Moral based question:

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Perhaps not sanctioned, but if something is not known as illegal, is it? That's the real meat of the argument. I'm trying to figure out what would make something 'cheating.' It may not be looked upon favorably, but it also hasn't been addressed at all. I think it's somewhat harsh to punish someone who didn't know and has no way of knowing if something is sanctioned or not.

Just to be clear, I'm not going to put the formulas in, simply because even if there were a 100% chance I was caught and a 5% chance that it meant honor committee I wouldn't take the chance. I'm not going to sacrifice my diploma for a few points. It's not worth it. This just struck me as a good 'real world' type of example.

In the "real world", if it's against the rules and you break the rules to gain an advantage, it's cheating. Pretty plain and simple. If you don't know or suspect it's against the rules, and you actively seek to be ignorant of the rules then it is still cheating if it's against the rules. By definition, it's not cheating if it's not against the rules. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse. What's the ethical thing to do? Seek clarification and obey the rules to ensure a fair test for all.

The real question on ethics is this: You ask your teacher and he/she says it's okay, but only for those students who seek prior approval. Later, your friend says to you "Boy, I sure wish I could program formulas into my calculator". Do you say nothing or tell them it's okay (note, he did not ask a question so silence is not a lie). Suppose it's not a friend but someone you don't like. Further, suppose the test is graded on a curve rather than a straight scale.