Maybe. Maybe not.

In my experience the tests "test" you on your knowledge of how the VENDOR would like you to "solve" a "problem".

I haven't seen any test were there is something objectively "wrong" about any of the questions or answers.

But I have seen a lot of questions and answers that are phrased somewhat inaccurately for someone with more experience than just the vendor's training materials.

So if you know the subject, a quick read of the vendor's materials should tell you where the "tricky" areas are. But if you want to skip that step, you should be able to pass most certifications without a problem.

Other than some common generic services you still have to engineer solutions to fit your business needs.

And even those generic services will still need someone to provide them. Whether that person is directly employed by your company or is an employee of the "cloud" company you're contracting with.

People who "know how it works", or IT people will still be needed regardless.

Most definitely. Particularly when there is a problem with your company's Internet link and everything "in the cloud" is unavailable.

Or a problem with the "cloud" company's Internet link.

In either case, you will be dealing with someone who will view you as just-another-client. It doesn't matter if you're not happy. Or if your business suffers. Because your payments will not make-or-break THEIR company.

With a machine AI we shouldn't be competing for the same, scarce, resources.

Skynet would do better trying to colonize the moon and the asteroid belt.

So many times I'm driving correctly and then some idiot pulls into the "safe" space that I had AND THEN HITS HIS BRAKES BECAUSE HE ALMOST HITS THE GUY IN FRONT!!!

With an autonomous car the situation will still be the same BUT there will be a lot more data showing the circumstances that lead to the accident.

I see it as three different cases:

1. The health nut who is already healthy but attributes their health to this one weird secret that only a few, special, people know about. Because everyone else isn't as smart as they are.

2. Someone with a bad disease who wants some hope that they'll get better so they'll try anything.

3. Munchausen syndrome

Remember, it isn't "magic" if you say it's "quantum mechanics".

Quantum physics is a branch of physics that understands the interrelationship between matter
and energy. This science offers clear explanations as to why homeopathic remedies with seemingly no chemical trace of the original substance are able to resolve chronic diseases, why
acupuncture can offer patients enough pain relief to undergo surgery without anesthesia, why meditation alone
can, in some instances, reduce the size of cancerous tumors.

No it does not.

And as part of the "course goals":

Understand the difference between Newtonian physics and Quantum physics and their corresponding impacts
on biology.

Bullshit.

Intelligently address the concerns of those afraid of alternative medicine or skeptical about its efficacy.

It's called the placebo effect.

A lot of other politicians would call it horse-trading.

Could be. But what it is NOT is hypocrisy since both the initial claim to support/oppose X and the vote to oppose/support X are in the public eye.

Hypocrisy is when a PUBLIC virtue is claimed while practising the associated vice in PRIVATE.

This could be horse trading (regular politics). This could be corruption. This could be a two-faced lying politician.

But it would not be hypocrisy.

Why hasn't this been mod'ed up?

This is my preferred solution. A machine that sits outside the main firewall that just runs browsers for remote connections.

The internal machines stay clean and the external machine(s) get wiped/reloaded on a regular schedule.

Also, everyone logged in gets a daily/weekly report of what sites they've been visiting and when. And a list of people who can request a copy of that list (their boss, their boss' boss, HR, etc). Judge for yourself whether you'd be able to explain your habits to HR should the question ever arise.

You have a rare boss who understands that the most important thing is that workers be able to work without interference from know-it-alls.

Well the question would then be why-is-the-firewall-there-in-the-first-place.

Is it because it was seen as the cost effective solution to workstations being infected by malicious sites/ads/whatever?

Was there a different reason?

Web blockers usually require a subscription fee. Why pay the fee and then let users bypass it?

Wouldn't you want to be notified if a work-related site suddenly got blocked?

Nicely phrased.

How about a different scenario?

Meet Billy. Billy wants to be a programmer. Billy has a high school diploma. Billy has no college degree. Billy has no certifications. Billy has no professional experience.

What advice would you give Billy to get him his first programming job?

However to filter out on the fact they don't have a certificate (or degree) means to lose out on some of the better programmers.

Any time you use a filter you run the risk of missing a better candidate.

Certificates are an easy filter because any qualified candidate can get them with minimal time/expense.

Are you going to refuse to send in a resume for your dream job just because they require a certain certification to be considered? Or are you going to go to the testing facility and get that certification?

Not just resume. I talk to them. Ask them questions. Usually, I know if I'll hire them within ten minutes.

That doesn't sound like it scales very well.

The last time I had to deal with resumes I had hundreds. And that was from people in Seattle/Tacoma.

Calling each of them would have taken weeks. Or months if there were any complications at work.

At one level, a diploma is no more than a very expensive certification.

My advice has been to get the cheapest and fastest degree you can (from a correctly accredited school). It doesn't matter what the degree is in. Once you've cleared that hurdle you can look at advanced degrees in subjects that may be more work-focused for you.

You can spend $15K on a degree. You can spend $150K on a degree. Your pedigree will only matter in certain firms or with certain people.

The problem is how to judge expertise on a resume.

So certifications get you past the HR filter.

Only then do you get to talk to someone who (in theory) knows programming/whatever enough to evaluate your actual expertise.

So, what is it worth to get past that first hurdle?

So I sold my slave to my buddy in the 6th year.

And he sold me his slave.

You say "loophole" while I say "cheap labour".