Do you remember anything from your degree?

[densecity]

Twenty years ago, I studied Classics at Cambridge. Mainly Greek history rather than literature. I then took the age old path of becoming a lawyer. Still in practice. I realised the other day that I can't remember much at all from my degree. It's scary to think that I spent four years of my life studying a subject and I can barely remember dates or names.

This is lovely 💗similar happened to a friend of mine.

1st degree, some but not much. More about the way it influenced my thinking and some stuff around brain development.

2nd degree more recent (obviously) but also vocational and directly linked to my profession so yes I thankfully remember rather a lot.

I used mind maps throughout my law degree (first degree) 25 years ago and I remember nearly everything. Mind maps are awesome!

Did you do Geophysics by any chance?

I did a philosophy degree 30 years ago - i kind of remember some of it but i found an essay i wrote at university and it was like it was written by another person!

i did some maths with the OU 20 years ago - i had to revise gcse maths last year, the muscle memory is sort of there but the detail had gone!!!

I remember loads, though not all topics. I did a science degree and have done science or science related jobs ever since, so I do use the info.

it's a long time back but it's more likely that a lot of what you learned is just locked away in long term memory and wouldn't be recalled just by willing it. But your memory could be sparked by something relevant.

Sort of. I did an MFL degree at Oxford and have taught secondary school MFL for 27 years, but my degree was largely literature and translation. I remember the books I enjoyed and I teach the limited amount of lit that's in the A Level syllabus, and obviously I use my knowledge of the languages all the time, but the stuff I did on my degree course was at a level that's not really necessary for teaching A Level, never mind 11-16 year-olds. So I've mostly forgotten about the Mediaeval French courtly romances, surrealist poetry and historical linguistics!

Nope, not a thing! I graduated 27 years ago.

I remember that Great Expectations has an alternative ending. Seared on my memory after I tried to blag my way through a tutorial having seen the film but not read the book as I was meant to have done. My tutor asked me which ending I preferred ...

Other than that, no - I remember nothing from doing my English degree. Remember loads from A'level though.

I studied languages nearly 30 years ago.
I can still understand them pretty well, but my spoken language is terrible now - I never speak them.

But I can remember a lot of the literature I studied still - never mind plots and characters, I can even quote some passages verbatim (in the original language).

Nope, not one thing. I did a maths degree, and I'm now a maths teacher- luckily I'm still very good up to A Level Further Maths!

But I do know that the brain's "use it or lose it" ability to prune disused snapses is more crucial to intelligence than the sheer nunber of brain cells and connections. Because apparently entirely useless facts from a random BBC documentary 20 years ago lies firmly in the "crucial information" pile 🤷‍♀️

I was actually talking to someone today about a couple of things I learnt about on my degree. Did you know that the North/South poles have swapped many times in the earth's history and we're overdue a swap?

Fresher's Week, 1978

Lecturer mentioned that most disagreements are either a matter of fact, which can be established as true or false, or opinions, which cannot and recommended considering which was which in any discussion.

Seemed to be the most brilliant, most life changing insight to me. It was the first of many. Changed much about my approach to lots of things.

Economics & MFL. Been very useful in all sorts of unexpected ways.

Maths. Not even sure I understood it at the time to be honest so I definitely don't remember much of it now!

No. I studied law then took an entirely different career path and remember virtually nothing of my degree.

Media studies. Did a module on film and my lecturer was amazing. I did an essay on Westerns. The dynamics of female friendships comparing Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Working Girl. Fatherhood and Terminator Two. I even did an essay on Girl Power music on essentialist and constructivist forms of identity. My degree was wasted on 18 year old me.

First degree- all I remember is something about crop rotation and grass seed. Second degree(masters) I use all the time in my profession.

Russian and International studies…

I can still function in Russian despite not using it professionally for 20 years.

(caveated with I need it to communicate with family on DH’s side)

Yes, but I went on to get three further degrees in the same field, and use my knowledge every day.

Yes, I teach the same subject.

No, but we had some overlapping modules. They were much better at colouring in than we were!

Geologists do the colouring in. Geophysicists get cross if you confuse them with geologists.

For some reason I can remember absolutel loads, even case names ( I studied law). I can even remember reading particularly case judgments in the library about retention of title; and books I read about what is law and much else. I think by brain at 17 - 20 was probably at its height and it all made a huge impact on me. I remember attending tort lectures led by Harry Street of Street on Torts where his method was to pick one student to answer for the whole session - I loved it and wanted to be picked (probably the only person on the entire course who was like that !!!)

Over 20 years ago and it’s embarrassing how little I remember. But I did spend the three years treading water/drowning with undiagnosed ADHD, which explains a lot.