College Debates

This debate about the future of higher education is interesting. What surprised me is the dog that didn’t bark. No one mentioned that a big reason for employers requiring a B.A. is that employment tests have become problematic due to court rulings. It’s too easy to argue that a test is racially or culturally biased. Fearing lawsuits, employers have increasingly relied on colleges and universities as a screening mechanism. Caplan is right – a degree is a signaling mechanism that shows the graduate can work hard, show up on time, read, and write. While there are notable exceptions, the subjects studied and learned have little bearing on future employment.

The End of Newspapers

That is what real revolutions are like. The old stuff gets broken faster than the new stuff is put in its place.

via Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable « Clay Shirky.

Newspapers are obviously in trouble and a tons of ink electrons are being spilled writing about it. I view this with only mild interest. However, the article referenced above has some interesting insights about the nature of technological disruption and some interesting observations about a previous revolution – the one that Gutenberg started.

Internet Culture

Tyler Cowen has an intriguing article about the cultural change being caused by the Internet. The key change he notes is how we’re adapting and capitalizing on the brevity of so much that is written (or otherwise recorded) on the net. Is he right that this is “a change that is filling our daily lives with beauty, suspense, and learning” or is this just part of a great dumbing down? I suspect both are simultaneously true.