Grad class? Or concert?

The lights were dimmed and 'How to Save a Life' by The Fray was playing softly but could be distinctly heard through the chatter. I started looking at the people around me to see if others found this odd. You see, I thought I was about to endure a three hour graduate class lecture, however, the ambiance was suggesting otherwise. Sapna and I both looked expectantly at Liz, waiting for her to explain her advisor's behavior, but she seemed just as confused.

A few minutes later, the music faded out, and lecture began as it normally would (no explanation provided). However, something else was different too... I found myself actually listening to what was being said and... get this... being interested! For this to occur in any class other than statistics (thats right, I know who reads my blog) is pretty impressive, so right away I gotta give mad props to Prof Herbert. His lecturing style was engaging and funny, and we even watched videos from both Adult Swim and SNL! In the three hours, I paid close attention to lecture for 94% of the time (SD = 3.4%) which is a huge improvement from previous classes (p < .05) and overall, is pretty encouraging. [stats included to prove to Graham I pay attention 97% of the time in his class].

So apparently, there is a strong association between The Fray and lectures that actually elicit listening and understanding. So on that note, heres looking forward to an intellectually and musically stimulating quarter! I only hope that hearing that song doesn't become a requirement (a conditioned stimulus, if you will) for me paying attention in class because that might be slightly problematic.

A few random notes:

- Yes, that is the first time I used the term mad props and no, I don't think it suits me.
- No, the song was never tied back into the lecture in any way, suggesting it was purely for the sake of entertainment. Or, we are all part of a psychological experiment.... ethical?... I think not. Amusing?... yes.