Is STEM mostly rote memorization?

[LOVEthroughINTELLECT]

What does the OP question have to do with ethics or morality?

Is it wrong for formal education to not develop the whole brain?

 

[fatherjimparker]

<< But, doctors aren’t supposed to just measure. They’re supposed to consume all that data, consider it in context of the latest medical findings and the patient’s history, and figure out if something’s wrong. Computers can take on much of that diagnosis and treatment and even do these functions better than the average doctor (while considering more options and making fewer errors). Most doctors couldn’t possibly read and digest all of the latest 5,000 research articles on heart disease. And, most of the average doctor’s medical knowledge is from when they were in medical school, while cognitive limitations prevent them from remembering the 10,000+ diseases humans can get..." >>

And after considering all the information (s)he has gathered, the doctor will prescribe whatever pill the rep from Big Pharma said will suppress the symptoms. (While gradually destroying the patient's kidneys and liver....)

Oh, brave new world to have such people in it.

 

[keith99]

Why not? Having a liberal education doesn't preclude expertise in one particular area.

Absolutely. My undergrad degree is from Occidental College, a liberal arts college. As a Physics major I could have transferred to Cal Tech and received 2 degrees in 5 years. All I needed was a 3.0 average in Physics and Math and a professor's recommendation. (This was in the dark ages when grade inflation had barely started, I checked a few months ago and it is now a 3.5). Two of my physics Profs had taught at MIT, we found that out when we saw a film on wave mechanics produced at MIT and part way through someone realized the 2 guys in lab coats with crew cuts were Hudson and Nelson.

I'm pretty sure all the Ivy League schools and Stanford are liberal arts schools.

 

[keith99]

Is it wrong for formal education to not develop the whole brain?

No.

But it is wrong for formal education to not deliver what is promised. So it would be wrong for a school that promises to develop the person, but not at all wrong for a school that promises to develop an area of expertise.

 

[Blue Wren]

There is a lot to memorise, yes. There's certainly, far more to STEM, than just rote memorisation. You have to know, how to put it all, to use.

 

[Dave-W]

Is it wrong for formal education to not develop the whole brain?

Is that even possible, seeing how even the most intelligent among us use only a little over 10% of our brains?

 

[Ada Lovelace]

Is that even possible, seeing how even the most intelligent among us use only a little over 10% of our brains?

It's a myth that we only use 10% of our brains. http://hub.jhu.edu/2014/07/24/busting-a-brain-myth

Though I think we probably all have moments when we feel like we're only using a tiny fraction of our brainpower because of lapses in judgement or whatever, haha. Or at least I feel like I have those moments..........

 

[Ada Lovelace]

There is a lot to memorise, yes. There's certainly, far more to STEM, than just rote memorisation. You have to know, how to put it all, to use.

Exactly. It's like how someone with a eidetic memory has a vastly superior ability to vividly and precisely recall information, but not necessary the capability to utilize it all in a meaningful concrete or abstract manner.

As a high school level example, students taking the AP exams in STEM subjects need to retain a substantial amount of specific knowledge, but that alone won't be sufficient. They also need to be able to process new information provided in the free response questions and synthesize it all to write out comprehensive responses. For professionals this would probably be child's play, but for me it required a lot of practice to do well on these exams.

You'd asked me about the exams before, so I'll share some of the free response questions (that are one component of the exams, in addition to multiple choice questions and sometimes other sections as well) from this year's exams:

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_biology.pdf
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_physics_2.pdf
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_statistics.pdf
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_calculus_ab.pdf

 

[keith99]

Exactly. It's like how someone with a eidetic memory has a vastly superior ability to vividly and precisely recall information, but not necessary the capability to utilize it all in a meaningful concrete or abstract manner.

As a high school level example, students taking the AP exams in STEM subjects need to retain a substantial amount of specific knowledge, but that alone won't be sufficient. They also need to be able to process new information provided in the free response questions and synthesize it all to write out comprehensive responses. For professionals this would probably be child's play, but for me it required a lot of practice to do well on these exams.

You'd asked me about the exams before, so I'll share some of the free response questions (that are one component of the exams, in addition to multiple choice questions and sometimes other sections as well) from this year's exams:

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_biology.pdf
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_physics_2.pdf
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_statistics.pdf
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap15_frq_calculus_ab.pdf

I'd call peoples attention to the Physics question on page 7 of the PDF. Really good question for testing that the student actually understands things as opposed to rote memorization. But even more interesting is over 40 years since I last touched that kind of problem I could still do it correctly except for the part about power. Oh wait I could even do that part because the item of 'rote memorization' I had forgotten was on page 4 at the start of the test.

If rote memorization is so important why do they avoid testing for it? (Rhetorical question, most definitely not directed towards you).

The only 'fact' needed not in the information at the top of the exam is V=ir, Ohm's law. I previously mentioned that when I took majors into Physics we were allowed a 1 page cheat sheet, the only thing we were not allowed to put on it was F=ma (which is also missing from the list for the AP test).

It looks like the AP exam has followed the same reasoning, all the 'rote' stuff except for the most very basic are provided as part of the exam.