The easier arts module at NUIM?

BJC

I know it's quite a cheeky title but the fact is, I'm going into my final year and working on a BA thesis in a single honours subject and I'm required to pick two "other" subject modules to go with it. I'm focused on my chosen course and just want to get these two extra modules out of the way, but they are worth 1/6 of my final degree so what do you guys think, whats the most manageable of the following modules?

Sociology: SO101, SO102, SO103, SO104
Philosophy: All first year modules
Medieval Irish and Celtic Studies: All first year modules
History: HY104
Computer science: All first year modules

Any and all advice much appreciated!

Kinski

If 'Logic' is available in Philosophy, then definitely take that. Everyone who studies gets 100% in the exam (that's not an exaggeration).

BJC

Thanks! Just had a look there and logic is PH103 so I can take it. What makes it so easy? 70% for the exam and 30% broken up over an essay and tutorial performance.

irish_goat

Sociology modules are piss easy, I passed and got decent marks in 3 of them without attending any lectures. A minimal amount of effort is all you need for them. I've only got experience of 2nd year ones as well so I'm assuming 1st year ones are even easier.

BJC

BJC wrote: »

Thanks! Just had a look there and logic is PH103 so I can take it. What makes it so easy? 70% for the exam and 30% broken up over an essay and tutorial performance.

Back when I did this module in ancient times, they covered Propsitional Logic, which uses symbols and stuff to describe arguments.
Most of the stuff is just really really simple algebra.
Easiest exam I've ever had.

mickstupp

BJC wrote: »

Thanks! Just had a look there and logic is PH103 so I can take it. What makes it so easy? 70% for the exam and 30% broken up over an essay and tutorial performance.

If you believe someone who says Logic is easy, you're a fool. Even if it they found it easy, it was easy for them. Doesn't mean it's easy for everyone. Lots of people study hard and fail that subject. A lot of people find it so hard that they don't do Philosophy past first year as a result. Now, if the subject clicks with you, you can genuinely get mad high marks, I ended up with the highest mark I've ever gotten in my life. But if it doesn't click with you... and believe me it doesn't click with most people... you could end up doing very badly indeed. It's very common to see people failing their summer exam in Logic, but then they put the work in and get 60, 70, 80 in the summer repeats. That's the key, though. You have to put the work in. You have to actually practice. Or you could do what a lot of people do, and just pass by compensation from your other modules. It's no use relying on what you get in class, because that's next to nothing. But if you go off and read a proper Logic textbook and study it, learn off everything you need to learn off, all the formulas etc. and practice your face off... yes you can get 100% in the exam. It's possible. But for Kinski to suggest that everyone who studies gets 100% is, at the same time, to suggest that in my year only one person out of 180 actually studied. Which is bull****.

My point is there's no intrinsically easy subject. You may pick something everyone says is dead easy, but you might hate it, might find it the most boring thing you've ever sat through. Then the supposedly dead easy subject becomes a hard slog that drags the rest of your marks down. Whereas if you choose subjects you love, things you're really interested in, chances are you'll put the effort in without realising it, because it won't feel like work... and so it'll feel easier. One of my subjects felt like an endless difficult pain in the head, but there were people in my class thought it was a doddle. My other subject was an absolute breeze, yet some in the class found it really tough. Because it was only a breeze for me because I loved it. Liking what you're doing will make a big difference to its difficulty. But of the subjects you listed, I couldn't say any is intrinsically easier or harder than any other. It doesn't work like that.

In saying all that... I found Logic extremely easy. But that's for me, and I enjoyed it. Doesn't mean it was easy for everyone else. I enjoyed the fact that it was mostly either right or wrong, not so many grey areas like the other philosophy modules. But basing your decision on what other people tell you is easy or difficult, is asking for trouble.

Seren_

If you're planning on picking a first year sociology module as an easy option, then you'd want to stay away from some of them, because they're hard enough (no matter what irish_goat says :rolleyes:). Modern Irish Society (SO102 I think) would probably be easiest for you as a lot of it is kinda common sense, and there's no sociological theory to worry about, which is in most of the other modules.

Turtyturd

King Mob wrote: »

Back when I did this module in ancient times, they covered Propsitional Logic, which uses symbols and stuff to describe arguments.
Most of the stuff is just really really simple algebra.
Easiest exam I've ever had.

Oddly enough I found this to be head wrecking but grasped syllagistic logic much easier.

I did the sociology and philosophy modules last year and found the Sociology easier but it all comes down to what you prefer OP, the more interested you are the easier it will be.

Kinski

mickstupp wrote: »

If you believe someone who says Logic is easy, you're a fool. Even if it they found it easy, it was easy for them. Doesn't mean it's easy for everyone. Lots of people study hard and fail that subject

Back when I did that module, there were plenty walking out of that exam with 100%. And the lectures, by Harry McCauley (who has since retired), were excellent, containing everything a student needed to know. Perhaps it's changed since (I don't remember there being an essay component).

It was probably unfair of me to imply that anyone who struggled with it just hadn't studied, but I'd still maintain that it's a fairly straightforward subject, and shouldn't pose any problems for anyone who finds they have an aptitude for it.

Kinski

Kinski wrote: »

Back when I did that module, there were plenty walking out of that exam with 100%. And the lectures, by Harry McCauley (who has since retired), were excellent, containing everything a student needed to know. Perhaps it's changed since (I don't remember there being an essay component).

It was probably unfair of me to imply that anyone who struggled with it just hadn't studied, but I'd still maintain that it's a fairly straightforward subject, and shouldn't pose any problems for anyone who finds they have an aptitude for it.

AFAIR he had a quick written test in a couple of the tutorials instead of the essay.
But given the way they do tutorials now, not sure if that's the same way they do it.

Turtyturd

King Mob wrote: »

AFAIR he had a quick written test in a couple of the tutorials instead of the essay.
But given the way they do tutorials now, not sure if that's the same way they do it.

Yep, there is an essay now and 1 exam during tutorials, both of which are pretty straight forward.