. 444 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,200 Speaker 1: The aims really to discuss why these kind of logical 445 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,679 Speaker 1: fallacies are so widespread. And as a side note, do 446 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,159 Speaker 1: you remember that article matt Sonia Act did a mental class? 447 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,160 Speaker 1: I think it was titled what legal authority does Judge 448 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,600 Speaker 1: Judy actually have? Oh, I definitely remember that was one 449 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:12,000 Speaker 1: of my favorites. And and I remember being blown away. 450 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 1: He had mentioned how much Judge Judy reportedly makes and 451 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 1: it's something like forty six or forty seven million dollars 452 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,399 Speaker 1: every year. And this is all without really being in 453 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 1: a court room. It's crazy. None of those Judge shows 454 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:27,399 Speaker 1: take place in real courtrooms. And they aren't real trials either, right, No, 455 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:29,879 Speaker 1: but they're often based on real cases. And and the 456 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:32,119 Speaker 1: show approach the two sides about coming on TV and 457 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:35,680 Speaker 1: having Judge duty service the arbitrator. So the people signed 458 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:38,239 Speaker 1: contracts that bind them to whatever her decision is. But 459 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:42,080 Speaker 1: all that robe wearing and gattle pounding, that's that's complutely 460 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:44,480 Speaker 1: for show. Yeah, yeah, it's it's very bizarre. Well, how 461 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 1: about some pop culture classes that skeow a little younger 462 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,160 Speaker 1: in terms of audience? Did you, uh, do you find 463 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,679 Speaker 1: some weird ones there on? Maybe on modern music or something? 464 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,480 Speaker 1: So just about any popular artists from the last four 465 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:56,920 Speaker 1: years or so has at least one class devoted to them. 466 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:58,760 Speaker 1: I mean I was looking at I found things from 467 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 1: Abba to Frank's Appa. There's even this one class at 468 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: University of Missouri that looks at Jay Z and Kanye 469 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,360 Speaker 1: West and makes this argument that their polymats, since their 470 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 1: work mixes all this visual and performance, are into the wrap. 471 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:13,960 Speaker 1: But I mean, if you're looking for more controversial topics, 472 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:16,199 Speaker 1: one of the most popular and most divisive classes I 473 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:19,160 Speaker 1: came across was from Skidmore College. They have a class 474 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,600 Speaker 1: called Sociology of Miley Cyrus and the aim of the 475 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:26,360 Speaker 1: classes to examine deeper ideas about identity and the interplay 476 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:29,479 Speaker 1: among race and class and gender, all by looking at 477 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:32,119 Speaker 1: the performers music as well as her public image. And 478 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:34,800 Speaker 1: you said it was divisive, though I'm guessing people disagreed 479 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:37,399 Speaker 1: about I don't know the academic rigors of a class 480 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,159 Speaker 1: like this. Yeah, I mean, the college was kind of 481 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,639 Speaker 1: accused of green lighting the course is a way to 482 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: get more admissions numbers and and lure a certain type 483 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: of less serious student. But uh, but I don't believe that. 484 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:51,760 Speaker 1: And then the school totally refuted it, and places like 485 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,439 Speaker 1: Time Magazine came to the courses defense as well, Like 486 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,360 Speaker 1: they pointed out that classes that deal with primary sources 487 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,679 Speaker 1: are actually a cornerstone of good academic practice then, And 488 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,520 Speaker 1: just because Miley's impact is fairly new, it doesn't mean 489 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,120 Speaker 1: there isn't value in studying her. And I'm not sure 490 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 1: if you remember this, but we're coming up on the 491 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 1: tenth anniversary of Stephen Baldwin getting a hand um Montana tattoos. 492 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:14,480 Speaker 1: I don't I don't want to answer why I know that, 493 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,440 Speaker 1: but maybe it's the right time to be teaching this class. Exactly, 494 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 1: I got anything less polarizing, well, I mean, in a 495 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:25,080 Speaker 1: similar vein Rutgers has a course called Politicizing Beyonce, which 496 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:27,880 Speaker 1: is part of the Women's and Gender Studies Department at Rutgers, 497 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:29,959 Speaker 1: and and the idea is really to look at Beyonce 498 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,560 Speaker 1: as this asian of social change rather than just this 499 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:36,959 Speaker 1: successful performer. And according to lecture Kevin alread it quote 500 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 1: really ends up being a class much more about black 501 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:43,000 Speaker 1: feminism and the current political realities of black women as 502 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,399 Speaker 1: opposed to just being a class on Beyonce. But our 503 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,440 Speaker 1: music is a nice way for students to enter the discussion. So, 504 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 1: I mean it makes sense, right, like the music is 505 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 1: the hook, but the class also covers all these like 506 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:56,000 Speaker 1: black feminist authors like Alice Walker and bell hooks and stuff. 507 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 1: But it does seem like a great example of the 508 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,359 Speaker 1: strengths of some of these unusual course is. I mean, 509 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:04,119 Speaker 1: they do make for topical gateways and the conversations that 510 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 1: might otherwise seem daunting or maybe even irrelevant to these 511 00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:09,640 Speaker 1: new students. And if you think about it, we're used 512 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,000 Speaker 1: to seeing novels and plays used as jumping off points 513 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,320 Speaker 1: for educational inquiry. But like Keneth was saying earlier, our 514 00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:19,400 Speaker 1: current culture allows for so many ways of reading and 515 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 1: writing and expressing our thoughts, it makes sense to use 516 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,320 Speaker 1: those in the classroom, right. So so even though of 517 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:28,280 Speaker 1: courses like the Science of Superheroes that you see irvine 518 00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:30,840 Speaker 1: or what if Harry Potter is real? Which is this 519 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:34,280 Speaker 1: course that appellation state you, um, they sound frivolous at 520 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: first glance, but there's a case to be made for 521 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 1: using them as a way to like frame and investigate 522 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,440 Speaker 1: all these age old questions in a modern way well, 523 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,680 Speaker 1: and keeping students engaged has always been a challenge for educators. 524 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,439 Speaker 1: So while it wouldn't be smart to stop studying Shakespeare, 525 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: for instance, I don't think it's a bad idea to 526 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: look to newer stories and artists as well, so as 527 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 1: long as there's still some substance there beneath the pop 528 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:59,120 Speaker 1: culture trap. Well, speaking of substance, how about we break 529 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:08,160 Speaker 1: for a quiz. So, our guest today is a PhD 530 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 1: researcher and the Education Department at the University of Cambridge, 531 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:14,520 Speaker 1: and it's also a contributor to Lego and Philosophy, a 532 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,680 Speaker 1: really fun new book. Tyler Shore is welcome to Part 533 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:21,240 Speaker 1: Time Genius. Yeah, thanks for having me on. Honored to 534 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 1: be on the show with you guys. Well, Tyler, tell 535 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,320 Speaker 1: us a little bit about this new book, Lego and Philosophy, 536 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: and your your chapter in the book. Yeah, the So, 537 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:31,639 Speaker 1: the general premise of the book is that we know 538 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:36,359 Speaker 1: that Lego is the largest toy company in the world, 539 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:38,560 Speaker 1: and the idea is sort of like, oh, we wanted 540 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:42,280 Speaker 1: to use Lego as an example in my chapter. Specifically, 541 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:44,919 Speaker 1: I use the idea that you know, like, when we 542 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:46,800 Speaker 1: think about Legos, we can use it as a way 543 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:50,960 Speaker 1: to uh, Lego can be a helpful analogy for how 544 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: philosophical thinking complete us towards new connections between thoughts and ideas, 545 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:58,240 Speaker 1: And Lego and Philosophy invites us to question the idea 546 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:00,159 Speaker 1: of the nature of play. We can also think of 547 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,600 Speaker 1: Lego not just as a toy, but as a meetium 548 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: through which ideas can be expressed. And that's one of 549 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:06,640 Speaker 1: the things I talked about in the book. Speaking of 550 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:08,960 Speaker 1: of Lego. I saw in the news recently there's now 551 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:11,920 Speaker 1: a professor of play at the University of Cambridge. Is 552 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:15,160 Speaker 1: that right there? Is? It's it's the world's first Lego 553 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:19,920 Speaker 1: professor And um, yeah, it's uh because it is through 554 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:23,320 Speaker 1: the Education department. We Uh, one of the things that 555 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:26,960 Speaker 1: we study is the idea of play and playfulness and uh, 556 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 1: there are Legos in our departments that were allowed to 557 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,680 Speaker 1: play with two And the idea is that he'll be starting, 558 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:34,800 Speaker 1: Paul will be starting in January and he'll take up 559 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 1: the position. It's kind of like the Lego Research Center 560 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:42,040 Speaker 1: here at Cambridge. That's that's very awesome. This is totally different. 561 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:44,919 Speaker 1: But I was curious, you know, as Lego creates more 562 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,399 Speaker 1: and more of these sets that are specific for kids, like, 563 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:49,919 Speaker 1: do you still see that open endedness with Lego and 564 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: does that plan to your philosophy at all a little bit? Um, 565 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:56,040 Speaker 1: do you talk about that, because that's been a big 566 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:57,880 Speaker 1: thing at least since like I was a kider we 567 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:00,879 Speaker 1: were kids. Um this idea that like originally there were 568 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 1: a lot more builder sets right where it was kind 569 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,719 Speaker 1: of like the big box of bricks and you just 570 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:08,680 Speaker 1: sort of like free builds and these sort of things. 571 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,280 Speaker 1: So it's kind of fin as ship, especially because like 572 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:15,160 Speaker 1: it has become this sort of like trans media empire 573 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: where it's connected with all these different corporate and entertainment franchises. 574 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,080 Speaker 1: It has like move towards the kind of like that 575 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:26,520 Speaker 1: sort of thing. And I think it's not necessarily it's 576 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,520 Speaker 1: not that one type of play is like better or worse. 577 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:32,160 Speaker 1: I think it's a different sort of imagination driven building 578 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:36,159 Speaker 1: versus more like storytelling and narrative play that sends to 579 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 1: happen with the playsets. All right, well, we know that 580 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: you're used to giving test to your students, but we're 581 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 1: going to flip this one on you, and we're going 582 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:44,479 Speaker 1: to put you to the test. Mango, what game are 583 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 1: we playing with Tyler today? It's a little game called 584 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,840 Speaker 1: is that really a scholarship? Okay, so this is a 585 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:53,000 Speaker 1: super simple idea. We'll give you a scholarship name and 586 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,800 Speaker 1: a quick description, and you tell us whether it's real 587 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:58,880 Speaker 1: or something. We made up. You ready to play Tyler? 588 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 1: All right? Okay, we got five of these for you. 589 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:08,560 Speaker 1: Number one the National Marvel Scholarship, since Marble shooters or 590 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 1: mibsters as they're called, have competed for up to two 591 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 1: thousand dollars in scholarship money and the chance to be 592 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: king or Queen of Marvel's real or something we made up. Yeah, 593 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:24,719 Speaker 1: he's right, all right. One for one. Number two the 594 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:28,520 Speaker 1: Grape of Code Grapest Thing since Sliced Bread Scholarship. If 595 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 1: you can convince the judges why you're the grapest, you 596 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,320 Speaker 1: could walk away with one thousand dollars and a mini 597 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:38,240 Speaker 1: fridge full of the beloved grape Soda reel or something 598 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:42,680 Speaker 1: we made up. That's tricky, they're getting into unknown territory 599 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 1: because I've never heard of that. It is a delicious soda, 600 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: but it's something we've made up. Delicious. This is soda 601 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:55,200 Speaker 1: popular in the South. I introduced it to Mango and 602 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,080 Speaker 1: he described it his tasting like carbonated diamond. Tap right, 603 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:01,520 Speaker 1: and a good one. Alright. So these two for two 604 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: Number three Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship just convinced the panel that 605 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:09,480 Speaker 1: you have the best plan for surviving when zombies take 606 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:11,760 Speaker 1: over your school and you could walk away with a 607 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:15,120 Speaker 1: cool two thousand dollars reel or something we made up. 608 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:19,480 Speaker 1: If that isn't a real thing, it really should be 609 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,640 Speaker 1: a thing. I'm gonna say yes. I'm gonna say yeah. 610 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:26,400 Speaker 1: Scholarship three for three, it's amazing. Oh wow, Okay, here 611 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:30,160 Speaker 1: we go, all right. Number four, The Alice McCarver Ratford Scholarship. 612 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:34,040 Speaker 1: This special scholarship goes to unattached female undergrads who live 613 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 1: on campus, don't have a car, and haven't gotten any 614 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:42,520 Speaker 1: other scholarships. Reel or something we made up. It's awfully 615 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:48,800 Speaker 1: big scholarship. Um, I'm oh, he's finally missed one. I 616 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,720 Speaker 1: thought he was too smart for us. It is reel 617 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:55,760 Speaker 1: and it goes exclusively to women enrolled at UNC Greensboro. Okay, 618 00:30:55,800 --> 00:31:00,000 Speaker 1: all right, last one here, the Tall Club International scholar 619 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 1: Our Ship. This scholarship serves the financial needs of exceptionally 620 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:07,360 Speaker 1: tall people real or something we made up. That sounds real. 621 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:11,640 Speaker 1: I'm gonna say real, all right. Yeah. The minimum height 622 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,560 Speaker 1: requirement is five ten for women and six two for men. 623 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,280 Speaker 1: That's terrific. All right, So how did Tyler do today? Yeah? 624 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,080 Speaker 1: So Tyler one an amazing four for five, and while 625 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:21,680 Speaker 1: we can't give him the sort of cash that's thrown 626 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:24,720 Speaker 1: out by the Michigan Lama Association or the Spurious Club, 627 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:27,520 Speaker 1: we can send a madonnut key chain, which is almost 628 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:30,640 Speaker 1: as good. Yeah, that is almost as good. We congratulations Tyler, 629 00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:33,440 Speaker 1: and thanks so much for joining us on part time genius. Awesome. 630 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:48,440 Speaker 1: That's going on my Twitter when I get it. Okay, 631 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:51,000 Speaker 1: so we've gone back and forth on food classes, new 632 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:54,320 Speaker 1: media classes, and pop culture courses, and now it's time 633 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:58,360 Speaker 1: to tackle everything else. I don't know about you, but 634 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 1: I came across the like a whole bunch of weird 635 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,080 Speaker 1: college courses that didn't really fit into any sort of category. Yeah. 636 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:06,760 Speaker 1: I definitely came across some really really odd one So 637 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,320 Speaker 1: I'm game for this. I'll start us off with one 638 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:13,960 Speaker 1: called Dinosaurs and Other Failures. I love that title. It's 639 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,320 Speaker 1: a course offered at the University of Michigan, and according 640 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:19,880 Speaker 1: to the description, this Earth and Environmental Studies course quote 641 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:22,960 Speaker 1: looks at the fossil record and the ecological issues of 642 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 1: diversification and extinction of the ruling reptiles. And it's pretty fun, right, No, 643 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,280 Speaker 1: and legit So here's a course that takes a much 644 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:34,400 Speaker 1: friendlier approach to animals, pet apparel, fashion and design. And 645 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:36,040 Speaker 1: so it's taught at f i T, which is the 646 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:38,840 Speaker 1: Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. And the course 647 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:41,600 Speaker 1: description touts that, you know, I'm going to quote it, 648 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:46,120 Speaker 1: from bulldogs to American bob Tales, pets are strutting designer stuff, 649 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:48,800 Speaker 1: and owners are vying for best Dressed awards for their 650 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:52,960 Speaker 1: four legged family members. This hands on workshop starts with 651 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,360 Speaker 1: an introduction to body forms, functional needs, and a seasonal 652 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:59,640 Speaker 1: fabric guide. Ease of dressing and safety tips are considered 653 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:03,200 Speaker 1: in really two T shirts, winter coats, and cochure ensembles. 654 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:08,200 Speaker 1: That's actually you remember those leather red track suits that 655 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:12,120 Speaker 1: the fashion designers made for chickens Lava. I love those 656 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:13,800 Speaker 1: so much. I feel like they made all the chickens 657 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:16,640 Speaker 1: look like Eddie Murphy and delirious. That's a good point. 658 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:18,720 Speaker 1: I didn't think about that all right. Well, I'm gonna 659 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:20,920 Speaker 1: shift gears to to a bunch of classes devoted to 660 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:23,880 Speaker 1: some pretty basic activities. Now, these are things that you'd 661 00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:28,240 Speaker 1: really think need no explanation, much less an entire college core. So, 662 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:31,400 Speaker 1: for example, Center College and Daniel Kentucky has a class 663 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:34,680 Speaker 1: called the Art of Walking, and it encourages students to 664 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:38,640 Speaker 1: quote stop focusing on constantly doing and concentrate more on 665 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:42,120 Speaker 1: simply experiencing, which I mean, I guess that's a little 666 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:44,120 Speaker 1: of what the basket weaving guy was saying in the beginning, 667 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:46,880 Speaker 1: but I know this is different. But but this is 668 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,880 Speaker 1: indie video game company in New York called Baby Castles, 669 00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:52,760 Speaker 1: and they only make art video games. And one of 670 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:55,000 Speaker 1: them was like all these levers and things that you 671 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:57,360 Speaker 1: have to pull just to get a person to walk. 672 00:33:57,520 --> 00:33:59,080 Speaker 1: I mean like they're like hundreds of these things, and 673 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:01,560 Speaker 1: it's nearly well, just to get your character to take 674 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:04,160 Speaker 1: a few steps forward. But the whole idea is to 675 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,760 Speaker 1: understand and appreciate, like just how incredible your body mechanics 676 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:09,839 Speaker 1: are and everything it takes to get you to move, 677 00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:12,560 Speaker 1: which is pretty cool. All right, Well, here's another life 678 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:13,960 Speaker 1: skill that you might not think you need to go 679 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:18,040 Speaker 1: to college for. Cornell University has a class called tree climbing, 680 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:20,800 Speaker 1: and it's a course that teaches students, you'll be surprised 681 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:23,279 Speaker 1: by this, how to climb any tree and even how 682 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:26,120 Speaker 1: to move from tree to tree without returning to the ground. 683 00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:29,080 Speaker 1: That's the that's only offered in the spring, during the 684 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:32,719 Speaker 1: peak tree climbing season. It says, I love that, like, 685 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:34,600 Speaker 1: just in case you're tired of the ground, you don't 686 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,400 Speaker 1: want to return, right. So I came across one of 687 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:40,280 Speaker 1: these basic activities classes too, and this one's from Princeton. 688 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:43,920 Speaker 1: It's a freshman seminar called getting Dressed. Oh give me 689 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:46,680 Speaker 1: a break. I mean, that's what I thought, too, But 690 00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:49,840 Speaker 1: after reading the instructor's course description, it does seem like 691 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:52,560 Speaker 1: there's a little more to it than just tree climbing. 692 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:55,680 Speaker 1: Apparently it's meant to be an examination of social significance 693 00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:59,000 Speaker 1: of clothing and the relationship between clothing and identity. And 694 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:01,920 Speaker 1: in America, you know, these course names are meant to 695 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:04,480 Speaker 1: hook people's interests. But but some of them do seem 696 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:06,480 Speaker 1: to be a disservice to the actual content if you 697 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:08,239 Speaker 1: look at them. Yeah, tell me about it. So I 698 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:12,040 Speaker 1: found a course on at Occidental College. It's it's just 699 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:16,799 Speaker 1: called stupidity, which sounds great. But then in the course 700 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:21,200 Speaker 1: catalog gets described as quote a philosophical examination of the 701 00:35:21,239 --> 00:35:24,720 Speaker 1: operations and technologies that we conduct in order to render 702 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:29,880 Speaker 1: ourselves uncomprehending, uncomprehending, I'm not sure quite follow us. So 703 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,440 Speaker 1: it's basically a class about how stupidity is distinct from ignorance, 704 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:36,400 Speaker 1: and it uses all these heavy readings from like Nietzsche 705 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:40,000 Speaker 1: and and whatever. But so so there's nothing stupid about it. 706 00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:43,040 Speaker 1: But if I signed up, I'd be so upset that 707 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:46,120 Speaker 1: we weren't just watching like dumb and dumber or exactly. 708 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:49,680 Speaker 1: That's great, start our own class with that, all right. Well, 709 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:52,360 Speaker 1: probably my favorite course, whose name isn't doing it any favor, 710 00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:57,799 Speaker 1: is called Oh look a chicken. Wait, so that's really 711 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:00,480 Speaker 1: the name? Yeah, yeah, And actually that's kind of a point. So, 712 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,319 Speaker 1: just like with stupidity or getting dressed, this is one 713 00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:06,080 Speaker 1: of those offbeat classes that really only makes sense once 714 00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:08,879 Speaker 1: you read the course description. And this one's a real jim, 715 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:10,520 Speaker 1: so I'll just go ahead and read it. It says, 716 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:13,719 Speaker 1: oh look a chicken will pursue ways of knowing through 717 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:16,879 Speaker 1: embracing what it means to be a distracted I could 718 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,520 Speaker 1: sure enjoy a peanut butter sandwich right now, learner, as 719 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:20,719 Speaker 1: well as Oh my god, I get to go to 720 00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:23,359 Speaker 1: the beach this summer. Developing awareness, I need to trim 721 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:26,359 Speaker 1: my fingernails of one sentence. So you get the idea here. 722 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:29,319 Speaker 1: I mean, I'm not even sure what the what you 723 00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:31,640 Speaker 1: get with it from the description while I read an 724 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:34,680 Speaker 1: interview with the courses instructor. This is at Belmont University, 725 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:37,440 Speaker 1: and it seems to be about how distracted we are 726 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:40,160 Speaker 1: as a culture and about the ways of dealing with that, 727 00:36:40,239 --> 00:36:43,319 Speaker 1: including knowing when to embrace the distractions and you know, 728 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:45,080 Speaker 1: how to push them aside so we can get back 729 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:49,040 Speaker 1: to whatever it was we were doing in the first place. Well, 730 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:50,719 Speaker 1: I mean to tell you the truth, I was only 731 00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:52,600 Speaker 1: half listening because I'm thinking about all the weird stuff 732 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:55,160 Speaker 1: I've got to prepare for today's back. All right, Well 733 00:36:55,200 --> 00:37:07,480 Speaker 1: let's see what you got. M So you know what 734 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:10,040 Speaker 1: all the crazies is happening in the world today, I 735 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:12,440 Speaker 1: might want to take this course from Michigan State. It's 736 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:16,840 Speaker 1: called Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse. And uh, the subtitle 737 00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:21,160 Speaker 1: is Disasters, Catastrophes and Human Behavior. That's pretty heavy. Yeah, 738 00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:23,319 Speaker 1: it sounds terrific because it's it's actually this look at 739 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:26,840 Speaker 1: how humans behave during disaster times. And as the course 740 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:30,880 Speaker 1: catalog explains, quote, students and survival groups will face multiple 741 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,200 Speaker 1: challenges and tasks as they attempt to survive the catastrophic event, 742 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:37,920 Speaker 1: escape debt, and preserve the future of civilization. For the 743 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:41,319 Speaker 1: ability to survive ultimately rests not with individual but with 744 00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:43,600 Speaker 1: the group. So that does sound pretty interesting, But I 745 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:45,680 Speaker 1: have to admit I'm surprised you didn't start with a 746 00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:48,279 Speaker 1: class that seems to be made for you. It's an 747 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:52,080 Speaker 1: Overlin College and it's just called Calvin and Hahabs. Here's 748 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:55,000 Speaker 1: what the description reads. It says, modern cartoonists consider Calvin 749 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:57,960 Speaker 1: and Hobbs to be incredibly influential, and any fan will 750 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 1: attest to its quality and reliability. But what makes it 751 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,879 Speaker 1: such a great strip? I think you could answer that. 752 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:06,919 Speaker 1: I know, and I'm totally envious of anyone who gets 753 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:09,279 Speaker 1: to take that class and just read Calvin Halls. But 754 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:12,839 Speaker 1: here here's another one that's fascinating from Overlin. It's called 755 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:16,080 Speaker 1: how to Win a Beauty Pageant, Race, Gender, Culture, and 756 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:19,440 Speaker 1: US Identity. And according to the course description, you actually 757 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:21,560 Speaker 1: get to take a field trip to a pageant in Ohio. 758 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:24,480 Speaker 1: I love that includes the field trip. Actually, this episode 759 00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:26,040 Speaker 1: is maybe you can done to just turn into this 760 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:29,399 Speaker 1: ad for Overlin because I have yet one more from there. 761 00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:33,800 Speaker 1: It's called Magic, Witchcraft and Religion from Stonehenge to Harry Potter, 762 00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:36,799 Speaker 1: and it's taught in London. So the quote from the 763 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:40,600 Speaker 1: course catalog is through readings, discussions, site visits and materials 764 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:43,359 Speaker 1: from the British Museum and elsewhere, the course will move 765 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:46,399 Speaker 1: through six major periods, from Stonehenge and the Druids to 766 00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:51,160 Speaker 1: Tolkien and Harry Potter field trips require that's awesome. I 767 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:53,440 Speaker 1: feel like Overland's turning in that like that school that 768 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:56,080 Speaker 1: everyone's dad says, I'm not paying fifty thousand a year 769 00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:58,200 Speaker 1: for you to learn about beauty pageants and Harry Potter 770 00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:01,080 Speaker 1: actually can't wait to be you that out a few years. 771 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,440 Speaker 1: Well before you start worrying, then maybe we chose the 772 00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:06,080 Speaker 1: wrong school. I want to let you know that you 773 00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:08,680 Speaker 1: should be proud of our alma mater because it offers 774 00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:11,800 Speaker 1: a course called California. Here we come the o C 775 00:39:12,080 --> 00:39:15,920 Speaker 1: and self aware culture of twenty one century America. And 776 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:18,600 Speaker 1: actually Time magazine defended this one too. They wrote, the 777 00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:21,800 Speaker 1: course was this exploration of the hyper self awareness unique 778 00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:24,080 Speaker 1: to the Oh wow, I can't decide if I want 779 00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:26,880 Speaker 1: to cheer bury my head in the sands. But for 780 00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:30,280 Speaker 1: the purposes of this episode, I think you've redeemed our university. 781 00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:31,880 Speaker 1: So even though I was going to counter with a 782 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:36,200 Speaker 1: fact about a tough class called demystifying the Hipsture, I'm 783 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:38,799 Speaker 1: gonna give you this week's trophy and I will take it. 784 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:41,200 Speaker 1: And uh and and listeners, don't forget to send us 785 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:43,320 Speaker 1: the name of your weirdest college class you took or 786 00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:45,680 Speaker 1: heard about. We can't wait to choose the top three 787 00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:47,759 Speaker 1: and you can send those to part Time Genius at 788 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:49,920 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com, or you can call our 789 00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:53,560 Speaker 1: fact plotline one, eight or four pt genius. So thanks 790 00:39:53,600 --> 00:40:09,240 Speaker 1: so much for listening to Yeah, thanks again for listening. 791 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:11,600 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius is a production of How Stuff Works 792 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:14,200 Speaker 1: and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant people who do 793 00:40:14,239 --> 00:40:17,200 Speaker 1: the important things we couldn't even begin to understand. CHRISTA 794 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:19,919 Speaker 1: McNeil does the editing thing. Noel Brown made the theme 795 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:23,000 Speaker 1: song and does the MIXI mixy sounding. Jerry Rowland does 796 00:40:23,040 --> 00:40:26,279 Speaker 1: the exact producer thing. Gaveluesier is our lead researcher, with 797 00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:29,479 Speaker 1: support from the research Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown 798 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:31,640 Speaker 1: and Lucas Adams and Eve Jeff Cook gets the show 799 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:33,840 Speaker 1: to your ears. Good job, Eves. If you like what 800 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:35,920 Speaker 1: you heard, we hope you'll subscribe. And if you really 801 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:37,719 Speaker 1: really like what you've heard, maybe you could leave a 802 00:40:37,719 --> 00:40:40,000 Speaker 1: good review for us. Do we do we forget Jason? 803 00:40:40,360 --> 00:40:40,959 Speaker 1: Jason who