Harvard 1869 entrance exam

Re:Harvard 1869 entrance exam by dexy on Sunday December 04, 2011 @09:21PM (#3312663)

Amazing how curriculum focus has changed--in no small part due to the invention of the computer. These topics have almost nothing to do with what most Harvard students study today. There's been so much new knowledge generated since then...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Harvard 1869 entrance exam by 32ftpersecond on Sunday December 04, 2011 @11:03PM (#3312962)

But we've strayed away from the old knowledge (e.g. classics) -- the stuff that keeps repeating itself...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Harvard 1869 entrance exam by CamperBob on Monday December 05, 2011 @02:36AM (#3313607)

If history repeats itself, then why not study newer, more relevant iterations?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Harvard 1869 entrance exam by 32ftpersecond on Monday December 05, 2011 @03:43AM (#3313756)

The Classics are timeless and thus always relevant, that's why they're still read today. Can anyone really argue that reading Jimmy Carter over Cicero or Marcus Aurelius is preferable because of temporal relevancy factors?

[ Parent | on HN ]