Are you a gunner?

[Genomic Repairman]

So are any of you folks gunners? If so are you naturally like this, are you insecure, do you wish to draw the wrath of fellow classmates, etc? Don't know if you are a gunner? Then lets go over the symptoms:

1. First person in class always?

2. Pre-highlighted notes?

3. You train like a triathlete so that when the instructor asks a question your arm shoots up first like one of NASA's new prototype rockets?

4. Do your classmates roll your eyes at you during your off-topic questions?

5. Do you stalk professors like wild game to ask them a question?

If you answered yes to some or all of these, you might be a gunner. Seek help please.

[anxiousapplicant]

Never mind, I didn't see what thread this is in, I'm not a grad.

Edited February 3, 2010 by anxiousapplicant

[Genomic Repairman]

Never mind, I didn't see what thread this is in, I'm not a grad.

It doesn't matter if you are a grad student yet or not, do you display the requisite Sisyphean traits of a gunner?

Edited February 3, 2010 by Genomic Repairman

[JerryLandis]

I'm not a grad either but in my experience, the "gunners" are always the people who only skimmed part of the reading but, assuming they somehow already have all possible knowledge inside their heads, feel the need to talk constantly in class and correct people (including the professor). I'm a semi-gunner - prepare too intensely for class, answer and ask a lot of questions, etc., but I'm wary of being seen as a suckup or smartass, so I usually only answer questions if no one else says anything. That said, my only classes nowadays are 5 person seminars, in which the most annoying people are those who sit there with their notebooks all full but NEVER talk - expecting everybody else to dish out their ideas while keeping their own ideas to themselves, and generally making the classroom feel awkward.

What I find even more annoying than these so-called gunners (and sometimes these people are also gunners themselves) is when people feel the need to say "uh huh" or nod their head to every point the professor makes. Yeah, no shit the guy's right, he's A WORLD CLASS EXPERT ON THE TOPIC who has written several books about it! Do these people think that the whole class is sitting there watching them, looking for confirmation of whether or not the person teaching is competent? So annoying. Especially when it's an easy or intro level class in which all the material is obvious or self-explanatory anyways.

[prolixity]

In a calculated move to both prevent the emergence of Gunner Syndrome (GS) in myself and also to level the playing field a bit for the other students, I graciously took a vow of non-note-taking after my sophomore year. Regardless of my self-handicapping attempt, the other students are still performing at a very disappointing level of competition.

[Genomic Repairman]

In a calculated move to both prevent the emergence of Gunner Syndrome (GS) in myself and also to level the playing field a bit for the other students, I graciously took a vow of non-note-taking after my sophomore year. Regardless of my self-handicapping attempt, the other students are still performing at a very disappointing level of competition.

I agree with you I get more out of just listening to classes and taking a few notes rather than the scribbling down every syllable that a prof says like some of my classmates.