Alexander Grothendieck, Math Enigma, Dies at 86 – NYTimes.com. Here is an excerpt from his letter to the Swedish Royal Academy rejecting the 1988 $250,000 Crafoord Prize. “…the ethical standards of the sciences ( certainly in mathematics) have been degraded to such an extent that the most bare-faced plagiarism between colleagues ( often at the […]
Washington U. in St. Louis is a Standout on NY Times Graph – See Why
September 12, 2014 by
Look at this article for the graph. Making Top Colleges Less Aristocratic and More Meritocratic – NYTimes.com. What is interesting is how Wash. U. brags that they do the opposite of what the graph shows. Look here for what I mean by that. I posted this comment on the Times article. (Someone didn’t agree what I wrote and […]
School Tenure – First, Cut Off the Problem at the Source
August 19, 2014 by
Good Article – But, From Whence Commeth These Teachers?
August 18, 2014 by
Teaching Is Not a Business – NYTimes.com. This is a good article by someone who also understands universities. But, (my comment on the NY Times site) Though I agree with Prof. Kirp, I would ask “from whence commeth these teachers?”. To get good teachers, we need good colleges. That second “good” means “not irresponsible or […]
“Teaching Teaching” A Start on the Right Track
July 29, 2014 by
A few days ago I posted a comment on a Times Magazine article about teaching math (by Elizabeth Green). Today, Joe Nocera published an op-ed on Ms. Green’s forthcoming book that the magazine’s article was excerpted from. Teaching Teaching – NYTimes.com. To readers of this blog, there is nothing new in my commen, which is […]
American College Grads Don’t Do Well Overall, Period.
July 7, 2014 by
I’m surprised that so many people thought the data on US college grads was not representative of the job we are doing. I find the letters that the author answered interesting in themselves. More on American Colleges’ Standing in the World – NYTimes.com. In any case, this is what I wrote. Though I have taught […]
For Wage Growth, You Need Education in Real Terms – Not Nominal Terms
Pay pressure – FT.com. See Pikety for the conditions for reducing inequality. Anyway, I tried to point this out. Here is what I wrote. ” The cause of the stagnation in the US should be clear to anyone who looks. It is the businessification and corruption of one of a democracy’s most important institutions – […]