3/19    81 people failed the CS162 midterm. 58 got Cs & Ds. (class of 205)
        Please say a prayer for the dearly departed. I think we have a new
        twist to the "Harvey gives As" theory.
        \_ Stop complaining. I had Harvey for 162 one and half years ago,
           he used exactly the same grading policy. You shouldn't worry
           that much about getting Cs and Ds since his exam have so few
           points, which one point means losing many percentages. But it
           won't hurt your grade that much since he grade by points, not
           percentage.
           \_ How did you do in English 1a?
        \_ BRIAN HARVEY IS PART OF THE WEST SIDE CONNECTION
        \_ Come to office hours.  -dpetrou
        \_ 205 people in upper division CS class?  What the fuck is going on
           here?
         \_ Even worse - 205 people in a class with only 12 computers
            for people to work on their projects.  Anyone still think
            this "hack on a live kernel" is a better idea than nachos?
          \_ (1) The number of lab machines was not known
          before the FreeBSD decision was made.
           \_ That was completely irresponsible then.
              Even worse was letting everyone add after
              bh found out how few machines there were.
             (2) It has not been a major problem anyway.
           \_ Bullshit.
           \_ If it's not a problem, why do you need more?
             (3) Half of the Solaris machines are being
          converted to FreeBSD.  The class could have
          had all converted, but only chose to have half.
          \_ Dream on! -root@cory
          \_ Dream on!  We've got 50 other classes to
             worry about, most of which aren't demanding
             to take stuff away from other users, unlike
             some greedy, self-centered bastards.
             -root@cory
           \_ how many are in 164 this semester?  -karlcz
         \_ Yes, I AM insane! -geordan
                   \_ if you insist...
          \_ I thought you were asking how many 162 students
             were taking 164 as well... -geordan
                      fall '96 164 finished with over 150 students, and even
                      that was far too many. I think class size is the most
                      serious problem CS students face at UCB. -karlcz
        \_ So maybe there actually was some benefit to my taking Smith for
           162, then . . . although that was hard to believe at the time.
         \_ Any cs162 instructor is better than Smith. Why would you
            to take Smith who teaches old tech stuff.  He spent more
            time on hard disks than the more important materials such
             as networking, distributed system, etc.
          \_ You get a decent grade if you know your stuff.
             With this Harvey midterm, even if you know your
             stuff you fail. I studied hard. The wording was
             poor and most of the stuff was tricky - either
             you get it or you dont. That is not a measure
             of performance in class.
        \_ What? The wording is poor? Harvey is probably one of the most
           eloquent speaker I have known in the whole CS department!
           \_ Past performance does not guarantee
              future results.
           \_ Why do you care so much about grades?
              Nowaday, employers care more about what
              you know than what your GPA is.
              \_ Well, maybe you should get out there
          and make sure that all those employers
                 know what they're supposed to care
          about, then.  Some of them are obviously
                 out of date.  (And some people might be
          thinking grad school, too . . . )
           \_ I think you're exaggerating.  The synch.
              question was bad but we've been compensated
              with lenient grading and possibly extra
              points on top of that.
            \_ Lenient grading? PHUCK no! Some of my
        answers were marked off for no reason.
        Besides, extra points does not make
        up for a bad exam. Instead of a D I
        get a C. Big difference. I cant recall
        a worse midterm I have taken in terms
        of testing class performance. It is
        fucking sad to see all my good grades
        and then a fucking low grade for 162 -
        why? because I studied & prepared well
        for it but they decided not to measure
        performance in the class but to
        measure how well you can guess the
        answer.
          \_ Yeah.  Nobody writing a modern OS ever has to worry
             about dealing with _hard disks_ anymore!  162 profs
             should drop them from the course and cover SUP3R
             B1FFTR0N1K SUP3RK0NDUKT1NG J0ESUPHS0N-JUNKT1ON
             QUANTUM 3FF3KT 3-DEE H0L0GRAPH1K 3D0 KACH3 RAM
             instead.  Or maybe Java.
          \_ This thread wouldn't be here if PhilOS was
             the OS of choice for 162.
         \_ If all you care about are grades.
          \_ Dimwit, you're in school.  There is nothing else
             to care about.  Oh yeah, "I got an 'F' but I sure
             do know my stuff, yee haw!"  Dumb move, kid.
        \_ It's shit like this grading nonsense that makes me glad I'm in econ.
           So far, for all my midterms, papers, and finals, getting a score
           of mean is an automatic B with the way our curve is set up.   :P
         \_This little tibit will probably explain why you will
           have no job after you graduate. That, and the next
           fucker who states that "grades are not the only thing"
           will not get half, but will get the full fucking plunge
           with the mighty twelve incher. Grades are all that
           matters; no one gives a shit what you know or do not
           know. As long as you can perform when the shit hits the
           fan, you will get the big bucks.
           \_ Well, uh, I did International Relations through ISF--
              it doesn't get more luzerish than that--and it took me
              slightly less than a month to find an awesome job
              in Europe.  It's stupid, ignorant, moron freaks like
              you (did I mention inbred and narrow-minded?) who
              waste their college time doing something they don't
              enjoy, stressing, earning no more than the rest of us,
              just so you can be snooty about having to work more
          and having a heart attack when you're 30.  Maybe it's
              true that most engineering/science-type majors are
              intelligent, but you sure try that stereotype.  Twit.
              Oh yeah, grades are not the only thing.  Plunge away.
        -John