posted
Being a jerk is subjective; just calling someone that doesn't make it so.
If you steal, then you're a thief. It's a little more cut and dried. Although I don't think what you did was stealing, and KoM's accusation shows me that he didn't bother to read your explanation of what happened. Or his comprehension has seriously dipped in the last few weeks.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
I was not referring to the TA doing the problems, which indeed seems not quite deliberate (a sin of omission, as I said) but rather to this :
quote:I copy math homework all the time though.. 'cause math homework is cruel and unusual punishment!
And I do think that this is theft : Certainly, you had permission to take the actual answers, but you also diminished the credit people get for getting the answers right, and I doubt your sources thought that one over sufficiently to grant you such permission. And even if they did, it is often quite difficult to refuse permission to a friend; it is not clear that they were glad to share.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
They don't need to be glad to share; if someone offers you something and you take it that's not theft. Unless they're offering under duress, but I'm not gonna buy that her friends were guilted into letting her copy.
Trust me when I say that to see large groups of kids frantically copying each others' homework 15 minutes before school starts is a common sight. It's sad but true.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Ok, I'm a little confused. Am I cheating when I check the answers I get against the back of the book? How about when I go back and figure out what I did wrong and change them accordingly (keeping in mind that I always figure out what I did wrong first)? How about when I don't get a problem and ask my boyfriend to show me how?
I guess I don't really view the goal of math homework as to get a good grade. We are graded on the homework, but it's such a negligable portion of our overall grade that I'm not worried about it. I view math homework as a way for me to learn, and I'm going to pursue that in whatever way works best for me. Maybe working a problem backwards isn't the same as working it forward, but if afterwards I can work other problems of the same nature forward, then I think I've accomplished the goal of the homework.
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
I would view it as depending on assumptions and local standards. If the teacher assigns problems that have answers in the back of the book, then presumably they're aware of this and did it on purpose. On the other hand, if you buy a teacher's edition of the textbook and use it to check the answers for problems not in the back of the book, I would consider that dishonest.
As for getting help, my view is that as long as the teacher hasn't told you to work alone, there's nothing wrong with it. (Assuming the person is helping you do the work, not dictating the answers.)
I do some of my engineering problems with a friend in the same class. Generally, we try the problems on our own and check our answers in the back of the book (if they're given). If one of us gets it, she helps the other figure out what she did wrong. If neither of us get it, we try different strategies until it works (or we go to office hours). I find myself working better and learning more because doing the problems with someone makes it harder to just slack off, and having another brain helps prevent frustration when I run into a particularly tough problem. As far as I am concerned, this is perfectly legit.
Posts: 2149 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
"Good point, ElJay.
I should have said his posting them makes sense now. Not the content."
Question Mark. Confused. I do not see the conenction between seeing intellectual material and my political views on the social, economic, and military SitRep of Zhongguo.
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posted
Blayne, it's just that the ethical framework under which you operate, as revealed by "'in for a penny and in for a pound' alot of stuff I do is technically 'unethical,'" makes it a lot easier to understand why you support the PRC so strongly.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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