Fun in the lab

I used to think the stuff IN the lab (experiments) is okay, the stuff AFTER lab (aka reports) is horror.. But then there's viva..

Well for my labs i have to do viva, which is a question and answer session with someone (nobody knows what it stands for or how its supposed to be spelt so don't ask me).. In year 1, an Honours year student will come over and ask you stuff during your lab session.. For year 2, its a prof, and you go up to the prof to ask for viva... So since the prof is intellectually and technically superior to some undergrad, it gets a little more tricky, and hazardous...










Enter the engineering student.

Now, with no disrepect (yes Glenn, that was for you), physics students don't really like engine students.. for my batch, at least.. they get the better math lecturers when we take the same foundational math courses, the foundational math courses are more tuned to them than to us, they get more employment opportunities, and generally we absolutely hate the depth and rigour we have to deal with every time we see a derivation.. so we take it out on people who don't have to deal with the stuff we have to.. haha..

But as I was saying, enter the engine student.. and this guy actually took my experimental physics module! Engineers must take some basic physics courses, so it doesn't take very many modules to complete a physics minor. BUT HE TOOK LAB! Come on... there are other disgusting modules in physics to choose from.. My friends all hate lab module, by the way... it really eats tons of time.. you don't have to mug for it though.. there's no exam, just viva and a presentation at the end..

So this guy, goes up to this prof with THREE reports and wants to do viva for all of them. It is generally accepted that you NEVER go up to a prof with more than one report to viva at once. Unless you're running out of time, and deadlines are approaching, people sometimes do two. But as a guide, reports and your explanations to profs are usually riddled with little errors. And profs can get quite irritated by things like this. Imagine making mistakes, pulling out another report.. and then a 3rd? And when you make a mistake, you just accept it and say 'ohhhhh i see' unless you think the prof is trying to trick you and test if you know your stuff.. then stand your ground.

I walked into the lab that afternoon at about 3pm ready to do viva, but the lab was totally silent, except for ONE voice. Some prof was talking.. Viva! Some engineer was there.. I went to my friends who were reading at the old sofa near the white board... and they said :

"He's been there since 2. He's gotten eleven 'you are wrongs"

It was 310pm. In the space of 70 minutes the prof had yelled at him ELEVEN times
'YOU ARE WRONG!!!"

I think it takes quite a bit to get a 'YOU ARE WRONG' I did three vivas with that guy but i've only gotten so far as a 'no no no... thats not the way to do it..'

To be fair, not all the engineering students doing lab ended up like that guy.. He was just one example.. My friends in physics had quite a few 'YOU ARE WRONGs" too.

But.

90 minutes. 13 occurences.

That HAS to be a record.