Learning

I just took a survey for seniors about to graduate from BYU. The final question, or one of the final questions, asked for me to describe an experience at BYU that significantly affected how I think about learning. I chose the lab I did last month for my geology class which involved drawing a few lines and coloring, and then counting up sections in which I'd colored both yellow and red. It was a total waste of time, but it got me thinking about how little I've learned in so many classes compared to what I could have learned. I think it comes down to the fact that learning in a university setting is often motivated only by the desire to fulfill a requirement - get a good grade on a lab and in a class, graduate, get into grad/med school, or get a good job. I'm afraid that more often than not, that's why we do assignments and why we go to school. So in the survey I described this and said that if I were to create a university, its mode of operation would be fundamentally different than that of BYU. And that more learning would take place. I'm pretty sure this is true.

I'm not sure that this is exactly the kind of response they had in mind. I hope it is.

I also hope that they give out free hot dogs to encourage me to donate to BYU.

My trip to UC Davis

So it seemed like it might be in order for me to give some sort of report or summary of my trip to the University of California at Davis, from which I returned late Tuesday night. In case anyone's curious, and hasn't heard my report yet. For that reason I began this post, but I've changed my mind, and will instead discuss my trip to Smith's last night. This wasn't a particularly interesting trip, but it's what came to mind.

Here are two things that occurred at Smith's: 1. I went to buy salsa, and decided I didn't want the Pace Picante Sauce, even if it was on sale. Nor did I want Kroger Picante Sauce, which was on an even better sale. Instead I bought the Pace Tequila Lime salsa which was maybe on sale. Maybe not. But it sounded more delicious at the time. 2. I saw some canned beverages in the Foreign Foods aisle, and remembered that Greg was raving about a lightly carbonated all juice canned beverage earlier that evening. I decided to look for such a beverage in order to purchase it. Later, as I was walking through the store, I saw the chilled beverages aisle, which I think mainly includes beer, hard lemonade, and the like. I decided the drink I had in mind probably would instead be with the soft drinks. Then I forgot about it, and didn't buy it. I did see Chili flavored Lindt chocolate at a fantastic Fresh Values price, which I did purchase.

The chocolate might technically be a third thing, because it wasn't really conected to the drink in any way.