In honor of UT tearing down the goalposts today. Let’s rewind to simpler times.

85Escape

85Escape

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supertech1984 said:
If you made it to a recruiter, I’m not to worried about your opinion on “old guys” vs “young guys”

Kids getting into GT would smoke is old guys on brains. Period. They’re just smarter now.
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And only 25% even know why cars need oil and only 5% can actually change it.
 
7979

7979

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supertech1984 said:
That’s the national through covid. Not the GT trends. Let’s not be biased
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Article includes the following, "...This is the fifth consecutive year of declining average scores..."
So you still wanna blame Covid?
Look, I don't want to argue here about something so totally unrelated to Tech FB...but while kids may be bigger-faster-stronger and better looking, evidence does not support that they are "smarter" ...
(Full disclosure...They are all smarter than I am...LOL)
 

whitegoldsphinx

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g0lftime said:
So guys that sent men to the moon using slide rules were not as smart. My youngest son took probability at NCSU. He made 100 points higher on his SAT then I did. I could do the problems he couldn't figure out. I don't buy they are smarter, maybe better prepared and exposed to more information now at a younger age.
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You can't accurately compare SAT scores now to when the older forum members took it. Now they can use calculators, guess without penalty, and only have 4 options instead of 5. The median SAT score is much higher, but it does not mean students today are smarter.
 

Jim Prather

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They also re-normalized the SAT in early 90s, so that the average score changed from 700 to 800. It bumped everyone except the very top scorers up a good bit.
 
ibeattetris

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supertech1984 said:
If you made it to a recruiter, I’m not to worried about your opinion on “old guys” vs “young guys”

Kids getting into GT would smoke is old guys on brains. Period. They’re just smarter now.
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This is a bit unfair. The average enrollee right now is by far beyond the average enrollee of the past. The difference is old GT didn’t have a 93% freshman retention rate and 84% graduation rate (no more look to your left, look to your right). I find it hard to believe that the average person who survived the old tech isn’t on par with the average leaving tech now.
 
85Escape

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ibeattetris said:
This is a bit unfair. The average enrollee right now is by far beyond the average enrollee of the past. The difference is old GT didn’t have a 93% freshman retention rate and 84% graduation rate (no more look to your left, look to your right). I find it hard to believe that the average person who survived the old tech isn’t on par with the average leaving tech now.
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I'm sure recent grads don't want to hear this, but based on those I've hired from GT in the past 10 years I'd say they are much better educated but certainly no more intelligent than those that made it out in the late 70s and early 80s. There are many types of intelligence, of course. I've noticed an increase in the ability to solve 'closed' problems and what I believe is a decrease in open-ended problem solving intelligence.

Just my observation, influenced by both my unconscious biases and the specific GT grads we've hired in the past 8 - 10 years.
 

yeti92

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85Escape said:
I'm sure recent grads don't want to hear this, but based on those I've hired from GT in the past 10 years I'd say they are much better educated but certainly no more intelligent than those that made it out in the late 70s and early 80s. There are many types of intelligence, of course. I've noticed an increase in the ability to solve 'closed' problems and what I believe is a decrease in open-ended problem solving intelligence.

Just my observation, influenced by both my unconscious biases and the specific GT grads we've hired in the past 8 - 10 years.
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I've noticed this. A whole lot of knowledge, not sure how to apply it.
 

Heisman's Ghost

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7979 said:
Article includes the following, "...This is the fifth consecutive year of declining average scores..."
So you still wanna blame Covid?
Look, I don't want to argue here about something so totally unrelated to Tech FB...but while kids may be bigger-faster-stronger and better looking, evidence does not support that they are "smarter" ...
(Full disclosure...They are all smarter than I am...LOL)
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I don't know the answers, only what I observed after teaching public high school for 30 years. A gradual, very gradual, decline in attention span and desire to learn as opposed to doing just enough to get by. On my tennis team in the class of 2000, we had the graduating class' valedictorian and salutatorian as well as two others that were honor graduates. The top two went to UGA and later became doctors. One of the other two went to Tech and became an accountant. I don't know what happened to the other one. All of them had parents with high standards for both behavior and academics. On Sunday morning you could bet your bottom dollar that all of them were in church with their parents. Their manners were impeccable. After that, I had smart kids on the team but never any as driven and disciplined as those from that class.

I am sure that this is just about a statistical impossibility but from our small church in Albany we have had 4 Tech graduates in the last dozen years or so. One was a cheerleader and graduated cum laude, with a degree on the M train as it is called, one graduated in computer science, and became a TA while getting a master's. He works for one of the big tech companies in California. The other two majored in math and became accountants of some sort. All of them, ahem, were in my Sunday school class. Whether they were near geniuses like my brother in law, electrical engineering class of 1969 or a plugger like my dad class of 1950 in textile engineering, all of them share a common characteristic. An unusual capacity for hard work and a intense desire to find the right solution to a problem. After all, isn't that what engineers do? Solve problems? Well, one other thing, they are all a whole lot smarter than me but that is nothing to brag about.
 

Heisman's Ghost

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iceeater1969 said:
Only North - band kept playing ramblin wrek, kids rammed the goal posts into stands and broke like a ckicken wing. Engrs rule. Took it to prez house


Wifes first game - She yelled Yellow and I yelled Jackets.
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Virginia Tech was ranked 4th and we were 16th or so as I recall. Nonetheless, we were pretty heavy underdogs so this was one of the top 5 or so biggest upsets in modern times. The much maligned defense came to play that night for sure. Too bad they lost to UGA and Iowa. ACC champions anyway I think.
 
ibeattetris

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Heisman's Ghost said:
Virginia Tech was ranked 4th and we were 16th or so as I recall. Nonetheless, we were pretty heavy underdogs so this was one of the top 5 or so biggest upsets in modern times. The much maligned defense came to play that night for sure. Too bad they lost to UGA and Iowa. ACC champions anyway I think.
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2011 Clemson was up there too in terms of upsets. Beating a Tajh Boyd led tigers with Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins at receiver. That game rivaled the 2009 VT in terms of atmosphere. Tevin putting up 176 yards rushing on the ground. Jemea Thomas had as many ints as our top receiver had receptions. Also, the intro to that video has me ready to run through a brick wall.
 
iceeater1969

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ibeattetris said:
2011 Clemson was up there too in terms of upsets. Beating a Tajh Boyd led tigers with Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins at receiver. That game rivaled the 2009 VT in terms of atmosphere. Tevin putting up 176 yards rushing on the ground. Jemea Thomas had as many ints as our top receiver had receptions. Also, the intro to that video has me ready to run through a brick wall.
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Iirc
They fired the DC at end of year after WVA laid 70 on them.
Kevin Steel is ljke a virus that keeps coming back.
 

Heisman's Ghost

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ibeattetris said:
2011 Clemson was up there too in terms of upsets. Beating a Tajh Boyd led tigers with Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins at receiver. That game rivaled the 2009 VT in terms of atmosphere. Tevin putting up 176 yards rushing on the ground. Jemea Thomas had as many ints as our top receiver had receptions. Also, the intro to that video has me ready to run through a brick wall.
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Yep. That "dadgummed wishbone" as Bobby Bowden called it was humming that night. Probably Tevin's best game as a Jacket. That Clemson team was loaded with talent but it did not matter that night.
 
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