im in the final year of my IT degree. In my 1st year we learned how to build websites. I remember being really good at this and got some pretty decent marks as well as making some brill websites from scratch.

The thing is Ive just tried to start another website, and ive absolutely no idea how to do it. Its almost like im a beginner again. So what was the point in my 1st year at uni if I cant remember a god dam thing.

Answers on a postcard

Isn't that more to do with your memory, and less to do with the course?

Originally posted by Kristian
Isn't that more to do with your memory, and less to do with the course?

Not sure, but maybe this thread will answer that question.

Does anyone else forget everything they have learned or is it just me?

I keep forgetting lessons I've learned in life if that's the same thing. I seem to have a good memory, but keep making the same mistakes :(

Surely you have your notes, and maybe also the websites you made (i.e. and the source code/strucure files) - look over them again!

Ask me a thermodynamics question ;)

Guaranteed not to be able to answer :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Strix
Ask me a thermodynamics question ;)

Guaranteed not to be able to answer :rolleyes:

lol, thats weird because I done the Sciences at A Level before going on to IT at degree level (dont ask), but I reckon I know more about Science then I do in IT. :suspect:

I too did an IT degree and I would no more remember how to build a microchip from scratch or solve Fourier Transforms than I could before I learnt how to. I know where to go to find out and could understand the language needed to carry out these tasks though.

It's this ability to apply the learning skills learnt rather than the retention of the information which is more important, imo.

I have the same problem, if I don't use software on a daily basis, or code in a certain language all the time I gradually forget how to do it. I think my brain has a limited capacity, to learn something new I have to forget something old.

I was looking at some C code last week and I just thought "I haven't got a clue what this does", the thing is, I wrote it.

Originally posted by spyro2000
im in the final year of my IT degree. In my 1st year we learned how to build websites. I remember being really good at this and got some pretty decent marks as well as making some brill websites from scratch.

The thing is Ive just tried to start another website, and ive absolutely no idea how to do it. Its almost like im a beginner again. So what was the point in my 1st year at uni if I cant remember a god dam thing.

Answers on a postcard

You forget stuff if you don't use it.

I spent part of this afternoon changing a style sheet for a web site that I wrote three weeks ago and constantly have to go back to teh reference books for style sheet syntax, etc.

I guess I just prefer not to fill my head when I can have books around me. :)

Seriously, it's practice - you may jump through the hoops at university but to make the things you learn part of your everyday thinking you have to keep using the skills you learn.

Joe

I used to be very good at changing babies nappies 20 years ago.........but you should see me fumble with my Grandsons nappy now! lol.

I know what you mean - I learned shorthand quite a few years back but i've never used it. Now I can write 1 word in shorthand :confused:

But, the things I learned and have used regularly (like typing) I can do in my sleep. Actually, I trained as a copy typist and can type brilliantly without looking at the keyboard, but ask me where any of the keys are and i'd have a problem. It's like, my fingers know where the keys are but my brain doesn't :loopy:

You've got to repeat things over and over again until you can do them without thinking.

If you want to design websites as a living then you're going to have to get plenty of practice. If not, so what?

When you've got your degree loads of job opportunites open for you as a graduate, they more than likely won't reflect what you're degree is in, but hey - who cares!? If it gets you the job you want then it's worth it.

Studying at a University or College is a journey of discovery.
It's the travel that is more important than the destination.

Enjoy the trip.

(It's also a great time to experiment in drugs, wet your student loan up against a wall, enjoy seemingly endless, pointless sex with people you will never have to stay in touch with and ... where's that prospectus?)

I remember nothing of my degree. Like you, I can actually remember MUCH more from my biology A Level (passed 8 years ago) than I do from my degree. But then my degree was in Sociology, which has to be one of the most useless subjects known to man ;)

I do agree however, that it is how you apply your learning that matters most. Although I know little of sociology the skills I learnt during my course have been invaluable during my working life so far. Specifically my writing skills were particularly enhanced - I learnt how to write reports with structure, logic and supporting my statements with evidence - which is essential in the kind of job I do now.

I don't want to sound like a snob (although I know I will!) - but you can usually tell who, among the people you work with, has been to university without even asking them.

Originally posted by Deavon
Studying at a University or College is a journey of discovery.
It's the travel that is more important than the destination.

Enjoy the trip.

(It's also a great time to experiment in drugs, wet your student loan up against a wall, enjoy seemingly endless, pointless sex with people you will never have to stay in touch with and ... where's that prospectus?)

University is certainly about so much more than getting a degree! I think anyone who goes to university should try their very best to go away somewhere, rather than staying in their home city and living with their parents (although I know this is tougher now that it is so much more expensive). It was certainly the best thing I ever did - and yes, I am back in my home city now (but have never gone back to live with mum and dad!) - but I have at least experienced living elsewhere (3 different cities in the end, over 7 years - not all as a student of course) and gained my independence at a young age. I remember when I was doing my A Levels at Loxley College - everyone else there was planning on going to uni in Sheffield and my friends didn't understand why I wanted to go away. I think they missed out on a once in a lifetime experience - and I certainly don't envy them now as they are STILL living with their parents!

Originally posted by spyro2000
Not sure, but maybe this thread will answer that question.

Does anyone else forget everything they have learned or is it just me?

Not just you , im terrible with remembering things. ..... i haven't done a degree or anything but used to spend loads of time learning to make websites and do all that HTML and code and stuff..... then the other day i thought id have a crack at making myself a site and couldn't remember a single bit :suspect: I know its all there lurking in my brain somewhere, just finding it thats the problem!

A friend told me years ago that all a degree does is tell the world that you are an educated chimp who can read books and write his name. Since I was concerned more with getting good marks than actually learning anything, I too have forgotton most of what I learned at the university. Practice does make perfect. Anything that I learn at work I tend to retain.

Interesting Thread this - - - - "What Good does a Degree do for you"?
As some have said, it shows that you attended and managed to stay the course. Therefore you should be capable of knowing where to look and how to pick out the information you need to complete any project.
Going through life without the benefit of a Uni education, I earned my qualifications by practical field work. During this time, I met many (Educated Idiots) as we termed them. Loads of qualifications, but No Common Sense.
It has been said, that every time you wake up with a hang-over, you have destroyed a few "K" of brain cells? Well, two answers to that!
One, I must have had More cells than Einstein.
Two, I always seem to retain the things that are useful, and lose the irrelevant.
I think, that the knowledge and skills that you aquire by sweat, and making the mistakes, really stick with you.
Like my multiplication tables and mental arithmatic that were beaten into me by Sister Lucy - - - a long long time ago.
University of life - - - - Doing it, rather than being told about it.

Memories and abilities are weird. I cannot remember book or film titles even though I can quote from them. I cannot remember authors names or such - even though I have read dozens of their books and can remember parts of the books themselves.

I can pick up a pencil any time and draw a pretty decent picture - even though years may pass between me doing one sketch and the next. The things I learnt about the occult are embedded in my mind - even though I rarely need to draw on that knowledge. Yet Car mechanics - years ago I could strip an engine down and rebuild it working - now I have a car and I took a look at the engine and thought - what the hell?

I can write a damned good story, but I haven;t bothered for years. I know this cos I tried the other day and it turned out quite well. You can write peotry and then stop for several years and still be able to turn out some decent prose afterwards.

Strange thing - remembering what we remember. Looking forwards to seeing some answers on here.

Dragon

I agree with the various people that have commented that you forget knowledge and lose skills that you don't use. I'd add though that there are factors that affect how quickly this happens. One is how well you learn it, and possibly how much time you spend learning it.

An example of this: at school I took a 4 year French GCSE, then a 1 year German GCSE after it. I got A grades in both, and 15 years later I can remember much much more of the French than the German... (and I haven't really used either since) I'm guessing this comes down to the simple amount of repetitive learning we did over those four years. If you just study to pass an exam, and never touch it from the day you sit the paper, it's bound to go quickly.

In my first degree (mechanical engineering) most of the things we studied were then used to progress to more difficult topics the next semester or year. I might not be able to remember all of it perfectly now, but I have a good grasp of the concepts and could re-learn and apply the knowledge pretty quickly if I needed to. If you just learn something for an exam, then it's never touched upon again after then in another course, it's unlikely you'll retain it as well - this is to some extent part of planning a good syllabus I suppose, but certain things are impossible to continue with, it's not like you'll just keep writing websites on your course! :)

My PhD was only partly related to my undergrad degree, but the new job I just got last week is very much focused on engineering - so I'm glad I remember it! ;)