Sexual Preference Not Changed By Woo-Hooing?

[rohina]

Rohina: May I ask if you would consider yourself genuine or not? I tend to agree that there are indeed some sad buggers out there who just need to interact with someone, but to behave as you did seems a little harsh. After all, if there's nowt to say, then don't say anything and tell 'em they're wasting their hardearned. Just my view, is all.

I have certainly had some experiences that I would describe as empathic, and one or two episodes of precognition. My grandmother used to work for the police in her town as a psychic, so if a psychic pedigree matters, I have one. (A lot of people think I am cold and unsympathetic and sarcastic, which is a perhaps a side effect of me often blocking emotions because I can get overwhelmed by strong emotion if I don't block it, or maybe I am just a sarcastic bitch). I am an excellent tarot reader; I used to used it when I was an academic counsellor because tarot is a great way to get people to talk about difficult emotional issues. I am often conflicted about my abilities, because I am also a highly educated person, and I know how to think critically, but I can't always dismiss my own experience, even if I can't prove it empirically.

The phone thing is a major rip-off. It's way more expensive than seeing a good tarot reader in person, and most of the people who phone will hang up if you tell them the truth about their issues. When you are paid by the minute, if you want to make money, you tell people what they want to hear to keep them on the phone.

Open invitiation: send me a message with a question (general or specific), and I'll read your cards for you. Any of you. But not till tomorrow afternoon because it *is* the first day of semester.

[J. M. Pescado]

Heh, I'm not much for precognition myself, although I do have the ability to sense what are probably the bioelectric emanations given off by another person. It's rather useful in hostile situations with low visibility, since I can feel the enemy's presence before they know I'm there. As far as telling the future, though, I prefer statements like "Clouded, your future is not. Becoming shorter, perhaps.". I also happen to be rather fond of Chronomancy, the art of predicting the future by waiting to see what happens.

[Oddysey]

Bioelectric emanations? You mean . . . like a shark? Eep.

Yoda/Reverse Polish Notation statements are good. As is Chronomancy, as a tool for annoying New Agers.

Tarot, and other fortune telling, is interesting, especially since even if you start with the assumption that the reader is reading their client, rather than the cards, it can still be useful, as Rohina said when she used it for academic counseling. I'm personally most interested in dreams; there are some interesting documented incidents, reported by professional dream researchers in a at least casually experimental setting, involving shared dreams.

[ZephyrZodiac]

Also dreams which deal with something happening, and then you find out it has happened.

[laeshanin]

As far as telling the future, though, I prefer statements like "Clouded, your future is not. Becoming shorter, perhaps.".

That one's obvious and cheating...Even I can manage to precog something when I've got a large gun shoved up my nostril.

I have certainly had some experiences that I would describe as empathic, and one or two episodes of precognition. My grandmother used to work for the police in her town as a psychic, so if a psychic pedigree matters, I have one. (A lot of people think I am cold and unsympathetic and sarcastic, which is a perhaps a side effect of me often blocking emotions because I can get overwhelmed by strong emotion if I don't block it, or maybe I am just a sarcastic bitch). I am an excellent tarot reader; I used to used it when I was an academic counsellor because tarot is a great way to get people to talk about difficult emotional issues. I am often conflicted about my abilities, because I am also a highly educated person, and I know how to think critically, but I can't always dismiss my own experience, even if I can't prove it empirically.

The phone thing is a major rip-off. It's way more expensive than seeing a good tarot reader in person, and most of the people who phone will hang up if you tell them the truth about their issues. When you are paid by the minute, if you want to make money, you tell people what they want to hear to keep them on the phone.

Ok, I take your point about phone calls, and would agree that people want to hear certain things. I just feel, personally, awkward about feeding them a line.

I'm a Tarot reader too and a pretty good one. I don't use it when I'm counselling as the two are not really compatible though my skills as a clairsentient do give me a good feel for what is happening to my client. If they want me to read for them, I will, but only at a seperate appointment.

[rohina]

Ok, I take your point about phone calls, and would agree that people want to hear certain things. I just feel, personally, awkward about feeding them a line.

Ah, ethics. There are some jobs you will do when you are a penurious grad student. Personally, I drew the line at writing essays for money; feeding a line to sad idiots seemed more palatable than my other options.

[laeshanin]

I am known to dip into ethics every now and again; it's a bad habit of mine. You demonstrate a very cynical attitude but one that I can applaud.

[rohina]

I guess it is also a matter of need and priorities. I spend a lot of time dealing with plagiarists, and not that much with thieves and murderers, so I have a skewed ethical sensibility about academic integrity.
In the case of "ripping off" the people who called me on the psychic line, I think they mainly called because they had no one tot talk to (or no one who would sypathise with their crackpot position), just as much as they called for genuine psychic advice, so I think I did give them what they wanted, partly.
Just as a side note, I would like to say, I wish that in Sims U, the "write my term paper" thing had an option for a negative consequence if you get caught, just like the hacking of grades. There also should be a "buy paper from internet" option with the same possible negative consequences.

[laeshanin]

Plagiarism is rife, I'm afraid, and not just in academic circles. I do believe that the funniest thing I heard was of an essay (not mine, thank heaven!) returned with one comment: "I believe you have left out the quotation marks". When the student enquired where, the tutor indicated the start of essay and the end. I think they got a fail...

[Kitiara]

Plagiarism is rife, I'm afraid, and not just in academic circles. I do believe that the funniest thing I heard was of an essay (not mine, thank heaven!) returned with one comment: "I believe you have left out the quotation marks". When the student enquired where, the tutor indicated the start of essay and the end. I think they got a fail...

You know, I can't decide if that is just too funny, or just too sad.

[rohina]

What, like, if you don't laugh, you'll cry? I once had a plagiarist complain about his F because he had written parts of the essay (i.e. two sentences) himself, and shouldn't he get credit for that?

[laeshanin]

It made me laugh like a drain. But you're both right, it is incredibly sad that someone thinks they can even try to get away with this sort of thing. Don't they realise that all tutors have an instinct for plagiarisms, AND they know all the text books inside out? If you're going to plagiarise make certain it's from an unknown source, so you can at least pass it off. And if you can substantiate, so much the better. That's harder work than writing the goddam essay in the first place. 

[witch]

One student got done here because she plagiarised the tutor's book. i.e. a book the tutor had written and published. 

Pictures from the Internet are the big issue we have with marine & environmental, florists and fashion design students...

• Pictures on the Internet are there for anyone to use, aren't they?
• Reference a picture? Can't I just reference the Google image search page, where I found all the pictures?
• No-one will know.
• I can't remember where I found it.

[laeshanin]

lol    Not a very bright student then?

As for the web images... Bless, you have to give 'em credit for nerve, eh? I think what gets me the most is the air of bewilderment and shock that anyone would have the audacity to accuse them of plagiarism.

[witch]

Actually the Asian students have a real difficulty understanding plagiarism, in some Asian cultures it is considered respectful to use the words of those more knowledgable, as no words the student could use would be as good as the ones in the books.

[laeshanin]

Interesting.