Tuesday's Most Active Threads

The two most active threads were ones that I've already discussed and, as such, will start today with the third most active thread yesterday. That thread was titled, "10+ AP classes" and posted the "College and University Discussion" forum. I'm sure that everyone is aware but on the slight chance there is someone who is not, "AP classes" are "Advanced Placement" high school classes that use college curriculums. Examinations offered after completing the classes can, if passed with a sufficient score, provide college credit. The benefits of AP classes is that they are more challenging, look good on college applications, and can shorten the time needed to complete undergraduate studies, which also saves money. The original poster of this thread says that she has seen reports of kids taking more than 10, sometimes as many as 20, AP courses in high school. She does not know how this is possible because she has looked into her child's schedule and the maximum possible number is 10. Several posters whose kids have taken more than 10 AP classes explain how it was done. Some schools allow 9th graders to take one course, so many of the students get a head start that way. Next, these kids try to take two classes as sophomores. During junior and senior years, they take 5 each year. Doing this accumulates 13 APs. However, many posters report that their children exceeded even this number, sometimes taking as many as seven AP courses a year. One poster even reported that her child took an AP class while in 8th grade. A lot of this depends on what schools offer, with opportunities being less available in many schools. Similarly, school policies outlining the number of classes that can be taken and during what years differ significantly among schools. AP classes are another area in which an arms race has developed. Not only can a large number of AP classes help a student get into a university, it can provide advantages to the student once they are in the school. They are able to skip classes for which they passed the AP exam and start with higher level courses. No surprise than that many parents push their kids to take as many AP classes as possible. Some posters worry that this is an unhealthy attitude and that these parents are too focused on their children getting into a prestigious college. One poster worried that kids in this situation will be too focused on passing AP classes and college acceptance, believing these things will bring them happiness. They will then arrive at college with feelings of "anxiety and depression and constantly compare themselves to their equally high strung peers." Posters are also divided between what they view as the primary benefit of AP studies. Some posters prioritize the impact on college admissions and, therefore, value only the highest scores on AP Exams, believing that admissions officers won't be impressed by lower scores regardless of how many AP classes were taken. Other posters are less concerned about the exam score as long as it is high enough to receive college credit. They value the savings in time and money that passing an AP exam allows more than any benefit that it might provide to admissions.

Yesterday's next most active thread was also posted in the "College and University Discussion" forum. Titled "Kid wants to work on Wall Street", the original poster describes her son who she says lacks "Ivy stats" but still has a strong grade point average and test scores. He also has plenty of extracurricular activities. The original poster's son wants to follow the course of a cousin who attended Harvard and then went to work at a prestigious Wall Street bank. Assuming that Ivy League schools are not an option, the original poster is interested in suggestions of universities in the Eastern part of the country that her son should consider. Bucknell University was frequently mentioned as the best option. One poster disagreed with that suggestion and, wrongly, claimed that the recommendation was being repeatedly made by a single poster. One poster suggested talking to the kid's cousin because "There is a lot of misinformation on this listserve". Among that misinformation is the suggestion that DCUM is a "listserve". It is a forum and while it started as a mailing list, that was shutdown about 15 years ago. Some posters have very strong opinions on this topic. They don't simply disagree with contrary opinions, but assert that those holding such opinions are either trolls or neurologically impaired. This is another thread in which there is a tendency for posters to just harp on their own particular pet issue rather than address the topic of the thread. For instance, one, or possibly more, poster brings up artificial intelligence and how it will take the jobs that the original poster's son is hoping to get. This causes a bit of an off-topic diversion into AI. Similarly, a number of posters recommend West Coast colleges despite the original poster specifically saying that her son wants to stay in the East. Several posters argue the importance of social skills, especially being able to network, over the benefit of pure academics. These posters would choose a school that has better networking opportunties over one ranked higher academically. It's really amazing how authoritative posters speak. DCUM anonymity does not provide an easy method of judging credentials. When a poster makes a definitive statement — especially when that statement completely contradicts an opposite but equally definitive statement — we have no way to know whether the poster is a 20 year veteran of Wall Street banking or an unemployed college dropout posting from his mom's basement. I think the only time that actual quantitative evidence was introduced was by a poster who linked to a report showing where Bucknell graduates ended up working. Twenty-five percent of the graduates were employed in financial services with a significant number working at Wall Street banks. DCUM's crack College Admissions Fantasy League players are really dropping the ball on this thread with the advice so scattered and contradictory that I'm sure the original poster is more confused than she started for having read it. Some posters even spend their time berating the original poster for raising a son who wants to work on Wall Street.

Next was a thread titled, "Why would anyone who dislikes Trump drive a Tesla?" and posted in the "Political Discussion" forum. The original poster argues that it makes no sense for anyone who opposes former President, current cult leader, and convicted felon Donald Trump to own a Tesla. The original poster's unexplained reasoning is that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has emerged as a strong Trump supporter and very right-wing in general. Therefore, purchasing a Tesla automobile funds Musk and his support of Trump. I bought an electric vehicle in March and, after being very impressed with it, bought a second one last month. But because my thinking is similar to the original poster's, I never considered a Tesla. I have been following EV developments very closely for about the past year and much of what was said in this thread is consistent with by own observations. Initially, Musk's focus on the environment convinced many that he was a liberal. Tesla cars were, for the time, high quality and technologically advanced. As such, affluent, well-educated, generally liberal, residents of the DC and its suburbs gobbled up Teslas in vast quantities. When I first moved to DC, it was said that the BMW 3 Series was the Honda Accord of DC. Certainly, the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y have now replaced it in that regard. Many of these owners were rabid fans of Musk. However, Musk's move to the right, and particularly his vocal support of Trump, have had an impact. Go to a discussion forum focused on any brand of EV other than Tesla and you will find it full of EV enthusiasts who will never consider a Tesla because of Musk. Several posters in this thread report that they purchased Teslas before Musk's rightward turn and they won't buy another Tesla now. While almost every brand of EVs sold in the U.S. is seeing record sales, Tesla sales have experienced a drop. Some of that decrease is undoubtedly due to individuals who, like the original poster, are making purchasing decisions based on their — and more importantly Musk's — political views. But, as is also pointed out in the thread, Musk's politics likely do not account for all of Telsa's sales problems. Most of the models are getting long in the tooth. Owners report that recently produced cars are often of lower quality than those manufactured earlier. A number of high-quality alternatives have emerged, providing competition that didn't previously exist. The Cybertruck has its fans, but the trucks are piling up unsold on storage lots. Musk once bragged that there were a million reservations for Cybertrucks. However, after selling just 25,000 trucks to those on the reservation list, Tesla has opened sales to anyone. Presumably everyone else with a reservation has lost interest or has another reason not to buy the truck now. Musk is now arguing that Tesla is not an automobile company, but rather an artificial intelligence company. His focus has turned to self-driving taxis. The thread also reveals that, in some cases, the political considerations have been just the opposite of those demonstrated by the original poster. One poster in the thread said that he and his sons love Trump and Musk. However, whether this will translate into their buying a Tesla was left unsaid.

The final thread for today was posted in the "Sports General Discussion" forum. Titled, "Jordan Chiles - must give back her bronze medal", the original poster describes a controversy in the Olympics women’s artistic floor exercise competition involving USA gymnast Jordan Chiles. I have not been following the Olympics and didn't know anything about this topic. All that I know now has come from the thread, so forgive any errors. As I understand it, Chiles was originally given a score that would have placed her fifth in the competition. However, her coach immediately protested the score and it was revised, resulting in Chiles being awarded the bronze medal. However, the Romanian team argued that the USA's protest had missed the allowed time deadline by 4 seconds and, therefore, Chiles' score should revert to the original number. This protest was upheld and Chiles was asked to return the bronze medal. But things didn't end there. The USA team attempted to appeal that ruling, but was turned down even though USA officials say that they have video evidence showing that the original protest had been made within the time requirements. To make things even more complicated, two Romanian gymnasts were tied just behind Chiles' bronze-winning score. But one of them, Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, appeared to have been wrongly-penalized. Were her score to be corrected for that error, she would have earned the bronze. However, for reasons I don't know, the bronze was awarded to her teammate Ana Bǎrbosu. The result is that Bǎrbosu, who arguably had the fifth-best routine, is being awarded 3rd place. The original poster argues that regardless of the final outcome, the result will be marred and she doesn't think that Bǎrbosu can really take pride in an award earned in these circumstances. Posters debate whether the judges were incompetent, corrupt, or actually got things correct and the problems lie elsewhere. Some posters point out that Chiles only deserves the bronze if you discount the deduction from Maneca-Voinea's score for stepping off the mat, something that video shows didn't actually happen. However, the Romanians apparently didn't protest this deduction. There are so many different elements involved in this including teams, athletes, organizations, and different parts of organizations. To make matters worse, posters refer to most of these things with the assumption that readers know to what they are referring. In my case, that is a bad assumption and I am lost understanding who is responsible for what or why. In the end, there are posters who strongly believe that Chiles deserves the bronze. There are those who equally strongly believe the bronze rightfully belongs with Maneca-Voinea. There are some who think that all three women should be awarded the medal. Finally, there are some outliers who don't think medals are important and that nobody should care about them.