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Of all my experiences as a graduate student at Colorado State University in the early 1970s,
the following is most certainly a pearl.
The class Fluid Mechanics 601
was required for all majors in the hydraulics program in civil engineering .
One day, the professor1 came to class and, after the customary salutation,
solemnly declared:
"I have decided to do something different this time. The midterm will be take-home..." and he paused,
to continue with an imperceptible grin:
"three-hour, closed book."
We looked at each other in amazement, while struggling to regain our composture. Specific instructions followed almost immediately: "You will pick
up the exam tomorrow at 5 pm in my office, and return the completed exam by 8 am the following morning."
I can't vouch for the rest of my classmates, some ten in all. All I can say is that I knew that something was in the making, but I could not figure out
what it was.
As instructed, I picked up the exam, went home, had dinner, and started to work on it at about 8 pm. There were six problems, the likes of which
I had never seen before. I knew almost immediately that this was not a three-hour exam, certainly not for me.
At around 2:00 am, I finally completed the work, after having consulted at least two books. At 8:00 am,
I returned the exam, half ashamed, but undaunted.
The next time the class met, the professor inquired: "How did it go?" My recollection of the events of that day is that
everybody kept quiet, except this guy John,1 who said, pointedly:
"Professor, I must tell you that it was impossible for me to do the exam in the allotted time,
and without consulting any books. It took me 5 1/2 hours, and I checked the following books: blah, blah, blah..."
I am certain that John got an A in the exam, while the rest of the group, including myself, had to
settle for an also-ran B. We will never know if John's honesty paid him handsomely that day, but I would unabashedly place my bet on it.
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