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Cambridge is better than Oxford and here's the proof...

Reply 20

A0307

7

Acaila

Probably because they were too mature to be used to fighting.

Only weak people speak like that! :tongue:

Reply 21

Acaila

17

I'm not even going to bother :rolleyes:

There are better things in the world to fight over than which university's better.

Reply 22

iRock

angelzland

Tis just a fact.

No not really, because a lot of it depends what the rating criteriae are. That's why a lot of university league tables contradict one another.

Reply 23

acidbubble

The league, which Shanghai’s academics admit is biased towards science-based universities, measures them on academic research, including the numbers of staff or alumni who have won Nobel prizes and Fields medals in maths; highly acclaimed researchers; and articles published in magazines such as Nature and Science.

This ranking is not what people should base where to apply on! It's somewhat meaningless if you don't even have a degree yet.

(I don't trust any league tables)

Reply 24

A0307

7

keithy

The league, which Shanghai’s academics admit is biased towards science-based universities, measures them on academic research, including the numbers of staff or alumni who have won Nobel prizes and Fields medals in maths; highly acclaimed researchers; and articles published in magazines such as Nature and Science.

This ranking is not what people should base where to apply on! It's somewhat meaningless if you don't even have a degree yet.

(I don't trust any league tables)

Agreed, most league tables are just Brownie points really.

Reply 25

slinec

angelzland

Tis just a fact.

Tis also a fact that it is biased in favour of science based universities. As for the traching criteria, I've never seen such rubbish. "We base teaching on Nobel prize winners and if you've had none in the past 100 years but you still have the most, you'll be rated highest for teaching (even if teaching quality has slipped)" How stupid!

Reply 26

MadNatSci

12

Jools

Unfortunately I've seen an Oxon and a Tab end up having a violent fist-fight over this triviality... :rolleyes:

That's desperately sad!

They must've been plastered?

Reply 27

RetiredAccount89

18

Jools

Unfortunately I've seen an Oxon and a Tab end up having a violent fist-fight over this triviality... :rolleyes:

The Tab got kicked the shit out of :tongue:

see i've never seen that. When we had the corpus challenge in cambridge we were all fired up for a big ruck. But Oxford lads tend to prefer to beat the crap out of each other, so we just let them get on with it.
Silly them
J

Reply 28

angelzland

OP

foolfarian

see i've never seen that. When we had the corpus challenge in cambridge we were all fired up for a big ruck. But Oxford lads tend to prefer to beat the crap out of each other, so we just let them get on with it.
Silly them
J

wish id seen that. Would have been entertaining....

Reply 29

Brown Patrick Bateman

10

foolfarian

see i've never seen that. When we had the corpus challenge in cambridge we were all fired up for a big ruck. But Oxford lads tend to prefer to beat the crap out of each other, so we just let them get on with it.
Silly them
J

Lol. You don't see people beating each other up that much, though sadly I have seen debates about the British empire, Anglican/Catholic church and who's going to win the bloody union election get physical. :rolleyes:

Reply 30

Drogue

19

Corpus challenge? Is this like a varsity streetfighting match?

Reply 31

Acaila

17

Jools

Lol. You don't see people beating each other up that much, though sadly I have seen debates about the British empire, Anglican/Catholic church and who's going to win the bloody union election get physical. :rolleyes:

Mmmm elections. Good old bitchy slagging matches :smile:

.
I just got elected to something without having to campaign. How terribly boring :frown:

And I'd been sharpening my nails specially!

Reply 32

Shimmy_Kimmie

i read liverpool is better than cambridge...more popular than cambridge :tongue:

hehehe

Reply 33

Brown Patrick Bateman

10

Acaila

Mmmm elections. Good old bitchy slagging matches :smile:

.
I just got elected to something without having to campaign. How terribly boring :frown:

And I'd been sharpening my nails specially!

I don't think it can get much more bitchy than here, where people resort to hiring cameramen trying to tape their opponents cheating, bribery, impersonation (e.g. sending emails from opponent's accounts) and getting people's mobiles blocked by the phone company on election day...

Reply 34

Drogue

19

Is it possible to rise in the Union without hacking? I know it would be harder, not using nasty tactics, but is it at all possible? Even use it as an angle, of not being a hack?

Reply 35

S@sha

7

This is possibly the 2144847648th time we have had a thread on this ranking. Now even the Times have published it for one reason or another.

This table is pants and the simple reason is that one of the key criteria for the ranking is how many articles by researchers from the university are published in some AMERICAN-PUBLISHED AND AMERICAN-READ magazines as well as the number of people getting nobel prizes, fields' medals and the like.

Let me take one example: Andrew Wiles. Educated in Cambridge and solved the Fermat's Theorem later. He is now at Princeton I believe. The reason is most probably more freedom in research and money. The fact is: most of the Nobel laureates and Prize-winners for particular subjects did not have anything to do with the American universities until they became good. I can guarantee that about 97% of all of them come from Asia, Russia, England, France or anywhere else, where they produce copious amounts of good scientists.

If I go and buy all the best footballers in the World and put them into my first team, would that make my Youth Academy's training better? The answer is no. You can't buy quality rankings. Hence this particular one, which has come up 10 times a week on this board for a couple of years, is exceptionally annoying as it's not only stupid, but is done for a different purpose.

Finally, the most conclusive argument. I went to Oxford as opposed to Stanford. Hence the table is wrong. :wink:

Reply 36

Brown Patrick Bateman

10

Drogue

Is it possible to rise in the Union without hacking? I know it would be harder, not using nasty tactics, but is it at all possible? Even use it as an angle, of not being a hack?

It's perfectly possible to not touch upon nasty tactics, but trying to run in a Union election under an "I'm not a hack" label is deemed somewhat hypocritical. Nobody's hit the top without being a hack; you're not going to get the 700+ votes or so just because you have the best manifesto. Officers typically go to two or three venues every night in the run-up to an election with the sole purpose of hacking - networking, making themselves known, etc.

Reply 37

Drogue

19

Jools

It's perfectly possible to not touch upon nasty tactics, but trying to run in a Union election under an "I'm not a hack" label is deemed somewhat hypocritical. Nobody's hit the top without being a hack; you're not going to get the 700+ votes or so just because you have the best manifesto. Officers typically go to two or three venues every night in the run-up to an election with the sole purpose of hacking - networking, making themselves known, etc.

What exactly is 'hacking'. Anything done for the purpose of getting you elected, or underhand tactics? It does seem it's all about publicity, but surely you can get knwon to the electorate without having to resort to underhand tactics, walking over people, and the like. Networking I can understand, but from what I've read, hacking seems to be a particularly Oxford thing, at least this level of it. Is this just down to the Union elections being more competative?

Just generally wondering. I love politics, and would probably want to run for some position at some points, but I can't stand the idea of having to 'do people over' in order to do it.

Reply 38

Brown Patrick Bateman

10

Drogue

What exactly is 'hacking'.

The world of fake smiles and handshakes with the sole purpose of trying to gain votes. You are 'hacking' if you go to a party or social event with the aim of meeting as many people as possible, not with the intention of making friends with them or caring less about them, but trying to get them to vote for you. People running for President tend to do this every single night for the two months before an election. This is why I was a shit hack, I utterly detest the concept of meeting people in an entirely self-interest venture, similarly in the workplace 'networking receptions' where everyone goes with the sole aim of trying to network makes me cringe. I like meeting people as everyone is a potential new good friend, and then if they happen to be a good contact then fine, but I'm not going to go out of my way to desperately build a contacts network.

Drogue

Is this just down to the Union elections being more competative?

Yeah, you only really see this happening with Union because they're quite competitive - eg 28 people for 9 places on the bottom committee. Positions for your Junior Common Room or OUSU are often unopposed / 2 people running, and people are usually not so desperate to get elected - the prestige, powerdrive and prospects of being eg Treasurer of the Union is greater than being Male Welfare Officer for your JCR or one of 10 OUSU Exec Officers.

Drogue

Just generally wondering. I love politics, and would probably want to run for some position at some points, but I can't stand the idea of having to 'do people over' in order to do it.

At the Union, positions like Chairman of Consultative Committee and Returning Officer (in charge of the elections) are selected by the committee on basis of merit rather than a 1,600 electorate. And if you want to get involved in JCR / Student Union politics hacking is never that rife. Then there's the student political parties, such as OUCA (Conservative Assoc), where this term's President spent £1,500+ vote-buying in an election where he ended up unopposed.

Reply 39

Acaila

17

Jools

I don't think it can get much more bitchy than here, where people resort to hiring cameramen trying to tape their opponents cheating, bribery, impersonation (e.g. sending emails from opponent's accounts) and getting people's mobiles blocked by the phone company on election day...

You're suddenly making me want to be a union hack! :biggrin:

Cambridge is better than Oxford and here's the proof...

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