5) Once upon a time having completed my Aero Engineering degree which included having to buy a copy of "Airplane Aerodynamics and Performance" for over $200, I was walking down the hall at the Aerospace Defense Contractor where I worked and I saw, through an open conference room door, The Author, Dr Jan Roskam, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Roskam) giving a lecture to a bunch of Engineers. I asked someone what was going on and found out that the company was training Mechanical and Electrical Engineers in Airplane Aerodynamics and Performance and giving the attendees free copies of the book. That's been over 30 years ago and I'm still a little PO'ed.
The very first class I took was English Comp 101. Had to buy 3 damn books, only opened 1 of them, the entire class. The teacher was a feminist, I was starting a journey to Bible college, and she was also a humanist. She and I didn't get along too well, since I wrote about things that I thought, and she didn't like that. This was back in about 1983 or so.
Took a course on Fortran by one of the creators of Fortran. If you didn't know who he was and worshiped his very existence, no chance of anything better than a "C".
Next door neighbor's kid took Accounting 101 and the book was $200. I got a used Finney & Miller Principles of Accounting for about $10 in 1970, and I can guarantee that nothing has changed in debits and credits since then. As a matter of fact, nothing has really changed since Benedikt Kotruljević invented it in 1416. (Many people incorrectly think Luca Pacioli did in 1494.)
Anyway, I'll bet the $200 version teaches that the way to end an accounting period is to 'push the button on the computer,' instead of closing everything to Income Summary.
Have a friend who is a professor. He goes ballistic over the cost of textbooks especially as there are very few changes between the editions other than cosmetics. First day of class he hands out a syllabus that notes the "required" textbook. After going over the document he says "I'm not encouraging this but just an FYI...the xth edition of the textbook can be found both online and at used bookstores for a 10th of the cost. You're adults. Use that information as you see fit."
5) Once upon a time having completed my Aero Engineering degree which included having to buy a copy of "Airplane Aerodynamics and Performance" for over $200, I was walking down the hall at the Aerospace Defense Contractor where I worked and I saw, through an open conference room door, The Author, Dr Jan Roskam, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Roskam) giving a lecture to a bunch of Engineers. I asked someone what was going on and found out that the company was training Mechanical and Electrical Engineers in Airplane Aerodynamics and Performance and giving the attendees free copies of the book. That's been over 30 years ago and I'm still a little PO'ed.
ReplyDeleteThe very first class I took was English Comp 101. Had to buy 3 damn books, only opened 1 of them, the entire class. The teacher was a feminist, I was starting a journey to Bible college, and she was also a humanist. She and I didn't get along too well, since I wrote about things that I thought, and she didn't like that. This was back in about 1983 or so.
DeleteTo be fair I just gotta add, Dr. Roskam's book is very very good and I kept my copy.
DeleteTook a course on Fortran by one of the creators of Fortran. If you didn't know who he was and worshiped his very existence, no chance of anything better than a "C".
DeleteNext door neighbor's kid took Accounting 101 and the book was $200. I got a used Finney & Miller Principles of Accounting for about $10 in 1970, and I can guarantee that nothing has changed in debits and credits since then. As a matter of fact, nothing has really changed since Benedikt Kotruljević invented it in 1416. (Many people incorrectly think Luca Pacioli did in 1494.)
DeleteAnyway, I'll bet the $200 version teaches that the way to end an accounting period is to 'push the button on the computer,' instead of closing everything to Income Summary.
Have a friend who is a professor. He goes ballistic over the cost of textbooks especially as there are very few changes between the editions other than cosmetics. First day of class he hands out a syllabus that notes the "required" textbook. After going over the document he says "I'm not encouraging this but just an FYI...the xth edition of the textbook can be found both online and at used bookstores for a 10th of the cost. You're adults. Use that information as you see fit."
DeleteI got a wife and a daughter that have each been in college about……Oh…about...a hundred and thirty years or so.
ReplyDeleteSo you have professional students in your family!!!grayman
DeleteFound out that the college library had copies of the current textbooks. Didn't tell anyone else.
ReplyDelete