I do not take notes in calculus class and most of the time in physics class. I notice everyone else in the class takes notes. I make very good grades on homeworks and tests. Does me not taking notes appear arrogant? To me, I am not trying to show it. I was told I am being arrogant because I am not taking notes. However, why waste my time taking notes if I am getting nothing out of them? Isn't that the purpose of notetaking, to learn something? Why should I take notes to make everyone else happy because they cannot learn like me? This reminds me communism... all the poor people support it because it benefits them.

Ignore them, most ppl accuse others of being arrogant because they don't want to feel dumb. You're not boasting about it, or trying to get others to notice you for it. Arrogance is not the same as being sure of yourself.

I do a lot of drawings and doodles during lectures. I get a lot out of them, but I usually cannot remember anything from the lecture.

lol I had the exact same problem. Like zagen said, you just have to ignore those people. Some people learn well that old fashion way of writing it down so you remember, and some don't, people like us. I took calculus at a very small private school; I was new to the school and it didn't take me long to realize the class basically had only the "conventional intellectual elite" (whatever the hell that means), as it only had 5 students including me lol. They were all the traditional write-down-notes-and-do-all-your-homework types; I am the exact opposite. Just listening to the teacher is enough, as least for me, and notes seems to just distract me. Don't get me started on homework lol. I would get home, look at it and think to myself "The teacher only showed us how to do this about 20 times in class already. I know how to do it, why waste my time?" I ended up with only a B in the class, even though I got 106% on the final (extra credit :)). Do I care they only gave me a B because I didn't turn in many of my homework assignments (which, ironically, are suppose to help you study for the tests)? Naw, because *I* know I learned it. Knowledge is not what others think.

Yeah some people learn differently than others. Although I am a notetaker for the most part, I find that listening and reading ahead makes for an easier time learning. Writing stuff down can distract you and most people miss what the teacher is saying because they are too busy writing down what was previously stated. Sometimes I feel it necessary to write stuff down because some classes are just plain old memorization.

Yeah, the idea of taking notes is so you have the information for future reference, however you are supposed to have grasped the information first. What you do sounds okay to me! If you listen and understand what is being said first, then your notes would probably make more sense anyway, or alternatively (as it seems to be) you may not need to make notes at all. As long as you have a grasp of the ocncepts/inforamtion, that is the most important thing.

lol @ SpuriousMonkey.

Don't feel negatively about it, Hypercube. People learn in different ways than others. In fact, I learn in the same way that you do (although I've been literally forced by some of my teachers into notetaking.) It doesn't mean we're dumber or more intelligent. Maybe more efficient, since we don't have concetrate on writing. But besides that it's a matter of preference. When I take notes, it's usually for later reference if I want to bring something up. Never a matter of prevent a wandering mind (which is usu. why teachers might force us.)

Some people might accuse you of arrogance because they don't understand that people learn in different ways. They are often closed minded, or just hiding their incapable shadow from you. Secretly (I've found) that the accusers admire people like us. If you get to know them well enough you may even become friends.

But even if they do accuse, who gives a damn anyway?! Tell them to pay their attention to the teacher instead.

Perhaps now you don't take notes but in the future classes you may want to in order to refer back to something the professors said or wanted you to remember. I didn't take allot of notes either but I did take some during class because I had allot of classes that gave out allot of information to remember.

Hypercubix:
I make very good grades on homeworks and tests. Does me not taking notes appear arrogant?
No. It makes you beautiful.

Why should I take notes to make everyone else happy because they cannot learn like me?
Because the common prole and the layman rarely function without "we' "us" and "let's".

A notetaking genius is an oxymoron. I have a hard time picturing Einstein or Turing harnessed down by a lecture.

Cosmic:
I didn't take allot of notes either but I did take some during class because I had allot of classes that gave out allot of information to remember.
Then you're memorizing. This is not genius.

I've invented at least 25 products that weren't around before I made them. School didn't give me my invetivness but the skill to make certain I wasn't taken advantage of. Does this inventivness mean that I'm a genius or does it just mean I'm fortunate to be here to help others with my inventions? I like the latter to describe myself for a genius wouldn't gloat about their genius abilities would you think? Sometimes a genius is great in certain areas and other areas they are lacking. That is why we all need each other, to a certain extent, in order to get along in this world as we know it. :)

would you mind listing the inventions cosmic?

Cosmictraveler:
Does this inventivness mean that I'm a genius or does it just mean I'm fortunate to be here to help others with my inventions?
Hmm.
No. It means you're misfortunate enough to think you owe anyone anything.

And 25 inventions, all your own, pre-market would imply that you *are* a flaming genius but only if I bought your little story. And I don't.

So, to quote a fashionably suicidial annoyance plaguing sciforums:
would you mind listing the inventions cosmic?

Yes. Please do.

Umm. I wasn't aware it was "arrogant" in other's eyes.

I'll take some notes, but not many. Just the way some of us learn - I'd rather actually listen in class and look at the book afterwords if I need to.

Besides, the last time I took notes I ended up drawing Bahomet on the margins of the paper, along with notes on how cute the teacher was and various other things.

He asked to reference my notes that class.

gendanken:
A notetaking genius is an oxymoron. I have a hard time picturing Einstein or Turing harnessed down by a lecture.

Ay-men.

I have almost never taken notes in class. When I do I never reference them later. I've had some people in high school look at me jeoulousy when I would get A's on tests and they knew I don't take notes or study. In college people seem much more mature about it.

Originally posted by gendanken
Hypercubix:

A notetaking genius is an oxymoron. I have a hard time picturing Einstein or Turing harnessed down by a lecture.




The reason you have a hard time picturing this has absolutely nothing to to with the posted topic.

The reason is b/c: These guys are widely known to be intelligent, You think they never studied anything? Or they have never been harnessed down by a lecture?

The reality of the situation is quite the contrary...These guys have probably studied more and been harnessed down by more lectures than the majority of their peers its b/c of this that you "cant' see them struggling through a lecture"


Back to the music:
I learn by writing things down. I am not trying to bash anyone that doesn't take notes in class, HOWEVER, I see some people daydreaming in class and doodling or whatever....I challenge anyone to ague with me on why this is not foolish....By the way, all you guys that are in high school (many of you by the sound of the previous posts) don't bother.


The people I see not paying attention in class are the people who end up with C's or are gone by sophomore year......If you come to class it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever for you to be doodling or daydreaming. That just means that you will have to spend all that time you wasted studying on your own regardless of how long it takes you to understand the material.

Originally posted by 4DHyperCubix
I do not take notes in calculus class and most of the time in physics class. I notice everyone else in the class takes notes. I make very good grades on homeworks and tests. Does me not taking notes appear arrogant?


First, I have made a couple of assumptions about your situation 4DHyperCubix, and please correct me if I am wrong:

1.) The classes you are taking now are either Calculus I/II and Physics I/II.

2.) You have taken parts of or all of these classes before in high school.

If these are true, then it seems that taking notes would not be of much benefit to you. However, people do tend to perceive not taking notes as arrogant since it looks as if one who does not take notes does not value what the professor is saying.

Personally, I have taken notes in all of my Mathematics, EE, CSci, and Physics classes. However, I find that taking notes in Liberal Arts classes tends to be counterproductive, since most of the assignments and tests are not based on lecture. Thus, my tendencies lean towards taking notes in Science classes because they tend to help me on assignments and tests, but I rarely take notes in Liberal Arts classes.

Originally posted by 4DHyperCubix

This reminds me communism... all the poor people support it because it benefits them.

This statement tends to sound a bit elitist and arrogant, from my point of view, since you are likening taking notes to a deficiency, a rather egregious error.

Originally posted by gendanken
A notetaking genius is an oxymoron. I have a hard time picturing Einstein or Turing harnessed down by a lecture.


I also find it hard to believe that Einstein (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Einstein.html) completed his doctorate at the University of Zurich without directly or indirectly benefiting from lecture notes. Similarly, I don't believe that Turing (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Turing.html) made it through both Cambridge and Princeton without the benefit of notes. Unless you have some examples to support your currently baseless claim, I suggest you not try to deter others from taking notes, when it may benefit them academically.

I would like to point out that not taking notes and not paying attention are two very different things.

Some people just absorb learning. For these people taking notes is pointless, as they never refer back to them because they already know. Some people take longer to retain learning, for these people notes aren't only not pointless, they're essential. To say one of these groups is superior to the other is different altogether. But if someone shows all the signs of being in the former group, suggesting they take notes is like suggesting to the latter that they shouldn't.