[afontaine]

I enjoyed reading your post. I also struggle to get up to listen to a professor go over material at a very slow pace. I'm taking a class now and I only show up on the day before the exam and on the exam. There are 2-3 weeks of lectures before an exam.. Usually 5-7 hours of studying is enough to get me a B+.

I'm not saying everyone should do that. But I'm running my startup and my CS degree isn't getting me anywhere closer to being a success story. The things I've learned by "doing" are probably the equivalent of getting CS and MBA degrees.

[yid]

So you're majoring in hubris then?

[icegreentea]

Don't know about his specific case, but after a couple years (at most) of undergrad, you quickly learn how to tell which classes are the ones you'll actually need to attend. You'll pick out the profs who just teach 95% off the slides and textbooks, and which ones actually have useful lectures.

If you're willing to risk that 5-10% 'oh shit, professor included that one unique thing he taught in class that wasn't included in the textbook/slides' on your examination, then you really can usually blow off the lecture and learn at your own pace. And really, its liberating. You can focus on the classes and projects that you enjoy, and are getting the most out of, and still pass all your other classes.

It has nothing to do with hubris (at least in my case), but a combined case of just enough confidence and self-respect. I did not pay 6000 a term to attend inane, information sparse lectures. 90 minute lectures which can be successfully condensed into 15 minutes by your TAs are not worth my time. I've already been burned once by being forced to take these lectures (and paying for it!), I'm not going to let to burn me again by suffering through the opportunity cost in time and mental stability.

[analog31]

Maybe this helps explains why a B+ isn't worth anything any more.