I took a timed art history exam today (a.k.a. 70 minutes from Hell).
My hand is still throbbing, and when it was all said and done, I didn’t even write nearly fast enough to get my point across. Who honestly expects to read a coherent essay written in 20 minutes? Especially in a technical subject like art history. Writing an essay like that is demands the lowest form of brown-nosing; you just end up throwing big words on the page hoping to score points by flattering the professor that taught them to you.
In light of my experience in Carpal Tunnel 101, I found this article particularly noteworthy (thanks to Marginal Revolution):
Self-awareness, regarded as a key element of being human, is switched off when the brain needs to concentrate hard on a tricky task, found the neurobiologists from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.
The team conducted a series of experiments to pinpoint the brain activity associated with introspection and that linked to sensory function. They found that the brain assumes a robotic functionality when it has to concentrate all its efforts on a difficult, timed task – only becoming “human” again when it has the luxury of time.
Timed writing is inhuman. Though it purports to make us think on our feet, it actually strips us of our most essential qualities. Qualities like reason, justice, and a functional superfrontal gyrus. Timed writing is bad for the soul.
Professors, heed my call before it’s too late. Restore all that is good in the world. You’ve only got 20 minutes..
Posted on April 19th, 2006 by Lee
Filed under: Uncategorized
Nice argument. You should send this to the College Board—their new SAT tests have a timed writing section. I’ve heard that students who write more on this section generally get higher scores. Meaning less writing, regardless of how brilliant it is, will probably get a lower score. In other words, the College Board is awarding students who are more inhuman than others. Thus, students scoring in the 90th percentile are actual zombies. Are these the kinds of people we want on our college campuses?