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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Philosophy Class


At the moment, I am cleaning out a bunch of old files from my college days (a.k.a. Ancient History 101). Most of my term papers are getting the heave-ho, as I really cannot see anybody actually wanting to read them, much less me typing them out for the dubious benefit of the Internet.

Looking at some of these philosophy term papers, I remember the following incident:

During philosophy class one day, a security guard burst into our classroom and said that there might be a bomb in the building -- but to stay in our seats and wait for further instructions.

And so we sat in our seats. No instruction came. A faint alarm could be heard in the distance.

After fifteen minutes, I gathered my belongings and quietly walked out of the room. I walked past the security guards, past the police, out the building, crossed the street, walked out of the campus, then walked another block.

Later on, a fellow student told me that my professor said the following after I left:

"And that, class, is an example of the practical application of philosophy."

13 comments:

  1. Now that is a very cool story. Glad you posted that. ;0)

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  2. That's great! Ha.

    I loved my philosophy courses. I was going to make philosophy my minor. I just need to get enough cash to go back to school. :(

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  3. Anonymous11:59 PM

    That was a kick-ass anecdote.

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  4. Anonymous1:32 AM

    I had a similar incident, but it involved Anthrax. Another involved a production of Caucasian Chalk Circle and me eating spit-out food.

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  5. ...and then he failed you. :)

    Here's one I heard from my college days (might be an urban myth though)...

    A philosophy teacher was infamous for giving the exact same quiz for make-up exams that he'd give on the actual day of the test. Knowing this, four students came up with an excuse to miss the exam so they could find out what everyone was asked, study just that, and ace it on the make-up.

    The day of the test, the four students showed up in the middle of the exam. They said they'd been doing research at another college's library, and on the way back, their car blew a tire on the freeway. Could they have a make-up test? The teacher told them to come back the next day.

    The next day they showed up, ready for the previous days answers. It was just the four of them. They all sat down. The teacher passed out the exam books. And when they opened them up, there was just ONE question inside:

    Which tire?

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  6. Did the school blow up?

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  7. That reminds me of the Family Guy bit.

    "That was the test. You passed."

    *cue Kenny Loggins music*

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  8. Val, it can be very painful to tear that metaphorical duct tape from your mouth and share hurtful moments from your past, but the fact that you do it shows that you have courage.

    Don't ever be silenced Val! Tape or otherwise!

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  9. Slott! That story is fantastic! Loved it.

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  10. Reminds me of a time when a bomb threat was called in to my college. I ended up reciting police code in order to waive my rights to protection so that I could get past the cordoned-off area to find out what the heck happened (bit of a newsy working for the school paper).

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  11. I just wanted to say thank you for being so brave and continuing to put your head above the parapet on the issue of non photographic depictions of child pornography.
    The UK government carried out a consulation on this very issue last year with a range of organisations in response to concerns raised by groups who are all too aware of the potential harms. It's difficult to understand - well, in some ways, some folks protest a bit too much.. - the seeming inability for people to make the connection that someone who draws this stuff in a way that's meant to provoke arousal and someone who consumes it in order to be aroused are pandering to, fuelling and increasing the potential for paedophilic acts. These images can also be used as grooming tools for children.
    A brief scan across the interwebs shows that some men do not respond well when their entitlement to pornography in any form is questioned. There was a discussion on my reader just today in fact:
    http://contexts.org/socimages/2008/11/15/battle-raper-video-game/
    When women speak out, they become targets. You're the latest in a long, long line. I'm sorry that has happened, I hope you're ok and thanks.

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