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Comment Re:Plagarize smart (Score 1) 320

Everyone looks at code done by others. You're a moron or don't value your free time if you don't. the key is to not directly copy/paste. Change variables, how loops work, etc. Change enough to where it's not completely obvious. Then you'll be prepared for the real world.

Nope, then you'll be prepared to fake your way into an entry level job and won't be promoted because you can only do stuff that someone has done before.

Comment Re:Colleges encourage this themselves (Score 1) 320

As a hiring manager, I don't expect a CS student to have been taught programming. I expect them to have been taught Computer Science. They may have learned some programming along the way. A programming language may have been taught to them as a tool to further study Computer Science. A CS major who knows how to program is basically a bonus as far as I am concerned. HR always wants "CS or similar degree" (or God help us, MIS) for Programming positions, but that is like going to a fish restaurant and hunting around for a good steak. There might be a good steak, but it should really be the place to go when you want fish.
Even Computer Engineering is not really there to crank out coders. However, a Computer Engineer who can code is probably going to turn out to be a very good find. A Computer Engineer is probably going to be more likely to be able to code than a CS major. If you absolutely want someone who can code and don't care about growth potential, then hire from the trade schools. Or India.

Comment Re:Fine Line (Score 1) 320

give everyone in the class a pop quiz, with a really similar question.

This is how it should be done anyway. have them write psuedocode on the fly. It doesn't have to compile. You don't have to get hung up on things like variable initialization, or error handling. You are trying to see if they understand the concept of what the algorithm is supposed to do. A Data Structures class is not there to teach you how to program. It is there to teach you how to understand and create algorithms for Data Structures.

Comment Re:Or just practicing for an actual job (Score 1) 320

Just out of curiosity are there any professional programmers out there who don't regularly copy functions from the Internet?

Standing on the shoulders of others is standard practice, but when you are asked to do something in a class, it is not about learning to utilize resources, it is about learning to do it on your own, so that you can understand what others have done. This is why we teach kids how to add before we let them use a calculator.
When I first learned java, the book had me writing classes which let me implement lists, then linked list, then doubly linked lists. Finally after all of that, it introduced the LinkedList class already present in Java. But now I understand how it works and how to use it efficiently and in the right places.
Furthermore, in the working world, you have the possibility of patents, copyrights, and license limitations. If you are asked to develop an algorithm, they may really need you to develop it from scratch in order to avoid legal issues.

Comment Re:Benefits, but still misses the point... (Score 4, Interesting) 698

The problem with schools is that they are a factory for mental illness. The schools put up a front of being "zero tolerance" for bullies, but what it comes down to is that the bullies are protected by the system and the people they bully are punished for standing up to them or fighting back. My best friend and I both have "snapped" at some point and attacked our bullies back and we were both punished for it. I received corporal punishment and he was expelled. I can cite dozens of examples from among my peers where they eventually got fed up and fought back, and were punished for it. The only difference between me and Columbine is the scale. But the message is the same. The people that get picked on year after year and finally stand up to the bullys are the bad guys and the bullys are the martyrs.

Comment Re:Taking for granite? (Score 1) 264

I guess it was just a little to subtle for you. You see, sand and granite are related geologic materials, and some people of low intelligence say "take for granite" instead of "take for granted". Explaining it kind of ruins it, doesn't it?

Comment Re:Assumptions? (Score 1) 441

Well if we weren't being misogynist asses about it we could structure health insurance such that the costs of pregnancy are born by all insured individuals not juts women,

It is a common fallacy to think that insurance companies are all about spreading risk equally across all people. They know for a fact that women are going to have higher health costs, so women get charged more. They know for a fact that smokers have higher health costs, so they get charged more.
They spend billions of years finding out what groups of people represent different risk groups, and if they could get down to the individual level, they absolutely would do so.
That's not going to change unless we socialized insurance, which would be a bad idea in itself. Rather than socialize insurance, you should just eliminate it and have the government pay for all health care.

Comment Re:Assumptions? (Score 2) 441

I also am in favor of Positive Discrimination. At first glance, I appear to be a white male, but in fact, I have 1/8th Cherokee Indian, 1/4 Czechoslovakian, 1/8th German, and various other flavors mixed in for good measure. I have had ancestors that were slaves, although they were not African American. As it happens, pretty much everybody has had an ancestor that was a slave.
There are only a very small minority of people in the world with my ethnic background. In fact, probably only one. Therefore I should get special privileges.

Comment Re:Assumptions? (Score 2) 441

It's about making sure that you advertise in a way that attracts more women or non-white candidates to apply, and create a work environment that doesn't make life hard for them.

It would be illegal to encourage more whites and males to apply and therefore it should be illegal to encourage more females and non-whites. Discrimination is discrimination. What ought to be done is to advertise so that the best people apply and evaluate everybody equally regardless of race, gender, religion, etc.
In reality, though, woman are always going to be slightly less preferred because employers have to consider that health insurance is going to cost more and that they may decide to have children and either ditch the career or at least take time off from it. There is some amount of preference to single over married males for the same reason, and young over old because you can work them to death and they don't know any better.

Comment Re:There's a clue shortage (Score 3, Interesting) 574

I tell people the same. Know someone on the inside, or don't spend more than 10 minutes applying.

Agree. I have had companies require that I take a test before they would even interview. I got in the top 1% on the tests, but did not get an interview. This infuriates me to no end when companies will wast a half day of your time when they have already picked out the H1b that they are going to hire.

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