Me (to Male Roommate): something something Berlin Wall something.

Male Roommate: So, like, what WAS the Berlin Wall? Was it, like, a pretty big deal?

Me: (explain Berlin Wall)

Male Roommate: So it was like, the Nazis?

Me: (explain the NSDAP, World War II, and the Cold War)

Male Roommate: So the south side was Germany and the north side was the USSR?

Me: ... Well, you know, it's not like I know how a computer works. (Ed.: Male Roommate is working on a certificate in network something or other.)

Male Roommate: No one really knows. It's a lot of ones and zeros. And AND gates and OR gates.

Me: Really? I thought they used NAND gates and NOR gates.

Male Roommate: Really?

Google: NAND gates and NOR gates.


Me: remember several historical events PLUS a computer science course I failed spectacularly in 1994. Modern 19-yo: can't remember his own major. Now tell me again how modern methods are making teaching more effective?