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Originally Posted by FaaipDeOiad
Well he's probably the most famous intellectual in the world, at least in humanities. Make of that what you will.
Personally I saw the point of uni presentations as being showing that you know how to prepare and present material to other students, encouraging shared learning and obviously fostering skills for public speaking and presentation which is very important in a lot of fields. My issue with making a big deal out of not reading off a piece of paper is that it's totally acceptable to use a script or notes within reason in professional environments when you speak in public. Not to say you have to use them, just that it's not a huge deal if you do IMO.
Watch a debate for example and usually the debaters will read off a script for their initial argument and then speak off the cuff in rebuttal and answering questions. The quality of the argument will obviously be better with prepared remarks so that's what people do.
The God Debate: Hitchens vs. D'Souza - YouTube |
Debates are not presentations.
Presentations, at university, have several outcomes. There is a presenting measure, which typically is concerned with how well you engage with the audience, but more importantly there is a 'know your ****' criteria, which you can't demonstrate if you just read.
What I've found to be unrealistic is closed book exams. One of my degrees comprised of mostly closed books, but it's complete horse **** in most instances. How many times are you going to be closed off from the entire world with no resources at your disposal and you're then required to solve a problem.
Also, I see no point in schools making kids do manual long division and all that ****. Use a calculator ffs.