Re: Why are [Database] Mathematicians Crippled ?

Dear people

I was thinking about WHY database theoreticians are CRIPPLED.

I remembered a link to a video that someone sent me, as a joke, "here look at this, what a joke". Yeah, sure, it was funny.

2. But there is something I do not understand. It isn't a joke to the presenter, he is serious. Why is this professor, teaching this "lesson", at grad level, in an university, in 2011 ??? What is the purpose ??? What is the atom of learning in that ??? It is a short video:

Dr Gary Böticcher, Professor, Computing Studies, U of Houston Clear Lake "Relational Database Theory/Functional Dependencies & Logically Implied Keys" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4sk4h2lhtU

3. Why doesn't he count the hairs on his head, or the petals in a rose, or fish in the sea, or think abot "how do I love thee, let me count the ways". Or, since he likes permutations, count the round hairs vs the flat curly ones, and determine the permutations between them. He would get a more accurate result.

Oh, wait. Maybe you do not know it is wrong, wrong, wrong. Let me back up.

1. First, do you know that what he is teaching is wrong ?

The terms "relational, "Relational theory", and "Functional Dependency" are well-established. For foorty five years. I do not have private definitions, and I don't accept private definitions re science, in this space or any other. Further, he is teaching the titled course. Therefore he had better be using the established terms. Otherwise he is committing fraud, in addition to incompetence.

I hope you are not going to argue re against definitions that have been established for forty five years. Definitions, as Tegiri stated, that "reign supreme". Definitions that the entire RDB industry knows and loves, to whatever degree that they do. Ok, maybe not the 1%.

Whatever mumbo jumbo he is teaching, it is not an FD.

Iff you know that [1] is wrong, then please proceed to question [2] and [3]. Otherwise, let us sit on [1] and argue that for a week or three, like people who have been crippled are doomed to do.

Secondary observations. You don't need to comment on these. Notice the poor professor is barely alive, the eyes are glazed. He is having difficulty communicating what an FD is; why it is relevant; what exact point he is teaching; he is simply not getting his point across to the audience (ie. separate to undamaged humans knowing that his point is garbage).

Counterpoint

Here is another video, even shorter. The guy is adorable, due to his innocence, his earnestness, he is uncorrupted. Same titles, but the guy is not committing fraud. Now obviously, he did not have the funds to go to the great big famous UHCL and pay to get his brain scrambled, he went to some third world university or college. He hasn't even finished the course, but he is so excited, he is teaching a concept that he has learned. Although he is very conservative, he is awake, alive, not a robot. He has no teaching skills, but he does a fine job regardless. He has not been taught that he is descended from an ape, he has not been taught to think like a fish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqW5XGIM1Us

He has a less than perfect handle on FDs, sure, but it is good enough for the purpose. He gets his point across. He completes the lesson in the next video, but we do not have to go that far. He communicates FDs to the audience better than the professor.

Why is that ?

Now, let me just assure you that there is nothing racial or racist in this. I have not only respect, but deep gratitude, for white culture. In case it isn't obvious, I am a product of that. So is the Indian kid, btw, although to a lesser degree. But these days, they are letting themselves be corrupted, from the inside, from the education system down. Why is that ?

Think of the poor students (rich of pocket, abject poverty of mind) who come out of the UHCL "Computing Studies/Relational Database Theory" course. They can't implement a single row, because they will be counting the permutations of non-FDs for three weeks, but they sure can scramble brains.

Think of the poor students (poor of pocket, solid of mind) who come out of the third-world FD course. They speed ten minutes determining the FDs, and they implement. They do not waste time on things that are irrelevant. They can't scramble brains, because it is an offence against God, against Nature, against humanity.

Cheers
Derek Received on Sun Feb 01 2015 - 13:51:56 CET