Is there such a thing?

I'm a newbie here as you can see, but it strikes me, from the posts I've read so far, that the users here seem to be very eloquent and make thoughtful comments. Does the average absinthe drinker tend to be well-educated, middle-class, more intelligent than average?

Depends on how long they've been drinking.

Absintheurs come from many socio-economic and educational strata. The primary reason that the level of literacy here is so high is that we enforce it.

WS isn't simply a recreational discussion forum, it's an educational resource.

In order to provide an enjoyable and meaningful experience here for our readers, we strongly encourage proper spelling and punctuation, civil discourse and tolerance for diversity, and we strongly discourage text/chat-speak (LOL, ROFLMFAO, r u going 2 BM ths yr?), gratuitous swearing and typing in all-caps or all lowercase letters. We forbid religious or political discussion, not the mention of the topics, but discussion of the relative merits of a given position. In other words, it's fine to mention that you're a gay republican Muslim if it happens to be in the context of a discussion, but not okay to post about how much you hate those damned libertarian Mormon bastards.

That said, we know how to take a joke and we frequently indulge in good-natured ribbing, rapier-like witticisms, sarcasm and rude (read: randy) remarks. Also, a good dose of self-deprecation and humility goes a long way here too.

Interesting. The last sentence sounds like a description of the English, so I'll be fine in that respect!

I think most people here are pretty smart and eloquent.

But as far as education, lifestyle, income, hobbies, lines of work, etc. you'll find something of everything here. Everyone who can play nice is welcome. And me too for some reason.

1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d 2 g3t l41d

Outed again. Sigh.

Phew!

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Hey, way to single out Glenn Beck there.

If he's a member here I'm afraid I'll have to leave. It's not even politics; I just despise him as a human being.

Isn't he a reformed alcoholic? And yeah, I agree with you, he doesn't help what other countries think of you guys.

I sure hope that we've tainted our own reputation without one arrogant asshole getting to take all the credit for it.

Someone has been drinking heavily.

Or, they want an "A" in Absinthe 101 in which case..."A"!

I'll settle with being average.

Let's hope so!

I'm somewhere between a box of hammers and a can of paint, so what does that tell you? And man, this window tastes fabu!



He's a reformed something. I just haven't figured out what. But one thing I can tell you is I just did a spit-take with my yogurt when I saw the title to the splash page on this website.

Duz a bear s**t in the woods...burp.....

I'm somewhere between a box of hammers and a can of paint, so what does that tell you?

Get your head out of the tool box.

Oh, hell. I messed up a quote again. Just call me Absomphe, Jr.

Who you callin' a toolbox, number cruncher?

See what happens when you stop drinking. Let that be a lesson to you.

WM* - Th brn wl b cld. Ofrs rps t tr sts an pcs.

i y cn rd ts, u cn b a fmn! 2b1ask1!


Hey, now; that's Zman's homie you're talking about.

And I'd like to thank you all for participating in this vivid demonstration of the types of political posts we don't make here.

Hey, I won't get pissed if someone says they think Dave Mustaine is a shitty person, and he's one of my heroes.

I thought of this question myself a couple of times.

I'm halfway through a bachelor degree in library & information science (wich isn't considered THAT well-educated).
I have worked at a sawmill most of my life (I'm young still, but anyway), so half my life I've been classed lower middleclass.
I'm a member of mensa (not bragging, just pointing out I have high measureable IQ, but completely stupid otherwise).

"High intelligence" is just a matter of how you use your words.
You can be dumb as a duck, but [put obvious fact here].


The thing with absinthe, counter to wine is that I sense a bigger difference in taste. It's a hobby like any other.
With wine, as far as I'm concerned it's hard to get a botttle of bad commercial wine. (I live in sweden, so we have a supervised market, but still)
With absinth, I feel there's a more explicit range of taste between brands.

although I am arguably articulate (almost argumentatively so), I ain't too educated; I'm just a curious guy who can't stop asking questions. I may have a high IQ, but it hasn't made me rich. 

do what thou wilt with that.

As I have said before (probably here, even), some of the smartest people I know do not have a formal education and some of the dumbest people I know have doctorate degrees. Education is good and indicates a goal achieved but it's not the benchmark in judging a person's worth.

Damn. Way to ruin my night, Joe.

Guilty.

I was speaking to someone a couple years ago about college education. I was telling him how a friend of mine with a computer science degree from Samford University couldn't get him a better job than working in a mailroom. The person with whom I was conversing was soon to graduate from Samford and he was very shocked. He proceeded to ask if my friend had jumped through various hoops; mostly ass-kissing exercises with absolutely nothing to do with his degree at all, and only with tertiary relevance to the university. I said my friend hadn't done any of that bullshit, and he said, "Oh, well that's why. Your degree means nothing unless you know the right people. I'm making sure I know them all."

This is why I hate college. The concept of going off to better yourself and become a more complete person has been completely ditched in order to place all focus on training for jobs, and even that is usually done extremely badly.

Oh, and I dropped out after two years because they were phasing out my major. Why? In 10 years of providing the commercial music program, nobody who graduated with that degree got a job in that field. My theory/ major instrument professor actually told me I was better off dropping out if I weren't going to switch over to nursing or something. Furthermore, they started stripping down the music department completely and firing professors left and right. If you have to make cuts, just get rid of the performing arts.

I consider my high school (Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science) to be significantly more prestigious than my college. That's a diploma I'm proud of.

Sorry. Ranting.

I've always felt like a generalist in a specialist society. I know a great mechanic who knows next to nothing about computers. I don't feel that that makes him a dummy or less than anyone else.



& yet those who make good absinthe, all adhere to the same standards and produce distinctly different spirits. I suppose though that the same can be said for other things as well, but that's part of the beauty of absinthe to me. Change the base, add some herbs, it's the distiller's signature.

This is more or less true, unfortunately--depending on what school you attend. Especially in this economy. Universities are being run more and more like factories that turn out "products" designed to fit some particular need in society.

As someone who has devoted his life to "higher education" in the liberal arts, it's frustrating. On the one hand, I can see the value of making sure that what I teach (film studies) has some connection to "real life." On the other hand, the idea that what I'm teaching should primarily serve some specific vocational purpose turns my stomach.

I see my job as getting my students to see, think, question, formulate ideas, and communicate. It's too bad these skills aren't more valued in the society I'm sending them into. In a way, despite all their flaws, colleges and universities are the last great bastions of free thought in this country.

I know what you mean. If I were a D&D character I'd be a bard. I'm really good at music, but since that's pretty useless in everyday life, I've made a point of becoming pretty good at just about anything you could throw at me, but not excellent at any one really useful, employable thing.

Funny thing, I also know a great mechanic, however he also happens to be the most talented computer network specialist I've ever met and a firearms expert to boot. And he can't get a decent job because he wasn't allowed to graduate with his computer degree due to financial issues, even though he finished the program and has several certifications. He's working on getting certified as a mechanic now but he's put it off for a long time because he doesn't want to work in that environment, or deal with the frustration of being apprenticed to someone who knows less than he does.

Someone's pants are on fire.


That's not completely accurate. Sometimes, it depends on the college, sometimes the major at a particular college, sometimes it depends on the particular teacher. Some schools really embrace the Liberal Arts philosophy of a well-rounded education and life-long learning. Some don't. Some are tech schools dedicated wholly to job training. Some try to do everything. Some are better than others but that rarely has anything to do with the cost of tuition. Some are shameless rip-offs. They are human institutions fraught with human shortcomings.

Ultimately, all any teacher/major/college can do is try to offer motivation and opportunities. After that, it becomes the student's responsibility to take advantage of what they offer. Sometimes, "pulling strings" and making connections helps but eventually, the ex-student has to find their own way. That's just life.

A day or two before the Spring 2010 semester started, every student at UNM got an e-mail from the registrar to take advantage of the current tuition rates and sign up for an extra class. It was really an e-mail letting us know that tuition rates are going up again. I suppose to some, something like "15+ credit hours" might look good on a computer screen, but to anyone who's working while going to school it's fucking stupid.

For an institution that makes so much damn money on each student every semester, I think it's fishy that they want to actually get some graduated.


However, I have come across some mentoring organizations that seem to support students making connections with professors to build experience and make the types connections to help them get a job in the field they are studying for. I don't have any direct experiences with these organizations, but I'm somewhat optimistic about them.

Well put. And yet, at their best, they offer something that it's difficult to find anywhere else in our (U.S.) culture: a laboratory for experimenting with ideas.

Ideally, college should represent a space outside the fray of "real life"--where the necessity of making a living is put on hold and students can focusing on learning and evolving as individuals. That isn't always the case, unfortunately, but academia comes closer to serving this purpose than any other social institution I can think of.

That's why I continue to be a part of it despite all the committee meetings I have to attend year after year.

Having graduated with a finance degree about 4 years ago I totally agree with Joe here. Although the curriculums are probably all pretty set in stone there are usually tons of opportunities for extracurricular activities for students to take advantage of. Clubs, internships, Spring Break trips to Amsterdam



In that, there lies the responsibility of the student. I’m thinking more ‘soft skills’ are what’s missing from people. Basics like learning how to talk to people, team work and a sense of community are severely missing in the corporate world if you ask me.

My doggie wears a funny hat!