Toronto/Boston comparisons

[Urban Shocker]

Sort of like a symphony/opera purist who thinks everything went downhill once the likes of Dylan and Lennon were embraced as "equals"...

Who does that? No sane person would consider The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill the equal to E lucevan le stelle from Tosca for instance. Each has their cultural place, of course, high and low. The comment about the synthesizing aspect of New York's genius reminds me of how 1970s/80s street fashions from London were assimilated by Paris fashion houses a few years later, and I think that's a reasonable take on what the imprimatur of building in New York stands for architecturally.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Sort of like a symphony/opera purist who thinks everything went downhill once the likes of Dylan and Lennon were embraced as "equals"...

It wouldn't be so bad if the talent had remained at a Dylan or Lennon level.

The comment about the synthesizing aspect of New York's genius reminds me of how 1970s/80s street fashions from London were assimilated by Paris fashion houses a few years later, and I think that's a reasonable take on what the imprimatur of building in New York stands for architecturally.

Well, there's a distinct difference between street clothes finding their way into Paris couture, and the rise of "designers" the likes of P Diddy.

Many of those turn of the century high-rises in Manhattan, with their hodge podge of decorative doodads and neo-whatever styles stretched into the sky that we find so lovely today, were laughed at by purists at the time they were built.

 

[Xiaohaha]

Boston has got wayyy better universities. MIT, Harvard, Boston U, Tufts? Yeeaah. U of T, York and Ryerson can't even compare.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Boston has got wayyy better universities. MIT, Harvard, Boston U, Tufts? Yeeaah. U of T, York and Ryerson can't even compare.

Wayyy better at what?

I'd say there are better fashion designers and radio/tv people coming out of Ryerson....better chefs coming out of George Brown...better animators coming out of Sheridan. UofT is unbelievably huge, but offers a top notch education. It might not have the same snob appeal as Harvard, but it doesn't have the ticket price either. UofT definitely has a better looking campus.

 

[Miscreant]

I lived in downtown Toronto for about 8 or 9 years, going to school, and have now just recently moved to Boston for more school.

It's okay here. My area, which is technically called 'Allston', sucks hard. But Boston itself is quite nice. The Back Bay, the Fens, downtown, Chinatown. It's a nice city. I've only been here two months though. So we'll see what I say in about a year or two.

 

[Xiaohaha]

Wayyy better at what?

At churning out tens of billions of dollars of research, driving the economy and producing breakthroughs.

I'd say there are better fashion designers and radio/tv people coming out of Ryerson....better chefs coming out of George Brown...better animators coming out of Sheridan. UofT is unbelievably huge, but offers a top notch education. It might not have the same snob appeal as Harvard, but it doesn't have the ticket price either. UofT definitely has a better looking campus.

I understand your point, and it is true that some specific programs at Ryerson and George Brown are quite good. But are you REALLY going to argue that these places are better than MIT and Harvard? Really? Really!?

 

[Softee]

Who does that? No sane person would consider The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill the equal to E lucevan le stelle from Tosca for instance.

No, but A Day In the Life was compared to T.S. Elliot's The Wasteland.

 

[freshcutgrass]

I understand your point, and it is true that some specific programs at Ryerson and George Brown are quite good. But are you REALLY going to argue that these places are better than MIT and Harvard? Really? Really!?

Well, I'm not going to argue the point....but the people taking those specific programs might.

Like I said....it depends what constitutes "better" in someone's mind. Yea...Harvard and MIT rank higher on an overall international list, but UofT still makes the top 20. It's not like you are scrapping the bottom of the barrel or anything.

 

[Red October]

At churning out tens of billions of dollars of research, driving the economy and producing breakthroughs.

Ask any diabetic if they think that those schools are waaaaaayyyyy ahead of U of T in producing breakthroughs.

(Hint: Look up Frederick Banting)

 

[kkgg7]

Well, I'm not going to argue the point....but the people taking those specific programs might.

Like I said....it depends what constitutes "better" in someone's mind. Yea...Harvard and MIT rank higher on an overall international list, but UofT still makes the top 20. It's not like you are scrapping the bottom of the barrel or anything.

You are being ridiculous here. Universities are ranked on the overall quality all the time. I think 99.9% people on Earth will acccept the fact that Harvard and MIT are better than UofT, in most aspects, of course that that doesn't mean they are stronger in every field, and nobody is claiming that.
Whether UofT makes top 20 depends on what list. In many ranks it doesn't. But there is no list which doesn't put Harvard and MIT among the top 10. That's the difference and that constitutes what "better" means.

 

[pman]

"Boston has excelled where Toronto has not: with strong
productivity, real GDP, and personal income growth. A
highlight section in last year’s report provided additional
analysis explaining, in part, why Boston ranked first
overall and first in the Economy domain. The most
compelling evidence is linked to Boston’s powerful
post-secondary education cluster. With 35 colleges and
universities in the metropolitan area, Boston can likely
lay claim to the strongest post-secondary education
sector in the world."

From a Toronto Board of Trade report: Toronto as a Global City - Scorecard on Prosperity.

 

[freshcutgrass]

I think 99.9% people on Earth will acccept the fact that Harvard and MIT are better than UofT, in most aspects, of course that that doesn't mean they are stronger in every field, and nobody is claiming that.

Forget the 99.9% of the earth...I'm sure that 99.9% of UofT students would not agree to that. The reason is that a student will not reap the benefits of all those factors that places it on those rankings...they are going for specific reasons.

I think they would probably agree Harvard has more fame and prestige, and a Harvard Law degree certainly would impress more people than one from say York/Osgoode. You could even argue that because of this, Harvard could attract "better" teachers and students, but it does not mean the quality of the education is "better" or that you will be a better lawyer though.

If you applied and were accepted to Harvard (and you had the $50k per year), I'm sure 99% would choose Harvard. Would 99% think it's worth the effort to try and get in and pay the $50k per year....obviously not.

 

[TrickyRicky]

Miscreant,

Years ago a friend of mine went to school in Boston so I visited several times. It certainly is a charming city. A city with a considerable degree more history and charm than Toronto. It did become apparent however by my second visit that the city has considerably less going on than Toronto. It eventually came across as kind of sleepy actually.

 

[Xiaohaha]

Forget the 99.9% of the earth...I'm sure that 99.9% of UofT students would not agree to that. The reason is that a student will not reap the benefits of all those factors that places it on those rankings...they are going for specific reasons.

I'm a U of T student, and I can tell you that 99.9% of U of T students are not delusional enough to think that our school is better than Harvard or MIT.

 

[allabootmatt]

Forget the 99.9% of the earth...I'm sure that 99.9% of UofT students would not agree to that. The reason is that a student will not reap the benefits of all those factors that places it on those rankings...they are going for specific reasons.

I think they would probably agree Harvard has more fame and prestige, and a Harvard Law degree certainly would impress more people than one from say York/Osgoode. You could even argue that because of this, Harvard could attract "better" teachers and students, but it does not mean the quality of the education is "better" or that you will be a better lawyer though.

If you applied and were accepted to Harvard (and you had the $50k per year), I'm sure 99% would choose Harvard. Would 99% think it's worth the effort to try and get in and pay the $50k per year....obviously not.

50k a year is an entirely theoretical amount. The top US universities disburse massive amounts of need-based financial aid, which is available on an equal basis even to foreign students at the undergrad level. Many students there (and at Yale, etc) pay less than they would to attend a Canadian school; many more pay a bit more. Some, generally those from wealthy backgrounds, pay full freight. The 50k sticker price is a persistent myth.