The Science of Star Trek vs the Magic of Star Wars - the 10 Year Flame War!

Overmind One

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Jim of WVa said:
Babylon 5 was said to be the most popular television program among the people working in NASA when it was on.
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I heard something like that as well.
 
YJ02

YJ02

Well Known GateFan
yongjin02 said:
Kirk would probably get like a 30% on this test (if he didn't reprogram the scenario instead that is!! :anim_59:)

Will leave out Spock since he isn't human

so, Sulu? Checkov?Scott? would probably have gotten like a 60%

<<I got a 20%!!!! "REFLEXIVE response" for me all the way baby!!and proud of it. I know I am no STEM person :nono: :winking0052: >>>

what did you get?

(it does not ask for names, zip codes, etc,etc)

http://www.thebestschools.org/stem-intelligence-test/
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What?!?!

No one took the test?!

Cowards, reveal thy inner self!
:biggrin:
 
Overmind One

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
yongjin02 said:
What?!?!

No one took the test?!

Cowards, reveal thy inner self!
:biggrin:
Click to expand...

I took the test just now, and it's a dumb test! I do not see where any of the questions asked would reveal any sort of aptitude for STEM thinking patterns. :).

A prize is located behind one of three curtains. After you choose a curtain, the prize-master opens a curtain that has no prize behind it and gives you the option to switch curtains. If you decide to switch curtains, what is the probability that your curtain has the prize behind it?

Really? :icon_cool:
 
YJ02

YJ02

Well Known GateFan
Overmind One said:
I took the test just now, and it's a dumb test! I do not see where any of the questions asked would reveal any sort of aptitude for STEM thinking patterns. :).

A prize is located behind one of three curtains. After you choose a curtain, the prize-master opens a curtain that has no prize behind it and gives you the option to switch curtains. If you decide to switch curtains, what is the probability that your curtain has the prize behind it?

Really? :icon_cool:
Click to expand...

\did you get to the results page?

where it breaks down the thinking processes involved with each question?

non stem ppl (again, doesn't mean that a non stem person CANT learn and be an engineer or mathmetician) tend to go with the reactive answer nearly everytime

the first question-- the ball and bat-a total of a $1.10 and the bat was exactly 1$ more then the ball?--reactively, one would say the bat was exactly 1$. wrong of course-it was $1.05

I only got that one and the last one correct!!!

i guess i am just a humanistic reactionary all the way!

i am guessing you got around a 60% or higher, yes?
 
YJ02

YJ02

Well Known GateFan
Overmind One said:
I took the test just now, and it's a dumb test! I do not see where any of the questions asked would reveal any sort of aptitude for STEM thinking patterns. :).

A prize is located behind one of three curtains. After you choose a curtain, the prize-master opens a curtain that has no prize behind it and gives you the option to switch curtains. If you decide to switch curtains, what is the probability that your curtain has the prize behind it?

Really? :icon_cool:
Click to expand...

and of course-it is just really a simple quiz type thing with a range of questions designed to get interested kids to contact one of the engineering schools

real stem aptitude tests are much more difficult

its like if one took a 'sample asvab' test on the army recruiting site--they have real asvab questions but they are not the harder ones. They want to promote interest, not discourage ppl straight away
 
Bluce Ree

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
yongjin02 said:
What?!?!

No one took the test?!

Cowards, reveal thy inner self!
:biggrin:
Click to expand...

8 out of 10. I messed up this question:

7. Consider the following sequence: 0100011011000001010011100101110111. What are the next ten digits?

And this question:

8. Consider 16 evenly spaced dots arranged in a four-by-four grid on a sheet of paper: <show square> ...
Taking a pen and drawing only straight lines, what are the least number of lines you need to connect all the dots without lifting the pen off the paper?

#8 was misleading. The least number of lines required to connect all the dots is 7 if you remain within the square and 6 lines if you continue drawing outside the square. The correct answer was 6 but, if you're ONLY allowed drawing straight lines, how is going outside the square valid?

:icon_lol:
 
Gatefan1976

Gatefan1976

Well Known GateFan
Because nothing in the question forbids going outside the square?
 
YJ02

YJ02

Well Known GateFan
Bluce Ree said:
8 out of 10. I messed up this question:

7. Consider the following sequence: 0100011011000001010011100101110111. What are the next ten digits?

And this question:

8. Consider 16 evenly spaced dots arranged in a four-by-four grid on a sheet of paper: <show square> ...
Taking a pen and drawing only straight lines, what are the least number of lines you need to connect all the dots without lifting the pen off the paper?

#8 was misleading. The least number of lines required to connect all the dots is 7 if you remain within the square and 6 lines if you continue drawing outside the square. The correct answer was 6 but, if you're ONLY allowed drawing straight lines, how is going outside the square valid?

:icon_lol:
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I knew you would score high--i am sure OM and JIM would score high as well-probably JOE too--just guessing of course based on my "observations" here :rolleye0014:

Number 7? I didn't even take time to consider an answer-I just typed something to get to the next question!
 
Bluce Ree

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
Gatefan1976 said:
Because nothing in the question forbids going outside the square?
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True but then you're either drawing more straight lines if you're angling or you're curving to stay within the prescribed 6 line solution but it doesn't state "make sure there are only straight lines within the square", which would have allowed both leaving the square and curving outside.
 
Joelist

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
8 out of 10.

I missed #6 on account of a typo (put a period between 6 and Green instead of a Comma) and I just skipped through #10 (one example of numeric pattern hunting was enough :) ).

Remember this one from another thread we did a while ago?

So if Susie and Billy were on opposite ends of the same perfectly straight road that is exactly 186,282 miles long, and they each get on their tricycles and start pedaling towards each other at 186,282 miles per second, at what spot on the road will they meet and if they collide head on what will happen?
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http://www.gatefans.net/gforums/threads/ftl-travel-here-we-come.25166/page-13#post-812066
 
Overmind One

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
yongjin02 said:
I knew you would score high--i am sure OM and JIM would score high as well-probably JOE too--just guessing of course based on my "observations" here :rolleye0014:

Number 7? I didn't even take time to consider an answer-I just typed something to get to the next question!
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I got 7 out of 10. Thing is, I see people working in STEM fields who do not seem to belong in their jobs because they lack the ability to think outside of established parameters (outside the box). Believe it or not, amongst these are instructors or professors of STEM subjects. Most of them can rattle off things in their books in a heartbeat, but cannot put much of it in practice in real life applications. Other times, I meet 9 year old kids of friends (usually boys) who have managed to unravel complex networking problems with no formal instruction. Frequently I get from them stuff like "My game would not work, so I ----------------- and that fixed it".

Is it possible that certain people are simply "brain wired" to be technological?
 
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Joelist

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
Overmind One said:
I got 7 out of 10. Thing is, I see people working in STEM fields who do not seem to belong in their jobs because they lack the ability to think outside of established parameters (outside the box). Believe it or not, amongst these are instructors or professors of STEM subjects. Most of them can rattle off things in their books in a heartbeat, but cannot put much of it in practice in real life applications. Other times, I meet 9 year old kids of friends (usually boys) who have managed to unravel complex networking problems with no formal instruction. Frequently I get from them stuff like "My game would not work, so I ----------------- and that fixed it".

Is it possible that certain people are simply "brain wired" to be technological?
Click to expand...

That's funny. I actually fixed a piece of Java (spit) desktop software yesterday. I could tell from the misbehavior that a Java PROPERTIES setting was wrong in the program so I made a new PROPERTIES file and then rewired the startup icon to start the program then go to my new file (it was compiled and I had no source code so there was no way to fix the built in startup). Now while it has the extra step in starting it works okay after that (of course being desktop Java it is slow as a pig).

Relevance? I am not really an experienced Java desktop developer. I work with some JavaScript but in my Salesforce.com work it's either declarative or C#. I just "followed my instincts" based on what I was seeing.
 
Joelist

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
Overmind One said:
I took the test just now, and it's a dumb test! I do not see where any of the questions asked would reveal any sort of aptitude for STEM thinking patterns. :).

A prize is located behind one of three curtains. After you choose a curtain, the prize-master opens a curtain that has no prize behind it and gives you the option to switch curtains. If you decide to switch curtains, what is the probability that your curtain has the prize behind it?

Really? :icon_cool:
Click to expand...

I recognized this from game theory - it is the Monty Hall problem.

http://www.montyhallproblem.com/
 
Overmind One

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Joelist said:
That's funny. I actually fixed a piece of Java (spit) desktop software yesterday. I could tell from the misbehavior that a Java PROPERTIES setting was wrong in the program so I made a new PROPERTIES file and then rewired the startup icon to start the program then go to my new file (it was compiled and I had no source code so there was no way to fix the built in startup). Now while it has the extra step in starting it works okay after that (of course being desktop Java it is slow as a pig).

Relevance? I am not really an experienced Java desktop developer. I work with some JavaScript but in my Salesforce.com work it's either declarative or C#. I just "followed my instincts" based on what I was seeing.
Click to expand...

THIS is what I mean. I have lots more respect for natural abilities and hard wired thinking than I do for those who rely on book knowledge alone to get them through.
 
Bluce Ree

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
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