Oxford University

[Myartar]

I'm personally very insulted that Fraxis put Oxford in the game over my school!!
It's a well known fact Missouri State University (est. 1905) is the greatest center of research and education in the world. Oxford?! I bet they don't even have a good basketball team! What kinda school is that?!

 

[mhl30]

It would certainly be preferable to Oxford.

 

[MRM]

I don't care about your cambridge vs Oxford arguments

But what is IMO strange about the Oxford wonder - why having an Oxford University outside of Oxford ( in Moscow, Berlin, Paris or so ) - how did this work ?

IMO that should have been a more neutral name ( name after a famous scientist ) - or University of ... [ name of the town it's build in ] wonder

 

[sgrig]

I don't care about your cambridge vs Oxford arguments

But what is IMO strange about the Oxford wonder - why having an Oxford University outside of Oxford ( in Moscow, Berlin, Paris or so ) - how did this work ?

IMO that should have been a more neutral name ( name after a famous scientist ) - or University of ... [ name of the town it's build in ] wonder

You could interpret the name literally, i.e. ox ford - place where oxen ford the river. But what happens if the city doesn't have a river?

 

[mhl30]

I agree, Darwin, Newton, Watson and Crick all would be suitable candidates.

 

[megabrainz]

But what is IMO strange about the Oxford wonder - why having an Oxford University outside of Oxford

I guess the reason is that, with "Great wall", "hanging gardens", and "great library", even though they don't mention the full name (of China, of Babylon, of Alexandria, respectively), it is obvious what is being referred to. So there is still a sense of the historic magnificence of the relevant institution as a wonder, and not merely a big wall, big library or er... big garden. Ahem.

The same isn't true of calling it "great university", or even "Newton's university". There's a sense of dull anonymity in the first case, and a sense of artificiality in the latter - since when has there been a university named after Newton? And Newton's actual university isn't famous because he was there; it is famous because it was (is) a great university. Well, Oxford University is an internationally renowned ancient university, so it conjures that sense of history that is missing from the above.

On the subject of contradiction, though - I bet there is a great scientist called Newton for the "English" civ. You could easily wind up with him active while his university is found in some other Civ. So it would still feel jarring.

Of course, we could always go for Harvard, or some other famous university not named after the town it's in or the scientist connected to it. :/

 

[mhl30]

Or maybe after a brilliant college, St Catharine's would probably be the best.

 

[MRM]

On the subject of contradiction, though - I bet there is a great scientist called Newton for the "English" civ. You could easily wind up with him active while his university is found in some other Civ. So it would still feel jarring.

Could not be so difficult to name this wonder after a scientist of the civ it is build in - here in Germany we have the "Max Planck Gesellschaft or the "Fraunhofer Institut"

 

[The Great Apple]

Or maybe after a brilliant college, St Catharine's would probably be the best.

Oh dear... you're just trying to start arguaments aren't you.

To be honest, if they named it after a college, it would HAVE to be Magdalene

 

[megabrainz]

I'm not even go to try to argue that Somerville should be the great college. But then, I don't need to; it's called Oxford in the canon version, so ner

Reviving the subject of University Challenge, the great university could be a small wonder, and be entered into a 10-turnly competition in which a virtual Paxo asks questions of your great scientists. The winner gets the "top university" award for the next 10 turns, doubling the benefit of their great university. The losers get a movie of the virtual Paxo saying "bad luck, you didn't really get started did you?". The winner would be decided by the average expenditure on science during the last 10 turns, or some such.

Hmm, I've just realised there's no "great museum". I therefore vote for the Ashmolean.

 

[Martinus]

I love people answering seriously to this thread. I guess sarcasm doesn't sell well in some places.

 

[oriel94]

Oxford is the world's university archetype. All other universities are only as good as they are able to imitate Oxford. Fens Poly is merely the world's best imitation. No shame (or not much) in that.

Q. What does a Fens Poly graduate with a job say to you?
A. Will you have fries with that?

 

[mhl30]

Is that before or after he fires your ass?

 

[oriel94]

We don't fire someone's "ass". We fire their arse.

 

[whb]

Oxford is the world's university archetype. All other universities are only as good as they are able to imitate Oxford. Fens Poly is merely the world's best imitation. No shame (or not much) in that.

Q. What does a Fens Poly graduate with a job say to you?
A. Will you have fries with that?

You're complaining that we're charitable and feed the unfortunate jobless grads of Cowley Regional College (aka Oxford) who can't feed themselves?

 

[oriel94]

I'm not complaining. Fens Poly grads make surprisingly good servants.

 

[Gazaridis]

Now, now, let's be fair and describe all the good things about Cambridge.
There's a lovely greek kebab shop hidden behind the life/death square.
Umm... thats about it

 

[whb]

I'm not complaining. Fens Poly grads make surprisingly good servants.

The secret to how we make them is to take three Cowley RC grads and carefully combine them together - the theory being that their 3 IQs summed together might be enough for one passable servant.

 

[KevinTMC]

This Oxbridge rivalry thing is fun but missing a little something.

I know. You guys need to get yourselves some football teams. (Yes, I have American football in mind...but in a pinch I suppose any suitably violent non-American flavor of football would do, such as rugby or Aussie Rules.) You would be able to have spectacular annual showdowns, suck in a bunch of people who never even went to uni in the excitement, give rise to more and better jokes (Did you hear that the library at Auburn burned down? What a tragedy. Especially since half the books hadn't been colored yet.), and afford you tailgating opportunities (sorry, somehow I can't imagine cracking open a keg, setting up the satellite TV, and throwing some brats on the grill for rowing).

Plus, as an extra bonus, you'd get to see your ancient institutions corrupted by television money and the tempation to recruit some of the dodgier "student-athletes". Which is much more entertaining than the steadily declining standards, P.C. idiocies, and other follies that we do have in common. I mean, an egghead like me is likely to know who, say, Stanley Fish is, and to appreciate his entertainment value and the wreckage he left behind at Duke...but that's awfully obscure inside-baseball stuff to most. When was the last time a deconstructionist made headlines by getting in a fight outside a strip club?

-- Kevin​

 

[TastySheriff]

Bemidji State University, now THAT needs to be included in a mod. The british isles got nuthin on the iron fields in northern minnesota.