This was a biology question!

[lightfire22000]

Everyone who insists that mainstream education and laws requiring its de facto attendance for many professions and businesses are good, should consider the following question, which was actually asked on a university biology exam for ten percent of the exam grade.

"Human life is connected to the planet, the solar system, the galaxy, the universe, and perhaps the multiverse."
True
False

The answer was clearly true to me since I remember the professor rambling like a new age mystic, but that's not the point, although someone could get it wrong reasonably by answering false since there's not much evidence of a "multiverse". I don't even know what a multiverse is, and if it even exists, it has no relevance in a biology class. Mainly, it's a really stupid question. Connections between terrestrial life and the galaxy at large have little to do with biology as a subject. Also, a student could very well answer "false" since life hasn't been found in other galaxies and lacks evidence of other galaxies influencing the biotic conditions on Earth. Or, he could also answer false because he finds the galactic connection to minor to seriously consider.

Just one example of dumb exam questions. There are many others.

[Foster Zygote]

I'm convinced: education is bad.

[Jeff Corey]

Everyone who insists that mainstream education and laws requiring its de facto attendance for many professions and businesses are good, should consider the following question, which was actually asked on a university biology exam for ten percent of the exam grade.

"Human life is connected to the planet, the solar system, the galaxy, the universe, and perhaps the multiverse."
True
False

The answer was clearly true to me since I remember the professor rambling like a new age mystic, but that's not the point, although someone could get it wrong reasonably by answering false since there's not much evidence of a "multiverse". I don't even know what a multiverse is, and if it even exists, it has no relevance in a biology class. Mainly, it's a really stupid question. Connections between terrestrial life and the galaxy at large have little to do with biology as a subject. Also, a student could very well answer "false" since life hasn't been found in other galaxies and lacks evidence of other galaxies influencing the biotic conditions on Earth. Or, he could also answer false because he finds the galactic connection to minor to seriously consider.

Just one example of dumb exam questions. There are many others.

Where is this- Whatsamatta U?

[lightfire22000]

I'm convinced: education is bad.

After enough questions like that and irrelevant lectures, you wouldn't be sarcastic.

Here's another one:
"The theory of the reticulated tree of life requires that endosymbiosis occurred at least 3 times"
True
False

Guess, especially if you know biology.

[athon]

I'm convinced: education is bad.

How do you go from one kooky professor of an unspecified course in an unspecified education centre (yeah, we've all had them) to 'education is bad'?

:confused:

Athon

[Brainster]

The multiverse is a concept that there are multiple universes which are separate but fairly similar. The TV show Sliders and the DC comics concept of Earth-1 and Earth-2 are examples of multiverses.

[lionking]

As Jeff Corey asked, which university? It makes a difference.

[Floyt]

After enough questions like that and irrelevant lectures, you wouldn't be sarcastic.

Here's another one:
"The theory of the reticulated tree of life requires that endosymbiosis occurred at least 3 times"
True
False

Guess, especially if you know biology.

Well? Sensible question. The current organisation of animal cell organelles is best explained by assuming that a certain number of separate endosymbiosis events happened. I don't know about the three (not my field - I would have said two), but that's why it's an exam question, I suppose...

[paximperium]

Which university?

What sort of biology course is this? Science requirement course? Premed? Actual biology major?

[banner001]

there are actually a few experiments that have tried to probe the multiverse theory. one is hugh everetts double slit interference experiment where he fired a single photon towards two slits expecting to get two bands of photon clustering but instead he got an interference pattern.

now you can only get interference when you have two things interacting, but there was only ever one proton in the experiment at any time.

the explanation given is that as the photon is emitted many multiverses emerge each containing a proton, so that in effect you have millions of photons interaction, even though only 1 of those is in our multiverse, so you get the diffraction pattern.

wiki double slit experiment and scroll to the bottom, it was a landmark quantum experiment of its time...

[lightfire22000]

Which university?

What sort of biology course is this? Science requirement course? Premed? Actual biology major?

I don't want to say the university. However, it was the intro biology course that is a science requirement, satisfies a premed requirement, and actual biology major. So all of the above.

[lightfire22000]

Well? Sensible question. The current organisation of animal cell organelles is best explained by assuming that a certain number of separate endosymbiosis events happened. I don't know about the three (not my field - I would have said two), but that's why it's an exam question, I suppose...

No, wait till you hear what the answer is before you decide its sensible.

[eeyore1954]

Had a similar professor but he was in a philosophy course. One day he was talking about multiple states of reality and he told us that while he was driving over the Verrazano Narrows bridge the bad Professor Rukeburg drove off it. The thing is he meant it.
But in general he was an excellent teacher . Probably because the bad teacher drove off the bridge.

I don't believe in the multiverse, I believe in the polyverse.

[Cavemonster]

Yes lightfire, some test questions are stupid.

Some courses are stupid.
Some professors are stupid.
Some whole schools are close to worthless.

That's why there is absolutely no law requiring you to get your education from that professor, or that course or that school. You get to choose. You seem to feel you have chosen poorly.

If you actually cared about your education, you would have done a bit more research before you chose that college, that professor and course from the market of all possible educational situations in the world. If you cared now, you would actively seek to pick another course, professor, university instead of moaning.

It's sort of like you're saying how stupid it is that your body requires you to eat when you got a crappy hamburger at the restaurant downtown. If the food there is really terrible, go to a different freaking restaurant! Don't keep choosing, paying for the food and complaining about it!

[lightfire22000]

Yes lightfire, some test questions are stupid.

Some courses are stupid.
Some professors are stupid.
Some whole schools are close to worthless.

That's why there is absolutely no law requiring you to get your education from that professor, or that course or that school. You get to choose. You seem to feel you have chosen poorly.

If you actually cared about your education, you would have done a bit more research before you chose that college, that professor and course from the market of all possible educational situations in the world. If you cared now, you would actively seek to pick another course, professor, university instead of moaning.

It's sort of like you're saying how stupid it is that your body requires you to eat when you got a crappy hamburger at the restaurant downtown. If the food there is really terrible, go to a different freaking restaurant! Don't keep choosing, paying for the food and complaining about it!

It's an oligopoly. If the food at a restaurant is terrible, you shouldn't be required to choose from only a certain set of restaurants to eat.

[JoeTheJuggler]

Also, without any context of the class and subject matter covered, I don't know that the question is such an outrageous way to ask a student to write an essay on a scientific topic.

I remember a graduate linguistics course where there was an essay topic--not even a question actually--on the final exam (worth a considerable part of the exam score--though I disremember the percentage). It was, "Wax philosophic."

ETA: Oh yeah--the prof had already prepped us that there would be a question that asked us to apply what we had learned that semester to a problem or concept. So we knew more or less the grading criteria. The cutesy wording of the actual item on the test wasn't so important. That's why without knowing more about the course in question, I'm not even ready to condemn the question as being silly. It could be just a very open ended question to discuss some concept in biology.

[paximperium]

It's an oligopoly. If the food at a restaurant is terrible, you shouldn't be required to choose from only a certain set of restaurants to eat.
And who's forcing you to do so?

[Cavemonster]

It's an oligopoly. If the food at a restaurant is terrible, you shouldn't be required to choose from only a certain set of restaurants to eat.

As of 2003 or so, there were 4,236 degree granting institutions in the US, and nothing is forcing you to stay in the country. That's about 85 options per state, and absolutely nothing standing in the way of a new school being founded that is a greater barrier than to the establishment of any new enterprise on that scale.

We've been over this.

An oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers (oligopolists). The word is derived, by analogy with "monopoly", from the Greek oligoi 'few' and poleein 'to sell'. Because there are few sellers, each oligopolist is likely to be aware of the actions of the others. The decisions of one firm influence, and are influenced by, the decisions of other firms. Strategic planning by oligopolists needs to take into account the likely responses of the other market participants. This causes oligopolistic markets and industries to be a high risk for collusion.

You've yet to prove that A) 4,236 and counting is a "small" number" and B) That there is strong evidence of collusion between a significant number of them that blunts competition.

[eeyore1954]

As of 2003 or so, there were 4,236 degree granting institutions in the US, and nothing is forcing you to stay in the country. That's about 85 options per state, and absolutely nothing standing in the way of a new school being founded that is a greater barrier than to the establishment of any new enterprise on that scale.

We've been over this.


You've yet to prove that A) 4,236 and counting is a "small" number" and B) That there is strong evidence of collusion between a significant number of them that blunts competition.

And one odd teacher doesn't make that school bad. In fact in life you will probably encounter bad bosses , bad coworkers , bad customers etc. So having a odd teacher is probably good for a real life education.

[paximperium]

And one odd teacher doesn't make that school bad. In fact in life you will probably encounter bad bosses , bad coworkers , bad customers etc. So having a odd teacher is probably good for a real life education.
But someone or something is apparently forcing him to take this class with this teacher at this school. He apparently has nothing to do with it.

[Cavemonster]

And one odd teacher doesn't make that school bad. In fact in life you will probably encounter bad bosses , bad coworkers , bad customers etc. So having a odd teacher is probably good for a real life education.

Oh exactly. I'm giving him the worst case scenario he's trying to imply, that this question proves that his school is worthless. Even given that (which is a monumental stretch. It doesn't support his conclusions about the system in general.

[Foster Zygote]

I'm convinced: education is bad.

Sorry, I thought the sarcasm was obvious.

[lightfire22000]

"The theory of the reticulated tree of life requires that endosymbiosis occurred at least 3 times"
True
False

The answer to the question was false.

[Mitchell314]

"Human life is connected to the planet, the solar system, the galaxy, the universe, and perhaps the multiverse."
True
False


Easy, true. Without such, we wouldn't be here. Not to say there wouldn't be a doppelganger elsewhere asking the same question in a different multi-multi-verse had it been so.
:duck:

[M.R.B.]

"The theory of the reticulated tree of life requires that endosymbiosis occurred at least 3 times"
True
False

The answer to the question was false.

I would guess the correct answer is false, because it only requires endosymbiosis to have occurred at least twice: chloroplasts in photosynthesising cells and mitochondrias in all eukaryote cells.
Seems like a trick question? Bit silly, really.

[Wowbagger]

the phrase "reticulated tree" strikes me as more of a bioinformatics term, than a biology term. Was this a bioinformatics course? Or, perhaps the professor got his degree in bioinformatics, and his use of terminology is slanted towards that?

[drkitten]

I would guess the correct answer is false, because it only requires endosymbiosis to have occurred at least twice: chloroplasts in photosynthesising cells and mitochondrias in all eukaryote cells.
Seems like a trick question? Bit silly, really.

True-false questions are always a bit silly (IMHO); it seems fairly straightforward to me. The way you make "false" questions in a true/false test is by taking true statements and modifying them slightly. Changing "twice" to "three times" seems reasonable.

[lightfire22000]

True-false questions are always a bit silly (IMHO); it seems fairly straightforward to me. The way you make "false" questions in a true/false test is by taking true statements and modifying them slightly. Changing "twice" to "three times" seems reasonable.

That wasn't the reasoning used. It was the opposite reasoning! The reasoning offered was that endosymbiosis should occur well over three times in the theory of the reticulated tree of life. He said it required a hundred or a thousand times "at least". Now, what I thought was ludicrous was that the phrase "at least" welcomes the prospect of more than three. That's why I thought it was cheap.

[athon]

We have complaints processes here in Australia for students dissatisfied with lecturer quality.

Is there an equivalent you can pursue in the US?

Athon

[drkitten]

We have complaints processes here in Australia for students dissatisfied with lecturer quality.

Is there an equivalent you can pursue in the US?

Usually, but in this instance it's probably useless, for two reasons.

First, if the "lecturer" is tenured, then he can and will ignore the complaint.

Second, lightfire's complaints about educational quality are so obviously meritless that he'd be better off getting Orly Taitz to file a lawsuit instead.

[lightfire22000]

Usually, but in this instance it's probably useless, for two reasons.

First, if the "lecturer" is tenured, then he can and will ignore the complaint.

Second, lightfire's complaints about educational quality are so obviously meritless that he'd be better off getting Orly Taitz to file a lawsuit instead.

So you think both of the questions asked, and their respective answers are sound?

[drkitten]

So you think both of the questions asked, and their respective answers are sound?

I lack the background and context to answer.

But from the way you generalize from "two questions on an exam are of questinable merit" to "this lecturer is incompetent" to "mainstream education and laws requiring its de facto attendance for many professions and businesses [are bad and should be abolished]," it's obvious that so do you.

For example, your only description of the material presented in relevant to the first question is you "remember the professor rambling like a new age mystic." -- i.e. you don't actually remember the content. Despite the fact that he covered the material in lecture, you nevertheless feel confident that a student would be justified in disregarding everything that the professor said in lecture and following his own preconceptions : "someone could get it wrong reasonably by answering false since there's not much evidence of a "multiverse". I don't even know what a multiverse is, and if it even exists, it has no relevance in a biology class."

In other words, despite the fact that he is teaching the class and you are taking it, you nevertheless know so much more biology than he that you can say, in September what material is and is not relevant to the class.

In other words, you're ignorant, you're stupid, and you're by your own admission unteachably so, but you believe that this is the fault of the professor who has the sheer unmitigated gall to present you with information to which you steadfastly refuse to listen, and then to test you on your mastery of the material.

Which is why the complaint is meritless.

As I said : ignorant, stupid, and unteachably so.

[lightfire22000]

I lack the background and context to answer.

But from the way you generalize from "two questions on an exam are of questinable merit" to "this lecturer is incompetent" to "mainstream education and laws requiring its de facto attendance for many professions and businesses [are bad and should be abolished]," it's obvious that so do you.


So you "lack the background and context to answer", yet can infer all that?
I'm starting to think that you don't even have a doctorate. Also, the lecturer is quite competent as a biologist, just not too swift at making up tests. Two questions are a huge portion of an exam grade so I'm quite justified to make generalizations in that sense.

[Jeff Corey]

Dr. K,
So do you disbelieve the OP as being some wacky sith that didn't really happen? I've heard some loony stuff from, for example the Sociology dept., but never Biology. Unless, as I said before, it's Whatsamatta U.

[lightfire22000]

the phrase "reticulated tree" strikes me as more of a bioinformatics term, than a biology term. Was this a bioinformatics course? Or, perhaps the professor got his degree in bioinformatics, and his use of terminology is slanted towards that?

No, the "reticulated tree of life" is a commonly used theory. That part was simple enough.

[drkitten]

Dr. K,
So do you disbelieve the OP as being some wacky sith that didn't really happen?

I consider it more credible that the OP has no idea what he's talking about than that it is an accurate representation of events, yes. For the reasons I've outlined above.

I've heard some loony stuff from, for example the Sociology dept., but never Biology.

That's one reason -- a weak one -- to disbelieve. A better reason is the fundamental weakness of lightfire's story.

[drkitten]

I'm starting to think that you don't even have a doctorate. Also, the lecturer is quite competent as a biologist, just not too swift at making up tests. Two questions are a huge portion of an exam grade so I'm quite justified to make generalizations in that sense.

Jeff....

and here's yet more evidence. Somehow he infers from "the lecturer is ... not too swift at making up tests" to generalize his incompetence as a teacher, and the broader incompetence of the educational establishment as a whole. I don't know about you, but when I find that a student considers all his teachers to be incompetent (as this one obviously does), that suggest that the student himself is the one with the problem. In this case, the problem is that the student will not permit himself to be educated by anybody, and as a result is not capable of distinguishing competent teaching from incompetent teaching.

I'd not ask a tone-deaf person to tune a piano; I'd not ask a long-term smoker to blend whisky -- and I'd certainly not pay attention when such a person complained incessantly about the quality of the product as the professionals delivered it to him.

The OP has loudly, proudly, and defiantly placed himself in the position of a tone-deaf piano tuner.

[lightfire22000]

Jeff....

and here's yet more evidence. Somehow he infers from "the lecturer is ... not too swift at making up tests" to generalize his incompetence as a teacher, and the broader incompetence of the educational establishment as a whole. I don't know about you, but when I find that a student considers all his teachers to be incompetent (as this one obviously does), that suggest that the student himself is the one with the problem. In this case, the problem is that the student will not permit himself to be educated by anybody, and as a result is not capable of distinguishing competent teaching from incompetent teaching.

Once again, everything you've said here is a lie. Never did I deem all of my "teachers to be incompetent", so you're just making up stuff. Secondly, I never even said the teacher was incompetent, he isn't. It was just a couple of bad questions that were weighted too much. Learn to read before you pretend to know how to write.

[lightfire22000]

I lack the background and context to answer.

In other words, you're ignorant, you're stupid, and you're by your own admission unteachably so, but you believe that this is the fault of the professor who has the sheer unmitigated gall to present you with information to which you steadfastly refuse to listen, and then to test you on your mastery of the material.

Which is why the complaint is meritless.

As I said : ignorant, stupid, and unteachably so.

And you think I'm generalizing. At least when I generalize, I'm usually accurate.

[lightfire22000]

In other words, despite the fact that he is teaching the class and you are taking it, you nevertheless know so much more biology than he that you can say, in September what material is and is not relevant to the class.



Uhh...I have to take the class. It's a legal requirement for professions that I want to pursue. Knowledge of biology isn't the issue since you know some of the practical goals of the course before you take the class!

If you went to driving school, and the instructor started relating driving to quantum mechanics and put quantum mechanics problems on the written test, you can tell that those questions are irrelevant.

[Jeff Corey]

One never knows, do one?
On the quantum mechanics of optic flow and its application to driving in uncertain environments1
Purchase the full-text article



References and further reading may be available for this article. To view references and further reading you must purchase this article.

Robert G. V. Baker2

School of Human and Environmental Studies, University of New England, Armidale 2351, Australia

Received 22 January 1998;
revised 8 December 1998;
accepted 4 January 1999.
Available online 23 August 1999.

Abstract

The quantum mechanics approach is applied to the analysis of optic flow as a computational judgement model in order to develop a better understanding of car driver behaviour. It is argued that errors occur in the perception of distance, velocity and time because of a wave–image duality in the transfer of visual information and that this equates to fundamental uncertainty on the part of a driver between the variance in speed determination and foveal assignment. This quantum model, containing possibilities and probabilities, is contrasted to the ecological optic approach, which follows a classical view of deterministic assignments of information to trajectories from differentials in textural elements and gradients. Quantum mechanics can explain the occurrence of a number of motion-related perceptual phenomena. This includes the occlusion of images; driver fatigue; high speed adaptation and visual after-effect of motion; and the ‘white box' effect, where for an indifferent driver, limited illumination from night driving can increase speed and the underestimation of speed. These cases appear to happen when focus is bound to the road and the psychophysical energy of motion is discretely assigned beyond the retina. An ecological optic type approach may still be appropriate for low speed unbound vision in an energy continuum, where the peripheral field contains all the information for self-displacement assessment. Such modelling of the causes in the variance of driver behaviour has major implications for increasing driver safety and reducing road trauma.

[PlayingDeaf]

there was a perhaps in there. Ha

[Jeff Corey]

You read that?

[Cuddles]

Once again, everything you've said here is a lie. Never did I deem all of my "teachers to be incompetent", so you're just making up stuff. Secondly, I never even said the teacher was incompetent, he isn't. It was just a couple of bad questions that were weighted too much. Learn to read before you pretend to know how to write.

So what exactly is your point? Remember, you opened the thread with this:

Everyone who insists that mainstream education and laws requiring its de facto attendance for many professions and businesses are good, should consider the following question

You didn't say "Look, here's a silly question written by an otherwise competent teacher in a decent university". I doubt you'd have got much argument out of that. What you actually did was imply that the entirety of mainstream education is somehow bad. If you're now going to argue that this teacher is generally fine, the rest of your teachers are fine and there's nothing wrong with your university, what exactly is your point?

[fuelair]

I don't want to say the university. However, it was the intro biology course that is a science requirement, satisfies a premed requirement, and actual biology major. So all of the above.

Which university? I assume Vanderbilt (Nashville ) given your location, but.....

[Jeff Corey]

Not necessarily. http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=nashville+tn+colleges&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&view=text&ei=ldm4Sv3yM5iclQeg9-ynDw&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=more-results&resnum=1

[lightfire22000]

Which university? I assume Vanderbilt (Nashville ) given your location, but.....

I wish to remain anonymous and don't want to reveal the name of the university.

[lightfire22000]

So what exactly is your point? Remember, you opened the thread with this:



You didn't say "Look, here's a silly question written by an otherwise competent teacher in a decent university". I doubt you'd have got much argument out of that. What you actually did was imply that the entirety of mainstream education is somehow bad. If you're now going to argue that this teacher is generally fine, the rest of your teachers are fine and there's nothing wrong with your university, what exactly is your point?

Okay, I went a little over the top with that point perhaps, but I think questions like that demonstrate the problem with universities having complete authority over education. A couple of stupid questions can easily make the difference between an A and a B. It's the stress factor.

[Cavemonster]

Okay, I went a little over the top with that point perhaps, but I think questions like that demonstrate the problem with universities having complete authority over education. A couple of stupid questions can easily make the difference between an A and a B. It's the stress factor.

And so, getting a B on one test would mar your record so deeply that you could never become a doctor?

I don't see how this is indicative of anything other than "Having humans do complex things like teach courses occaisionally results in minor imperfections"

What system do you have in mind where no humans ever write a test?
Standardized testing? Right now you have your choice of thousands of schools, each with many teachers and you call it an oligopoly. How could you possibly prefer a standardized test?

[paximperium]

Okay, I went a little over the top with that point perhaps, but I think questions like that demonstrate the problem with universities having complete authority over education. A couple of stupid questions can easily make the difference between an A and a B. It's the stress factor.
So what did you do about it?

Did you challenge the questions or did you decide to go on the internet to whine about it?

[fuelair]

I wish to remain anonymous and don't want to reveal the name of the university.

Well, MTSU is less likely to have a nut like the author of the first question, TSU could easily have done it when I was working there (late 70's) but may have improved and although I would not normally expect it of Vanderbilt, they occasionally have a nut or two - but I am prejudiced there since they stole Peabody for it's endowment.

[bluescat48]

Don't keep choosing, paying for the food and complaining about it!

But some people get off by complaining, its their only source of enjoyment.

[Cuddles]

Okay, I went a little over the top with that point perhaps, but I think questions like that demonstrate the problem with universities having complete authority over education.

Why do you think that? Someone is always going to have authority over your education. As others have said several times already you are not forced to take a particular course at a particular university, you have the choice of thousands of different universities offering probably hundreds of thousands of courses. And that's just in your home country.

So again, I'll ask what your point is. Why do you think a couple of questions, which you now say don't indicate anything bad about this teacher in particular, let alone other teachers or the university, indicate a problem with the education system in general?

A couple of stupid questions can easily make the difference between an A and a B. It's the stress factor.

If the worst thing you can find to be stressed about is a couple of slightly questionable true/false questions in a single module on an undergrad course, you should count yourself incredibly lucky.

[ZirconBlue]

As Jeff Corey asked, which university?

None. It was a multiversity.

[drkitten]

Uhh...I have to take the class. It's a legal requirement for professions that I want to pursue.

Wrong. There is no single course that is a legal requirement for ANY profession.

As has been pointed out to you endlessly.

If you really hate this class, drop it and take it at another school (and transfer the credits). Or challenge the class, using the procedure that every school has. Or simply change schools and get a degree from a school where the culture is more to your liking. Or skip the degree entirely and pursue alternative credentialing.

... or passively bitch about it to an internet forum and indicate not only that you're a poor student, but you're incapable of solving your own problems.

[lightfire22000]

Wrong. There is no single course that is a legal requirement for ANY profession.

As has been pointed out to you endlessly.



That's not true, and you haven't pointed out very much in the way of "alternative credentialing". A bio class is a legal requirement for Nursing, Pharmacy, Medicine, and probably a few others. To take more advanced bio, you usually have to take intro to biology. Show me your "alternative credentialing" here and explain the enigma that is "license by comity."

While we're at it, take a crack at another question from the exam:

A genetic mutation greatly inhibits the production of phosphodiesterase. Which of the following is likely to happen immediately:

A) A decline in seratonin production
B) An increase in uric acid
C) An increase in protein kinase A
D) Both A and C
E) All of the above

[lightfire22000]

... or passively bitch about it to an internet forum and indicate not only that you're a poor student, but you're incapable of solving your own problems.

Very false inference.

[paximperium]

Very false inference.
So what did you do about it?

[lightfire22000]

So what did you do about it?

I talked to the professor about it in a very different tone.

[paximperium]

I talked to the professor about it in a very different tone.
And what happened?
Did he explain the questions and answers? When shown to be wrong did he remove the questions from the test? When he explained himself did you change you mind or continue to believe you are correct?

Please do tell.

[BTMO]

I would guess the correct answer is false, because it only requires endosymbiosis to have occurred at least twice: chloroplasts in photosynthesising cells and mitochondrias in all eukaryote cells.
Seems like a trick question? Bit silly, really.

What do you have against nuclei?

[Almo]

I don't want to say the university.

Why not? You've made your complaint irrelevant by not telling us where it happened. If this were at the New Age Institute of Multi-Planar Learning, then I could understand it.

[thinkingman]

I think it is a poorly written question. How is human life "connected?" and of course it is connected somehow.