People are weird...

In my Artificial Intelligence class we were given the option of either doing a group project that involved programming, or writing a research paper, and most of the students in the class chose the research paper. I could understand if this was a generic computer class that non-computer people might be taking, and those people might want to avoid the technical stuff, but this is a senior-level elective course in the Computer Science B.S. program. Why the heck would anyone in that program prefer to write a paper rather than write code? Don't they understand that you can only really understand computers by trying to make them do things? Why can't they see that by challenging yourself to learn new programming languages and writing different types of programs you gain huge insight into how computers and software work? They would seriously rather write just another poorly written paper on a topic they don't really care about?!?

Weirdos.


On a somewhat related note, I've decided that I really want to continue my schooling and get a doctorate in CS, in Artificial Intelligence or a related field. I've looked at my options, and I'm finding a lot of questions I need to find answers to. My grades are good enough that I can probably get into a pretty darn good school for my doctorate, but I have no idea if I could handle the courseload, and if I can't, is it better to get some experience but ultimately fail at a prestigious university, or get high marks at a university no one cares about? I'm a bit of a lazy bum, but when I get into a topic that interests me, I'm off running like a 2 year old on expresso. If the coursework is all interesting and related to my interests, I'll be in heaven, but if it isn't I won't be able to keep up. Anyone out there with experience in a science-based doctorate have any tips?

People are weird...

In my Artificial Intelligence class we were given the option of either doing a group project that involved programming, or writing a research paper, and most of the students in the class chose the research paper. I could understand if this was a generic computer class that non-computer people might be taking, and those people might want to avoid the technical stuff, but this is a senior-level elective course in the Computer Science B.S. program. Why the heck would anyone in that program prefer to write a paper rather than write code? Don't they understand that you can only really understand computers by trying to make them do things? Why can't they see that by challenging yourself to learn new programming languages and writing different types of programs you gain huge insight into how computers and software work? They would seriously rather write just another poorly written paper on a topic they don't really care about?!?

Weirdos.


On a somewhat related note, I've decided that I really want to continue my schooling and get a doctorate in CS, in Artificial Intelligence or a related field. I've looked at my options, and I'm finding a lot of questions I need to find answers to. My grades are good enough that I can probably get into a pretty darn good school for my doctorate, but I have no idea if I could handle the courseload, and if I can't, is it better to get some experience but ultimately fail at a prestigious university, or get high marks at a university no one cares about? I'm a bit of a lazy bum, but when I get into a topic that interests me, I'm off running like a 2 year old on expresso. If the coursework is all interesting and related to my interests, I'll be in heaven, but if it isn't I won't be able to keep up. Anyone out there with experience in a science-based doctorate have any tips?