Most useless and time consuming course work

[Kanamori]

So what has been your most useless project or big assignment for your courses?

Mine is very clear in my mind.

For Landscapes of Literature -- just look at the name! -- I had to spend two sessions in the Natural History Musuem totalling up to twelve hours looking at exhibits and taking notes to answer one hundred odd questions about the Caledonian Orogeny, various Silurian would-be-Shropshire-dwelling ammonites (what type of limestones do they form, eh?), and reliable index-fossils. Ten pages typed in single spacing, and nearly twenty hours wasted.

[Kongamato]

Most recently, it has been the Improved Euler and Runge-Kutta numerical methods for solving differential equations. MS Excel is a must for multiple iterations.

[Reverend Joe]

The vast majority of my work in junior high and high school counted as useless and time-consuming; I don't even remember what topped all the other horrible things I had to do, because my mind has blocked out about 99% of my public school memories in a desperate gambit to save my sanity. And the risk of uncovering those memories is exactly why I can never drop acid, or eat mescaline. I shall never hear Hendrix the way he was intended, and it is all because of busy work.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

For Landscapes of Literature -- just look at the name! -- I had to spend two sessions in the Natural History Musuem totalling up to twelve hours looking at exhibits and taking notes to answer one hundred odd questions about the Caledonian Orogeny, various Silurian would-be-Shropshire-dwelling ammonites (what type of limestones do they form, eh?), and reliable index-fossils.

Are you doing some kind of weird Paleontology & English Literature Duel honours or something like that? That's a fairly freaky assignment.

When were you last in the museum? I was interviewing for Imperial today and popped into the NHM while I was there, I might have just missed you.

[discovery1]

Most recently, it has been the Improved Euler and Runge-Kutta numerical methods for solving differential equations. MS Excel is a must for multiple iterations.

Matlab+iode is the answer, none of this Excel. And Mathmatica.


Hmmm, in recent memory it would have to be some debate piece done for Modern Latin American history. Something about cultural influence of the US on latin America. Pity all I could find were a bunch of acedotes. Some people voulenteered to debate it in class. They hardly touched culture.......

[Kanamori]

Are you doing some kind of weird Paleontology & English Literature Duel honours or something like that? That's a fairly freaky assignment.

When were you last in the museum? I was interviewing for Imperial today and popped into the NHM while I was there, I might have just missed you.

Geology and English Lit... It is by far the worst class I've ever taken, and probably the worst honors class ever offered; it had potential and was ruined.

I was there this Tuesday. It is quite nice when you don't have to write pointless notes in a hurry. I assume that the interview went well, no? My favorite is still the British Museum though, everyone who goes to London should stop in it for a bit and go to the library in it.

[doc_bean]

Matlab+iode is the answer, none of this Excel. And Mathmatica.

I was wondering why he didn't just use matlab too...

We once had a group assignment that counted for an entire course where we had to build a robot to compete in a competition. We barely knew the basics of electronics, sensor technology or vehicle mechanics. Worst of all, our ordered parts arrived a few months too late (the course only lasted about 10 weeks) so we had to pull a few all nighters to get it done. I also managed to burn up a $250 component...

Worst of all, when we were finished and it worked relatively good (the only problem was that our current battery weighed to much) they decided not to let us enter...

But all but one of us passed

[Kongamato]

I did the work at home and I don't have matlab or mathematica at home. Excuse me for being a troglodyte.

[Duke Malcolm]

The entirety of the Higher Physics course. Nothing that wasn't in the data book of equations was asked, except for a couple of little questions...

[Geoffrey S]

Literatuurdossier. Basically a dossier of read literature over the last few years, and is a prerequisite for Dutch exams. It doesn't count for a grade as such, it just has to be handed in and contain the necessary information. Stupid thing is, while it's supposed to be worked on over the last few years I started the typing four days before it had to be handed in (I had read the books). Damned 126 pages cost me quite a bit of sleep the last few days, but it's done now.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Most recently, it has been the Improved Euler and Runge-Kutta numerical methods for solving differential equations. MS Excel is a must for multiple iterations.

Ahhh I had to do that too. I just wrote a program that printed out all the work and the answer for me

[Mount Suribachi]

Oh this ones easy. When I was doing my Chemistry degree, for some inexplicable reason they made us do a course on the archaic computer language known as FORTRAN77. The 77 stood for the year it was invented, I did the course in 1993!!

Did I mention that the course was taught by a Chinese lecturer who barely spoke a word of English who regularly made mistakes with what she was writing on the blackboard - so much so that students in the class with computer knowledge would get up, take the chalk off her and correct her mistakes.

In case you don't know, FORTRAN stands for F*&^ Off Right Tedious Rancid And Naff 69+8

That course is 30 hours of my life that I will never get back

[Dutch_guy]

Literatuurdossier. Basically a dossier of read literature over the last few years, and is a prerequisite for Dutch exams. It doesn't count for a grade as such, it just has to be handed in and contain the necessary information. Stupid thing is, while it's supposed to be worked on over the last few years I started the typing four days before it had to be handed in (I had read the books). Damned 126 pages cost me quite a bit of sleep the last few days, but it's done now.

Will be starting that some time soon, the reading part that is...

Though thanks for the warning, I won't be starting 4 days before handing it in, well at least I'll try

[Cowhead418]

Everything I've ever had to do in my French classes. Five years of French that I will never get back. I can't wait until the end of next year when I won't have to take French anymore. I won't want to use the language ever again. All I keep asking myself is: Why didn't I take Spanish?

[Geoffrey S]

Will be starting that some time soon, the reading part that is...

Though thanks for the warning, I won't be starting 4 days before handing it in, well at least I'll try

Good luck! Give a shout if you need ideas for books to read or summaries. I'd definitely recommend Het Behouden Huis (WF Hermans) and De Zwaardvis (Hugo Claus), both short books that are entertaining to read.

How many do you have to read? We had to do fourteen at the CGU, including three from before 1900 and a poetry book, but I think it's different for other schools.

[Dutch_guy]

We haven't been told how many books we need to read, but no doubt it'll be more than I can handle

Good luck! Give a shout if you need ideas for books to read or summaries.

Thanks a lot for the offer, I'll definitely keep it in mind !

[ah_dut]

Statistics without a doubt...anything to do with statistics is a nightmare and it isn't even that complicated dammit

[Togakure]

85% of the coursework required for my degree. Most of it was pretty useless once I employed professionally in the IT field. I learned the great majority of useful knowledge and skills on the job, doing and doing again, and being mentored by experienced developers. I suppose some of the college theory and programming was useful to an extent, but definitely not worth the cost in time and money. Pity that so much emphasis is placed on a damn degree ... . Many of those who are utterly worthless on the job (where I've been) sport advanced degrees--what's up with that?

[Fragony]

Had to fly to London for an completily useless course, and I despise big cities. It was very easy but tiring because of the travel.

[Ianofsmeg16]

French Courswork...nuff said really

[BelgradeWar]

for me, being a law student, everything remotely related to pshysics, chemistry and every form of somewhat advanced maths. I did like biology, though.

[BDC]

My biology coursework sucked. 6 hours on an exposed ridge in the driving rain for a bunch of results which proved nothing. Half of them were irrelevant anyway. That's where I learnt to ignore what anyone with an ecology degree says.

[The_Doctor]

My biology coursework sucked. 6 hours on an exposed ridge in the driving rain for a bunch of results which proved nothing. Half of them were irrelevant anyway. That's where I learnt to ignore what anyone with an ecology degree says.

Did you have to count seaweed?

We had to do that in North Wales.

We saw more Americas then Welsh people and seaweed combine.

[BDC]

No, I counted Plantains. Not the banana things, the little weeds.

Everyone else did stuff in the valley too, where it was sheltered and warm.

Missed bonfire night as well!

[John86]

Chemistry,
Useless, Time consuming, and im currently failing. My past two quiz grades were a 35, and a 37 (Out of a 100). I think Chem takes home the gold.