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Top Books
July 2nd, 2007 at 17:49
Warning: If you thought James O’Malley wasn’t an elitist twat, and want to retain this delusion, you might want to skip this one. May I recommend watching this video (again?) instead?
I’ve been having a look around Facebook again. One of the best features is that it splits users into different university networks, so you can see other people at your university and so on. What makes this interesting is that it makes it possible to generate statistics about the most popular TV shows/activities/etc at each university based on what people have put into their profiles. What makes this interesting is that I’ve figured out that it is possible to compare these statistics with those from other universities.
So I’ve decided to compare the Top 10 books from my university, a former polytechnic, with those from the university where I’m going to apply to do an MA next year, a “proper university” in London (whether I’ll get in there is a question for another blog entry). See if you can guess which list goes with which university.
List #1
- 1984
- Lord Of The Rings
- Pride And Prejudice
- Memoirs Of A Geisha
- Wuthering Heights
- Lolita
- Harry Potter
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- The Picture Of Dorian Gray
- Rebecca
There’s loads of “classics” listed there. Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights and so on- the sort of thing I wouldn’t read but would like to create the impression that I would tolerate, as it’s a high culture thing. It has 1984 at number one. People at this university must be excellent.
List #2
- Harry Potter
- Da Vinci Code
- Angels And Demons
- The Bible
- Lord Of The Rings
- 1984
- Pride And Prejudice
- Dan Brown Books
- Cosmopolitan
A children’s book, three trashy Dan Brown novels, the most evil book ever written, and a magazine.
Have you guessed yet? The first list in the uni in London, and the second is my university. The disparity in… high culture… really is that clear.
What makes this more depressing is that I have not made a mistake on the second list above – there really is only nine entries in my university’s top ten books.
I’m not trying to slag off my university here, as it’s alright really. I just think its an interesting comparison – almost as if there is still a class divide between universities and polytechnics. If I were a better elite hacker, I’d write something that compares every university. But alas, I’m not.
In summary: Statistics are fun!
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To Kill A Mockingbird