Universities are struggling to figure out how to impart information to students that won’t be overridden in the near future by computers and robots.
Source: What to Learn in College to Stay One Step Ahead of Computers – NYTimes.com
I commented. (twice, unfortunately. I thought they had deleted my first comment:()
Unfortunately, as thoughtful as this piece is, it tackles the problems of higher education only at the periphery. The real problem, the problem of mass educational destruction, (to paraphrase Warren Buffett) was pointed out by David Riesman.
“…advantage can..be taken of [students] by unscrupulous instructors and institutions…the “wants” of students to which competing institutions, departments, and individual faculty members cater are quite different from the “needs” of students…”
That was 1980. (To see how much worse it has gotten, see my blog inside-higher-ed . I am a former math professor and have seen just how prescient observers like Clark Kerr and David Riesman were.)
We need people like Prof. Shiller to realize what is happening and to realize the enormous economic, social and political damage this is causing.
In the words of Thomas Jefferson
“…crusade against ignorance…kings, priests and nobles…will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance…” Thomas Jefferson
That crusade will have to be carried out against a system with gigantic resources. It will take a lot of will to beat those resources. (See Bill Gross’ quote on that on my blog.)
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