Testing Her Patience

I think someone should suggest to crushbot that he might do well as as someone who stocks Parts in a warehouse and point out that filing parts in the correct part of the warehouse is sort of like being a librarian for parts? And that this might speak to his strengths like... Strength and being tall. Because that helps putting things on shelves. So long as he doesn't crush them. On second thought maybe he should work at a junkyard? junkyards need things sorted, right? Without being so picky if they get crushed? Hm.

Kerin Schiesser

It kind of kills me that he put a tie on. He had some vague notion that he was supposed to prepare somehow, and thought maybe the tie would do.

Right. No reason the dream has to be crushed; he just has to start from the beginning.

Jeffrey Nonken

If I were designing this test, this conversation with Crushbot would be the test, and she would be graded on how well she helped him get the information he needed to set out on a new career. She should at least send him off with a referral to somewhere he can get the information he needs.

Maybe Crushbot should begin by crushing the course admission process.

Dean Reilly

Not a trans pride flag without the genderneutral/agender/nonbin-signifying white in the middle

Ísabel Pirsic

Thank you. At least someone besides me understands the value of memorizing information. Without having a fair amount of basic information committed to memory, you won't even know what to look for when you do access the infinite supply of data available online, and you'll have no idea whether the data you do access is accurate.

awgiedawgie

Yeah, this "Big Final Exam" for Library school is so completely contrary to my own experience that it really strains my willing suspension of disbelief (yes even as I've accepted sentient robots). No frustrated chasing down of unproductive group members? No crunches to complete final papers or elaborate examples of functional library management features like collection plans, authority records, or database taxonomies? Just ~The Exam~? It's like when Hollywood depicts office work with "I want that report on my desk by Monday!" :P

As someone who graduated high school in 1978 (calculators allowed in the higher classes, where the emphasis was on learning the concepts, with the actual values being incidental; and also to speed up computing to get the tests done within class time) my understanding of why one must memorize such things as pieces of the periodic table (which was always a huge poster in the chem rooms anyway) was because having those things *in your mind* as you thought rather than having to look them up fostered faster thinking about things. If you remembered that carbon could bond to 4 things and oxygen two, for example, you would be saving time, thinking faster, and gaining a faster ability to consider things involving carbon and oxygen together. Basic arithmetic isn't the problem, tho I consider it a life-skill, and wouldn't allow my kids to use calculators until they could handle basic arithmetic at a reasonable speed without one. Basic arithmetic isn't the issue, tho, in algebra, or physics, or calculus, and only barely in chemistry (balancing reaction equations). (I'll note, a lot of my attitude was formed by a) an Isaac Asimov short story where the 'secret weapon that will win this war' is someone who can do arithmetic in their head, as the entire culture had moved to using mechanical calculators and no one could do any math whether they had their shoes on or not, and b) my husband's tale of a calculator that was slowly going flaky, and would give wildly wrong numbers somewhat randomly. He was able to tell when something was whacked by having a reasonable idea of (at least) the order of magnitude of the number he was expecting to get. Allof this was only justified by the intel floating math hardware error from several geneartions of chipsets ago.)

Am Queue

Conan The Librarian for the Digital Age.

Captain Button

nice tie, Crushbot!

allanfranta

Library school exams (at least the very few I had, as in most classes we were mostly graded on a single final group presentation) are more about judgement and options, less about memorization. I was actually really surprised at this big final exam story line for Claire, as indeed the coursework and internships were the essential components of the degree when I got it, with the “final” being a portfolio presentation of what I felt was the most exemplary and significant of that work in the context of both the education itself and the plans I had to utilize the degree, in front of a committee that asked questions - the lightest of light weight oral defenses, as the whole goal was success. Far less critical than the very similar job application process that followed and still occasionally continues.

Simran Khalsa

I love the trans pride tie on crushbot!!!

Anna Phylaxis

See, Claire. Now y ou are not anxious about your own performance any more

Bagge

I think the test administrator would have let Crushbot sit there the whole time if Claire had not told Crushbot about these rules. Crushbot is very big and intimidating.

Dylan T

I wonder if the test administrator would tell him that...

Chuck Dee

Trouble is, the shelves would also be crushed - dramatically reducing their available space.

awgiedawgie

Well, I'm sure he does have some sort of feelings for her. Perhaps a little bit of a .... What's the word...

Sorastro

A library with Crushbot on staff would never run out of shelf space, as everything would have been crushed to pamphlet size.

BobC

I'm still amazed that NONE of the shippers here said ANYTHING about it when Crushbot fell for Roko.

BobC

D:

Nicholas Lopez

Crushbot looks so sad in n the last panel

ysth

I think Crushbot would make an awesome librarian. I mean, who among us would be brave enough to not return a book on time for fear of answering to Crushbot. "Your book is late. Your fine is one pound or Crushbot was take a pound of flesh" Yikes!!!

Bartley J Drood

Poor guy... and he even dressed up for the occasion.

awgiedawgie

Seems like it would be a silly exercise to needlessly hamstring yourself that way. Like asking a human to "Turn off" their thumbs before taking a test, out of fairness to the sapient dogs that must write without thumbs.

Mitchell Sealy

This is a different Crushbot, right? I don't remember the crushbot that crushed Roko looking like this.

Mitchell Sealy

She crushed it.

R L

He didn't intentionally hurt Roko. It's not his fault that there were bananas to slip on.

JD

Well Jeph, that was an abrupt turn off onto an unexpected side road. It’ll take her mind off her worries, anyway.

Holly Nelson

I assume AIs have to turn off wifi before taking tests.

Tim Eldred

He hasn’t been the same since crushing bananas and Roko!

Miyaa

Karma has crushed Crushbot for crushing Roko. I have no sympathy.

He tried so hard...

Frank Li

Let Crushbot take the test

Alexander W Couzens

Crushbot will crush the break he got! ... oops. :(

Kriss Pang

Ohhh no... poor Crushbot :(

Kyle Jenkins

aw poor baby :(