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PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   2983 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 29, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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High school teachers say most essays are now written with AI

They should also be banned with the Geneva convention. Making students write essays is probably the most wasteful way to use a functioning brains.

Why? Writing essays is the most directly applicable skill I learned in school, moreso than AP Computer Science (java) - and I'm a backend java dev. Concise, precise communication is a critical skill. Design docs are super important. (At least to the promotion committee.)

That said, I'd love if we make the essays be on more useful/interesting/self-selected topics, have more persuasive/technical writing, etc.

That clip from step by step perfectly illustrates my opinion on what essays usually degrade to https://youtube.com/watch?v=l9RPNH7YhtU

And don't get me started on Java. My opinion of the language and the ecosystem is not as high as the one about the essays.

University students should all learn:

  • How to write an email to dispute a claim including supporting evidence
  • How to write an email summarizing action items from a meeting
  • How to write readable, unambiguous instructions for performing some technical process
  • How to write a well-formed request when asking for help

because even senior managers and execs all seem incapable of doing some or all of these.

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