Don't Panic!

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

but tomorrow is Towel Day! Happy Holiday to all those who celebrate. 

 

By a strange coincidence, I've been listening to some of the Hitchhiker's audiobooks lately. They're almost all available on YouTube.  

[Bazza]

Too late. A giant expressway coming through earth would be the least of our worries. It really is that bad. 

[Hermit]

    "There’s no point in acting surprised about it. All the planning charts and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for 50 of your Earth years, so you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaint and it’s far too late to start making a fuss about it now. ... What do you mean you’ve never been to Alpha Centauri? Oh, for heaven’s sake, mankind, it’s only four light years away, you know. I’m sorry, but if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs, that’s your own lookout. Energize the demolition beams."

[Pariah]

“On 11 May 2001 noted author and philosopher Douglas Adams died. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”

[Hermit]

I choose to believe he's not dead, he's still in line trying to file a formal complaint

[Cancer]

Hm.  I wonder if should put DON'T PANIC at the top of my astronomy final exam and see if any of the kids get the reference. 

 

Maybe add a question.  ("A: What number should be associated with the exhortation at the top of the exam?  B: Would you be happy or dismayed to receive that number as a score on this exam?  C) Did you bring your towel?")

 

Hmmm.   Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Edited May 24, 2023 by Cancer

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Definitely recommend a towel in pre-exam preparation. And 42 could be a good score... out of 44.

[Cancer]

It's out of 160, and last fall the median score was 56 and 14 of 33 students were below a score of 42.  That section had a considerable but unknown number of kids taking the course pass/fail and trying to get D-minuses, though.

 

Going back to a pre-pandemic instance of the course ... 140 points possible on the final then ... median 53, and 12 of 31 in the class were below the score of 42.  So perhaps the one-tick-above-failing population has always been that big.  Or perhaps, I have always sucked abjectly as an instructor.  That last could be true, and I'm well into DGAF-land there.

Edited May 24, 2023 by Cancer

[unclevlad]

Hey, back when I took the Putnam for a few years...42 (out of 120) would be an EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD score...

[Pattern Ghost]

I panicked immediately when I read the thread title.

 

 

 

Wow, that doesn't look that huge on my backpack lol

Edited May 24, 2023 by Pattern Ghost

[wcw43921]

6 hours ago, Hermit said:

I choose to believe he's not dead, he's still in line trying to file a formal complaint

 

Or like Lig Lury, he's just popped out for a sandwich and will yet return to put in a solid afternoon's work.

[Grailknight]

6 hours ago, Cancer said:

Hm.  I wonder if should put DON'T PANIC at the top of my astronomy final exam and see if any of the kids get the reference. 

 

Maybe add a question.  ("A: What number should be associated with the exhortation at the top of the exam?  B: Would you be happy or dismayed to receive that number as a score on this exam?  C) Did you bring your towel?")

 

Hmmm.   Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

The name of my freshman physics textbook at TAMU was Don't Panic. The teacher wrote it and said he tried to make it relatable to everyday things.

[Cancer]

Well, that's more work than I'm willing to put at this stage ... though I admit I'd be inclined to name the book MWA-HA-HA!! rather than DON'T PANIC ....