What is the easiest science course I can take to earn an A in college if I dislike science?
I was a CS major but I had to take a qualitative natural science course as a breadth requirement. I selected Astronomy and really liked it, mainly because of the pretty slides of astronomical and atmospheric phenomena.My run down of the courses, I've had Physics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, and Atronomy:Biology: You have to deal with icky stuff in labs but it's probably the most day-to-day relevant basic science. You can't run away from living things and some of them are beautiful or otherwise interesting.Chemistry: At the freshman level you end up doing a lot of, mostly simple, algebra. There's a whiff of danger but most of the compounds you deal with are actually pretty tame. No pretty pictures and little day to day relevance for most people. It did make me appreciate how imprecise we often are when cooking and how much deliberate mystification is used by manufactures of household chemicals.Physics: I took the first course in the major sequence. It is essentially math puzzles at that level. Fun if you like that sort of thing. Most mundane situations are too complex for basic physics to be useful but the conservation of energy and momentum are helpful in thinking about mechanical systems.Earth sciences: You get to look at a lot of pretty rocks and fossils. I forget a lot of this especially things about silicic versus mafic minerals. Paleontology courses are interesting if you like to think about alien planets because earth was one in the past. Minerology is good if you like to see pretty rocks and enjoy keying out specimens to identify them.Astronomy: No lab sections, pretty pictures, and awe inspiring pressures, temperatures, and lengths of time. If you've ever been fascinated by the power of H-bombs, astronomy is where you find things so powerful that beside them H-bombs are nothing.However, I had to write a paper defending or debunking astrology, which might be a turn off for some people. Also, unlike with the other classes which deal with things that you can't fully ignore, if you spend your evenings inside you will seldom notice the stars. Of course, sometimes the sky intrudes on us in messy ways but meteor strikes are rare and a damaging gamma ray burst has never happened in all of earth's history as far as we know.
I've been accepted to LSU but I want to get into their honors program but I can't get anyone to contact me back about admission. What should I do?
I ended up getting admitted into LSU after being declined by simply talking to my guidance counselor because she was the most credible individual I could leverage to get accepted into their university. I went to her office one day explaining how interested I was in specific programs (some exclusive to LSU so they know you did your research) and went as far as listing social groups I planned on joining and other pieces of Baton Rouge culture to convince them.I was initially declined from Louisiana State University (LSU) and I was not even given the option to be put on the waiting list in May 2008. I was stuck on going out of state (I’m from Washington, DC) and I wanted to follow in my families foot steps by attending LSU. Luckily my due diligence and honest ambition was enough for my counselor to redo my entire application and talk to all of my teachers to see how certain areas could be fast-tracked to show LSU of my serious interest.If you think of their intentions in a logical way it will make sense. You’re likely so excited you find it difficult to stay calm and I do not blame you. They are worried about telling mass groups of those who applied about their acceptance because they actually accept more people than they can take. They accept an additional 5–10% based on the years admission rates. I had a close friend in the admissions office.The “Jones Effect” is a great way to summarize the fear LSU has from accepting too many applicants at once and too early: Often used as a sales term to describe how to motivate a potential buyer to buy based on what other people are doing. Also referred to as "Keeping up with the Jones's."Salesperson: "I just came from Mr. Jones and he liked my product so much he bought three. Next thing you know, I was sold out and the customers who wanted to buy from me were mad! I wish I would have waited to tell them the good news." This is an example of the Jones Effect.In conclusion, LSU does not want to tell everyone at once because they risk the chance of an all out accept-fest leading to over-crowded dorms and freshman sleeping in hotels like back in 2009. When they accept folks at a slower pace, they mitigate risk and still have the best intentions in mind.
Are climate change skeptics straw men, i.e. people of little substance established as a front?
Would a person who can demonstrate that sea level rise projections are bullshit be considered a straw man?Should a person with an advanced degree in civil engineering, 25 years of coastal engineering experience, and an IQ over 140 be considered a “people of little substance”?I am not a front for Big Oil.This is really really simple. Sea level rise is happening. It’s happening at a constant rate as per every tide gage record on both the east coast and the west coast.Go to NOAA Tides and Currents Sea Level Trends click on a tide gage location (arrow), under “Choose plot:” in the pop up menu, select “Linear Trend” and find just one linear trend plot that shows an increasing rate of rise in the mean sea level.THERE ARE NONE!Tide gage records go back to the middle of the 19th century, which is well before atmospheric CO2 levels rose significantly above preindustrial levels.Sea level rise is trivial and it has nothing to do with AGW.Being skeptical about sea level rise having anything to do with man’s burning of fossil fuels is logical and rational.I suppose it’s possible that AGW is happening, but it’s just not severe enough to be melting glaciers and causing an increase in the rate that sea levels are rising.On the other hand, are there any politicos or global warming alarmists who can even entertain this possibility?If they are wrong about this, how can any of the “science” be trusted? Where does the science end and the hysteria begin?
I have a gpa of 2.5 and got an 16 on ACT, can I still get into a good college?
Those are somewhat low scores and to me they would indicate that you've had issues with high school courses. They certain don't disqualify you in any way from college. Now there are many reasons that you might have had problems with high schools, but the 16 ACT score also indicates that it seems like you have some holes in your education. I wouldn't be focused on which school I would go to, but much more on filling those gaps. The reasons is that being admitted to a reasonably good university is only the first step of a very long foot race. Students who have gaps in their education have much higher dropout rates and while that time is college can be valuable in terms of subsequent work, it usually is quite expensive and leaves a bitter taste in many students mouths.Instead of directly applying to college, I would at least consider community college for two years. First, you'll get an A.A. degree. Second, community colleges doe a better job of giving you time to fill in the gaps in your education at a much lower cost at a pace of your own. After that, you can transfer and if you've done well, you'll be able to get into pretty good schools (I've known several UC Berkeley students who transferred from community college -- and UC Berkeley is one of the top public schools in the country). If the class room work has been a struggle, you can find technical certifications that will get you int a reasonable profession.Now, if you've just had problems meshing with teachers at your school and had an off-day taking the ACT and would have gotten a 24 on a better day, the story changes. But with the information you've provided, I'd focus first on getting the education you need for yourself. I would strongly caution you about staying away from for-profit colleges. These frequently have very high tuition (comparable to Harvard's) and they'll work with you to get school loans -- but you'll have to repay those loans over a long time. There have been numerous stories on how these for-profit degrees really don't deliver on what they claim they will. Assuming that you're in high school, you should have a guidance counsellor who can give you information on community colleges in the area.