Here is a link to the Times article about the average grade at Harvard. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/as-have-been-harvards-most-common-grade-for-20-years/ I tried to comment in a light vein. “I am a former math professor at an “elite” university and I’m writing to let you know that grade inflation is not the problem it used to be. We have been in a […]
Added Comment to Joe Nocera’s Opinion in NY Timse
December 10, 2013 by
Here it is. “The author writes that “…The real issue is: how do you make college affordable again?..”. If that is all we do, “…make college affordable…” we will continue to get the system we have: institutions marketing and catering to uneducated consumers (in the past, quaintly known as students), a trillion dollars of student […]
On “The Berkeley Model” by Joe Nocera at the New York Times
December 10, 2013 by
Mr. Nocera writes that Fred Wiseman’s documentary is a “big wet kiss” to Berkely. He expresses concern about the cost of education (which he should) and writes that “The real issue is: how do you make college more affordable today.” I am worried that many people like Joe Nocera and Jon Meacham (See Why Do […]
Not Being Good at Math – Should That Be a Bar to Getting a PhD in Math?
December 3, 2013 by
American 15-Year-Olds Fall Further Back in Math
December 3, 2013 by
The New York Tims and the Wall Street Journal both reported the results of the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/education/american-15-year-olds-lag-mainly-in-math-on-international-standardized-tests.html?ref=us&_r=0 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304579404579234511824563116) I commented on wsj.com and I wll follow up with a post that contains another personal story. Here is my comment. “I am a former math professor who taught at an […]
Gina Kolata’s New York Times Article Gives Helpful Insight for Flawed Cholesterol Calculator
November 19, 2013 by
Gina Kolata wrote again today about the cholesterol calculator that exaggerates “…the true risk of a heart attack or stroke by an average of 100 percent…” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/health/flawed-gauge-for-cholesterol-risk-poses-a-new-challenge-for-cardiologists.html?ref=us This article gives more insight into the statistical/mathematical problems: “…Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, a medical professor at Dartmouth [says] the calculator, like many others used in medicine, is […]
The Economist Cover Story “How Science Goes Wrong” and NY Times “Risk Calculator for Cholesterol Appears Flawed”; Connected?
November 18, 2013 by
Both of these stories focus on what could be a failure of professionals to understand and utilize quantitative data and methods. In the case of the cholesterol test, I have no way of knowing exactly how the failure occured. But I am worried that it is symptomatic of our problems in higher education. I posted […]
Jeffrey J. Williams on “The Great Stratification”
Professor Williams has helped shine a light on some of the inequites within the professoriate itself. (See http://chronicle.com/article/The-Great-Stratification/143285/ ) I think these inequities are important to know and understand. The fact that there is so much stratification within higher education is revealing. It makes clearer who faculty are, in spite of who they may seem to be, who they […]