See this post from Hummer Limos in Miami… Find out that the math question is wrong because Tracy is a woman. Learn that radioactive ooze allows you to investigate phenotypes. And, most ingeniously, see how chemistry helps uncover Batman’s private identity.
From the monthly archives:
November 2007
The past tense of learn
is apparently “learnt” in UK English. Check these 500 pages of references in the BBC archives.
I noticed it when I was reading. I wondered if that is an older conjugation. I was not able to find “to learn” listed as a weak verb in Old English with a “t form” ending.
However, yahooanswers thought the same was probably true, but argued it using German. That’s odd.
In the Word Reference Forums they say that “learnt” is preferred in UK, learned/learnt is equal in Canada- but learnt is not often used, and that in the US “learned” is considered educated while “learnt” is considered hick.
It doesn’t give me a definitive answer on whether learnt is an older form of the verb or a newer one, but… I guess it doesn’t matter to anyone but an English teacher or a foreigner trying to sound reasonably smart in the US.
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Liberals abound in academia
There are more liberals than conservatives in universities. If you thought that was anecdotal evidence, think again. A news release on the study is out.
Libs get hired with fewer publications and outnumber conservatives, at the least, at 2 to 1 (in economics) and by more than 20 to 1 in anthropology and sociology.
I read it first at All Things Conservative.
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What do academics do?
I was listening to three academics talk on 1070. I don’t know who they were, because I tuned in late. They were discussing how computers have changed their world/work. One of them said, “It is great. Now I can do better what academics do: study, write, and learn.” Please note that no where on that list is teaching.
That’s why the TAs have the freshman and sophomores at big universities.
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