[continued from previous message]   
      
   > There was once an 11+ exam (my year were the last to take it). There was   
   > also a sort of IQ/SAT test at secondary school but the results were   
   > never shared with either the school or the students.   
   >   
   >> Anything specific to a particular "course" would likely not be taken   
   >> in the first year -- unless you had a specific interest.  E.g., few   
   >> EE's took courses in compiler design, even if they wanted a CS degree.   
   >> There were enough "other" offerings to keep you busy (10 classes a   
   >> year means you can't explore too much)   
   >   
   > You were free to not attend lectures provided that you kept up to date   
   > with coursework and passed the exams. You could also go to lectures for   
   > courses that you were not studying but would get no credit for them.   
   >   
   >>>> ["Lab" courses would typically be 4 hours in a classroom, 4 hours of   
   >>>> homework and 4 hours in a lab -- for a total of 12 hours per week]   
   >>>   
   >>> Lab work was an afternoon a week in each science subject and you were   
   >>> expected to study 3 science courses and maths in the first year. The   
   >>> practical exams at the end of the year required knowledge of   
   >>> experimental techniques taught in the practical classes.   
   >>   
   >> As with lectures and recitations (smaller groups where the material   
   >> presented in the previous day's lecture was reviewed in finer detail),   
   >> no one cared if you attended any of these things.  A "lab course"   
   >> just indicated that you would typically spend 4 hours a week *in*   
   >> a "laboratory" using equipment that you couldn't access in your dorm   
   >> room in addition to the 4 hours you would spend in class and 4 more   
   >> for "homework".  (classes were numerically quantified as CLASS-LAB-   
   >> HOMEWORK   
   >> so a normal class was 4-0-8 while a lab would be 4-4-4 and humanities   
   >> might be 3-0-6)   
   >   
   > No such scheme at least not when I was there. Theory class was pure   
   > class and entirely optional - it thinned out PDQ.   
   >   
   >> Most of mine required building something (I built a capacitive discharge   
   >> ignition in one and a "breakout" video game in another) and demonstrating   
   >> it at the end of the semester.  If you had the tools to do this   
   >> "at home" then you need never set foot in a "laboratory".   
   >   
   > Our physics course had after term electronics courses because physicists   
   > were expected to build their own experiments at graduate level. Most of   
   > the kit involved was way too complex for home experimenters e.g X-ray   
   > diffractometers, spectroscope, oscilloscope, microscope, fume cupboards,   
   > Young's slits, gas lasers, holographic tables.   
   >   
   > Two electronic courses I recall most were digital logic (making an LED   
   > digital electronic dice being the final challenge) and how to use opamps   
   > effectively. Measuring the properties of a FET and relating them to   
   > solid state theory was already in the mainstream physics practicals.   
   >   
   > Some were quite inspired hybrids like computing the dynamics of a coin   
   > set spinning on a vertical axis as it slows down due to friction and   
   > precession/nutation take hold. Or how a very tall tower of Lego falls over.   
   >   
   >> Most of the labs were open (unlocked/unlockable) spaces that you   
   >> could access 24/7.  So, you might deliberately choose to put in   
   >> your time in the wee hours of the morning just to have a quieter   
   >> workspace.   
   >   
   > Labs were staffed and open 2pm to 5/6pm every weekday. Some of them you   
   > had your own cupboard and glassware to look after too. Computing was   
   > cheaper at the midnight hour but that mainframe was a 24/7 operation.   
   >   
   >>> Specialising was really only in the second and third years.   
   >>   
   >> You had to *declare* a "major" in your second year.  But, that   
   >> didn't entitle you to any special treatment.  You could take   
   >> any class that was offered, even if you had no intentions of   
   >> "majoring" in the course that the class was intended for.   
   >   
   > That is the same at my university (I did double physics at that point).   
   > Had I gone anywhere else I would probably have been a chemist.   
   >   
   >> E.g., there was a very popular Mechanical Engineering class   
   >> where students would build "gizmos" out of a small, standardized   
   >> (for that semester) set of components -- rubber bands, tongue   
   >> depressors, thumbtacks, etc. -- to meet some stated goal.   
   >> These were then paired with "opponents" to determine the best   
   >> design.  It was always tempting to enroll but meant "losing"   
   >> a chunk of your time to a class that didn't meet any of your   
   >> degree requirements.  Ditto a photography class that was   
   >> invariably oversubscribed (spots awarded by lottery).   
   >   
   > Funnily enough I know that the mechanical engineering course in our year   
   > the first practical had to build a structure from Dexion to hold 3   
   > anchor points apart against specified forces and torques. Teams of 4?   
   > designed their best effort and then they were tested to destruction.   
   >   
   > It was a pretty good team building exercise and fun to watch the tests.   
      
   I think the teams were judged on how little material they used while   
   still meeting the strength requirements.>   
   >> We also had a ~1 month period between semesters (called   
   >> Independent Activities Period -- IAP) that would also offer   
   >> short classes of special interest to folks who were "around"   
   >> between the holidays.   
   >   
   > Prior to the final year we had a long vacation course where it was   
   > either dedicated morning lectures and theory classes or whole days spent   
   > on seriously tricky experiments (Josephson junction being one such).   
   > Firing DU slugs into targets and measuring stress strain another.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)