Divided Seconds

[pmcray]

Does anyone know for certain when divided seconds were introduced at Oxford. In the Wikipedia article on George Monbiot, it is claimed, citing an article in "The Independent, so hardly a reliable source, that Monbiot got a 2:1 in Zoology. But, based on his date of birth, that looks a little early unless George spend quite a bit of time doing other things before ending up in Oxford. We know that seconds were certainly divided in 1987. I think they were divided in 1986, but the Weasel differs.

I do recall that I went on a trip from Newman College to Oxford in the summer of 1985, we meet an old student of the college (John Chester, son of Cyril Chester, an English teacher at Catholic/Newman College), who I recall telling us that he had just graduated with a 2:1 in Biochemistry, Biochemistry being the subject that they were trialling the division of seconds on. Now, of course, my memory may be faulty. Maybe John said that be had done Part I of Biochemistry Finals and that he was on for a 2:1 overall if he kept up the performance the next year in Part II, which would mean that he got a divided second in 1986 with them being available to everyone in 1987. Again, perhaps they were just told informally what they would have got had the seconds been divided in order not to disadvantage biochemists who would have got 2:2 in a years or years when people doing other subjects would have just got seconds.

Does anyone have access to the relevant University Calendars? It would be good to know for certain what George and John actually got.

Comments

[jackfirecat.livejournal.com]

George was in my year (and course) - would have done finals in 1985.

[pmcray.livejournal.com]

Were Zoology Finals divided in 1985? Were they part of a trial scheme along with (poosibly) Biochemistry?

[jackfirecat.livejournal.com]

I don't know!

[celestialweasel.livejournal.com]

I am dubious about this 'trial scheme' theory. I'm sure we would have known if any school was having divided seconds in 1985, it would have been spoken of in hushed tones in staircases and corridors the city over.

[pmcray.livejournal.com]

And yet that is my plain memory from 1985.

[celestialweasel.livejournal.com]

As I said earlier, the AIs controlling the simulations for the brains in jars are getting careless.

[pmcray.livejournal.com]

I was thinking the very same thing a propos your earlier comment (outside this forum). Obviously the AIs can't even be bothered now to give us different thoughts. It is clearly a sign of the End Times.

[celestialweasel.livejournal.com]

I, too, was thinking that it is clearly a sign of the End Times.

[zengineer.livejournal.com]

I can support the weasel - seconds were not divided in 1985.
Is it really the End Times? Not too much more of this? You wouldn't raise false hopes would you?