Occasionally Tom Friedman of the New York Times offers an interesting tidbit in his column. Today's tidbit is a reference to a very interesting new company offering high quality on-line education courses. The name of the company is Coursera.
It is worthwhile checking out Coursera's web site and at least looking at the syllabus of some of the course offerings. I saw several tempting courses. One course of particular interest to a wide range of people might be "Health Policy And The Affordable Care Act."
Check out Coursera's site.
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
What You Don't Know Won't Hurt Us
Judging from the current primary campaigns as well as what has happened in many states when Republicans take over, the new operative slogan might be, "what YOU don't know won't hurt US" (with apologies to Paul Krugman for my blatant plagiarism).
Alternatively, "billions for defense but not one cent for public education (let the kids fend for themselves)."
Another possibility: "we don't need no stinkin'" (pick one or more)
1. Early Childhood Education;
2. Higher education;
3. Research;
4. Free highways;
5. Facts (facts have a known liberal bias);
6. Foreigners;
7. Diversity;
8. Stimulus;
9. Economic Development ("REAL Enterpreneurs spend their OWN money");
10.Networks (except for Fox).
Alternatively, "billions for defense but not one cent for public education (let the kids fend for themselves)."
Another possibility: "we don't need no stinkin'" (pick one or more)
1. Early Childhood Education;
2. Higher education;
3. Research;
4. Free highways;
5. Facts (facts have a known liberal bias);
6. Foreigners;
7. Diversity;
8. Stimulus;
9. Economic Development ("REAL Enterpreneurs spend their OWN money");
10.Networks (except for Fox).
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Spelling Assistance
Those of you who are "spelling challenged" may wish to know that even the venerable New York Times occasionally gets a word wrong. But the "gray lady" knows how to fix it without making a fuss.
Two minutes ago, I was reading the front page of the on-line edition of NYT, adorned with a photo of Governor Rick Perry in his uniform as a Texas A&M cadet. The caption explained that he was in his "core of cadets uniform." I began reading the caption to my wife, to point out the error, and as I was reading it, the spelling changed to "corps of cadets uniform."
No fuss, no muss, just quietly change it. There was not even a strike-through as in "core corps of cadets uniform."
I'm waiting to see if they acknowledge the error.
Two minutes ago, I was reading the front page of the on-line edition of NYT, adorned with a photo of Governor Rick Perry in his uniform as a Texas A&M cadet. The caption explained that he was in his "core of cadets uniform." I began reading the caption to my wife, to point out the error, and as I was reading it, the spelling changed to "corps of cadets uniform."
No fuss, no muss, just quietly change it. There was not even a strike-through as in "
I'm waiting to see if they acknowledge the error.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
So How's The Football Team Doing?
I confess. Over the years, I have enjoyed watching college sports. When I was a student at Ole Miss, I even watched some of the games from the sidelines, wearing a press pass and carrying a 4x5 Speed Graphic press camera. I can still, fifty odd years later, give a rousing "Hotty-Totty," the Ole Miss cheer.
But I never understood what big time college sports have to do with education. Lately, I have to conclude that college sports interfere with education.
Last September, I received a weird e-mail from the Chancellor of the University of Mississippi complaining about "anonymous, malicious and public attacks" on the athletics director, including threats on the chancellor that it "will get real ugly" if the director isn't removed. A month later I received an e-mail from an organization seeking my support in their effort to get rid of the athletic director. Earlier this month I received a letter informing me that both the football coach and the athletic director have resigned.
All of this came to mind as I heard the news about Joe Paterno and the Penn State football team. Plainly in both cases, the tail is wagging the dog.
I imagine few members of the public in either Pennsylvania or Mississippi know the name of a single college professor or the head of the institution, but they know the name of the coach. And to most of them, the most important fact about a public university is the football team's won-loss record.
In the face of this set of priorities, any talk by our political leaders of a need to improve higher education is whistling in the wind.
The distortion of priorities starts well before college. This morning I read that a group of high school parents has filed a suit in New Mexico seeking to insert their high school into the state playoffs. The issue? Game officials started the clock too soon at the end of the game (by three seconds), depriving the team of the chance to kick a forty-one yard field goal and possibly get three additional points in a game they won, that would have improved their ranking enough to make the playoffs.
Does anybody really care about education?
But I never understood what big time college sports have to do with education. Lately, I have to conclude that college sports interfere with education.
Last September, I received a weird e-mail from the Chancellor of the University of Mississippi complaining about "anonymous, malicious and public attacks" on the athletics director, including threats on the chancellor that it "will get real ugly" if the director isn't removed. A month later I received an e-mail from an organization seeking my support in their effort to get rid of the athletic director. Earlier this month I received a letter informing me that both the football coach and the athletic director have resigned.
All of this came to mind as I heard the news about Joe Paterno and the Penn State football team. Plainly in both cases, the tail is wagging the dog.
I imagine few members of the public in either Pennsylvania or Mississippi know the name of a single college professor or the head of the institution, but they know the name of the coach. And to most of them, the most important fact about a public university is the football team's won-loss record.
In the face of this set of priorities, any talk by our political leaders of a need to improve higher education is whistling in the wind.
The distortion of priorities starts well before college. This morning I read that a group of high school parents has filed a suit in New Mexico seeking to insert their high school into the state playoffs. The issue? Game officials started the clock too soon at the end of the game (by three seconds), depriving the team of the chance to kick a forty-one yard field goal and possibly get three additional points in a game they won, that would have improved their ranking enough to make the playoffs.
Does anybody really care about education?
Monday, October 17, 2011
Cardinals Vs. Rangers? What Gives?
I don't suppose I'm any more surprised than anyone else that the baseball playoff series sent Saint Louis and Texas to the World Series.
Not exactly a subway series.
For you youngsters who don't know what a subway series was, that was a series where the fans could get to all of the games on the subway. It might have happened, for example, between the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Braves. Or the Philadelphia Philles vs. the Philadelphia Athletics. Or more likely, the New York Yankees vs. either the New York Giants or the Brooklyn Dodgers. About the only place a subway series might happen today is between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. Would that be a BART series? Washington Nationals vs Baltimore Orioles doesn't qualify, either. It might be a MARC series.
The first World Series I remember was the 1947 series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. A subway series.
World Series games were daytime games until 1971. The exception is the final inning of the 1949 series was played under the lights. Otherwise the game would have been called because of darkness.
We had no television in Midwest City, Oklahoma in 1947. We followed the World Series on radio. My sixth grade teacher let the class listen to the games. I was the only member of the class who knew how to keep score, so I chalked a big scorecard on the blackboard and kept score during the games. It was a pretty exciting series, going seven games. Even then, I rooted for whoever played the Yankees, but it was in vain. Brooklyn lost.
I'm sure we learned something during those October afternoons, but I don't remember what it was.
Not exactly a subway series.
For you youngsters who don't know what a subway series was, that was a series where the fans could get to all of the games on the subway. It might have happened, for example, between the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Braves. Or the Philadelphia Philles vs. the Philadelphia Athletics. Or more likely, the New York Yankees vs. either the New York Giants or the Brooklyn Dodgers. About the only place a subway series might happen today is between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. Would that be a BART series? Washington Nationals vs Baltimore Orioles doesn't qualify, either. It might be a MARC series.
The first World Series I remember was the 1947 series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. A subway series.
World Series games were daytime games until 1971. The exception is the final inning of the 1949 series was played under the lights. Otherwise the game would have been called because of darkness.
We had no television in Midwest City, Oklahoma in 1947. We followed the World Series on radio. My sixth grade teacher let the class listen to the games. I was the only member of the class who knew how to keep score, so I chalked a big scorecard on the blackboard and kept score during the games. It was a pretty exciting series, going seven games. Even then, I rooted for whoever played the Yankees, but it was in vain. Brooklyn lost.
I'm sure we learned something during those October afternoons, but I don't remember what it was.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Wake County Board of Education Elections
Interesting article in today's News and Observer: "Wake Voters Should Check Districts."
Tomorrow is the election in Wake County for the board of elections. The problem is that board of elections districts have been redrawn to reflect results of the 2010 census. Usually, the Board of Elections would have sent voter cards to registered voters notifying them of their new districts.
The Wake County Board of Elections asked the Board of Commissioners to appropriate sufficient funds to do the mail out, but the County Commissioners declined.
Part of the problem is that there would have to be another mailing, in any event, after redistricting is completed for state offices and the US Congress. No one knows how long that will take.
So many Wake County voters may show up tomorrow at the wrong polling place.
Fortunately, we have no such problems in Pamlico County.
Tomorrow is the election in Wake County for the board of elections. The problem is that board of elections districts have been redrawn to reflect results of the 2010 census. Usually, the Board of Elections would have sent voter cards to registered voters notifying them of their new districts.
The Wake County Board of Elections asked the Board of Commissioners to appropriate sufficient funds to do the mail out, but the County Commissioners declined.
Part of the problem is that there would have to be another mailing, in any event, after redistricting is completed for state offices and the US Congress. No one knows how long that will take.
So many Wake County voters may show up tomorrow at the wrong polling place.
Fortunately, we have no such problems in Pamlico County.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Cheerleading Politicians
A curious feature of American elected officials is that a number of them prepared for officialdom by serving as cheerleaders either in high school or college.
It makes sense. The function of a cheerleader is to stir the crowd to a hysterical level of support and optimism, no matter how dire the circumstances. The opposing team is ahead by four touchdowns and has the home team's back against the goal line, threatening another score. "Push 'em back," the cheerleader cries to the shouts of the fans, "push 'em way back.!"
Cheerleaders don't organize or select the plays,don't throw any passes, don't catch the ball or set any blocks. They don't even carry water to the folks who do.
Reality plays no part in the matter at all.
Among former cheerleaders in politics:
Thad Cochran, senior senator from Mississippi (Ole Miss);
Trent Lott, former senator from Mississippi (Ole Miss);
Kay Bailey Hutchison, former senator from Texas (University of Texas);
George W. Bush, former governor of Texas and former president of the United States (Phillips-Andover);
Rick Perry, governor of Texas (Texas A&M).
It makes sense. The function of a cheerleader is to stir the crowd to a hysterical level of support and optimism, no matter how dire the circumstances. The opposing team is ahead by four touchdowns and has the home team's back against the goal line, threatening another score. "Push 'em back," the cheerleader cries to the shouts of the fans, "push 'em way back.!"
Cheerleaders don't organize or select the plays,don't throw any passes, don't catch the ball or set any blocks. They don't even carry water to the folks who do.
Reality plays no part in the matter at all.
Among former cheerleaders in politics:
Thad Cochran, senior senator from Mississippi (Ole Miss);
Trent Lott, former senator from Mississippi (Ole Miss);
Kay Bailey Hutchison, former senator from Texas (University of Texas);
George W. Bush, former governor of Texas and former president of the United States (Phillips-Andover);
Rick Perry, governor of Texas (Texas A&M).
Monday, July 25, 2011
Not in a Depression - Yet
One of the reasons we are only in a recession and not in a depression is the existence of safety net programs put in place eighty years ago under FDR, supplemented by programs put in place nearly fifty years ago under LBJ. As a consequence, even though the percentage of the population with jobs is lower than at any time since the great depression, we don't have masses of people living in Hooverville's, rummaging through garbage dumps for sustenance.
Because of those programs, which Republicans opposed from the very beginning, not only have individuals and families been able to survive, businesses that would otherwise have had to close their doors have been able to stay open.
The scale of our programs is significant. Twenty percent of all personal income in 2010 came from government transfer programs. Just imagine the impact if those programs didn't exist.
Before the year is over, you may not have to imagine it. Some programs, such as extended unemployment insurance, are due to expire later this year. Some stimulus programs are also due to expire. Among measures proposed to reduce government spending are proposals to raise retirement age, raise the age of eligibility for Medicare and increase the costs paid by individuals.
As of now, it appears that neither party is pushing for measures to stimulate the economy, create jobs, thus increasing GDP and revenue, reducing the deficit by growing our way out of it.
So whatever results from the current budget negotiations, it looks like government spending will be reduced.
This will kill jobs.
In the long run, though, there are issues beyond aggregate demand that need attention. How do we address the jobs deficit in face of outsourcing offshore, computerization, or a combination of both. Where will our future jobs come from?
University of Texas economist James K. Galbraith has some thoughts on the subject in a recent essay published here by the New America Foundation.
Because of those programs, which Republicans opposed from the very beginning, not only have individuals and families been able to survive, businesses that would otherwise have had to close their doors have been able to stay open.
The scale of our programs is significant. Twenty percent of all personal income in 2010 came from government transfer programs. Just imagine the impact if those programs didn't exist.
Before the year is over, you may not have to imagine it. Some programs, such as extended unemployment insurance, are due to expire later this year. Some stimulus programs are also due to expire. Among measures proposed to reduce government spending are proposals to raise retirement age, raise the age of eligibility for Medicare and increase the costs paid by individuals.
As of now, it appears that neither party is pushing for measures to stimulate the economy, create jobs, thus increasing GDP and revenue, reducing the deficit by growing our way out of it.
So whatever results from the current budget negotiations, it looks like government spending will be reduced.
This will kill jobs.
In the long run, though, there are issues beyond aggregate demand that need attention. How do we address the jobs deficit in face of outsourcing offshore, computerization, or a combination of both. Where will our future jobs come from?
University of Texas economist James K. Galbraith has some thoughts on the subject in a recent essay published here by the New America Foundation.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Remember The Preamble?
When I was in high school, one of the things students were expected to do was to remember and recite the preamble to the Constitution of the United States.
Remember it? It goes like this:
Preamble
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
So how come so many conservative commentators rail against the "welfare state?" Our aspiration that the federal government promote the general welfare is embedded in our most fundamental document.
We can certainly debate how best to accomplish all the actions listed in the preamble, but so long as our Constitution defines who we are, we cannot deny the legitimacy of any of them.
Do students memorize such things any more? Or take them seriously?
Remember it? It goes like this:
Preamble
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
So how come so many conservative commentators rail against the "welfare state?" Our aspiration that the federal government promote the general welfare is embedded in our most fundamental document.
We can certainly debate how best to accomplish all the actions listed in the preamble, but so long as our Constitution defines who we are, we cannot deny the legitimacy of any of them.
Do students memorize such things any more? Or take them seriously?
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Pamlico County Budget
Last night Pamlico County's Board of Commissioners held a public hearing on the budget for FY 2011 - 2012. The national (and worldwide) economic downturn, which was none of the county's doing, is now harming its citizens.
During the hearing on the budget, members of the county's soil and water conservation board asked the commissioners to reconsider the decision to reduce work hours for two of their employees. This point was taken up by Commissioners Delamar and Ollison before the vote on the budget. They emphasized the services provided by the board to all of the county's citizens.
The county GOP Director of Communications complimented the commissioners on a good budget and then made the predictable observation that we need tax cuts, smaller government and more individual responsibility. He also cited the county's median income as $47,000 per capita (that's more likely the figure for family income, not individual income), 15% below the poverty line and the fact that taxes constitute 56% of the county's revenue. He did not mention that the county has a functional illiteracy rate of 14% and that 24% of the county's citizens have a disability of some kind.
The challenge facing the county was to deal with reduction in funds received from the state, forcing the county to reduce its contribution to both the Community College and the Public Schools at the same time those institutions received reduced resources from the state. The surprise resignation by Dr. James Coon, county school superintendent, represented his contribution to the reduction of central staff in an effort to hold down expenses. Even so, there will be staff reductions, increase in class size, and a likely adverse effect on the quality of education in the county.
The county commissioners have done the best they could under difficult circumstances.
This is a case of stuff flowing down hill. The economic crisis didn't start here and can't be fixed here. It started on Wall Street. It can be fixed by Washington. It won't be fixed until our leaders recognize that what is needed is a substantial fiscal stimulus.
I have written about this before. I won't go into it again, at least not now.
But the only people benefiting from the current situation and the refusal of the national government to take effective stimulus measures are the top 1% of our economy, who own fifty percent of the nation's assets. The next 9% are doing OK. The bottom 90% are hurting. And it's all so unnecessary.
During the hearing on the budget, members of the county's soil and water conservation board asked the commissioners to reconsider the decision to reduce work hours for two of their employees. This point was taken up by Commissioners Delamar and Ollison before the vote on the budget. They emphasized the services provided by the board to all of the county's citizens.
The county GOP Director of Communications complimented the commissioners on a good budget and then made the predictable observation that we need tax cuts, smaller government and more individual responsibility. He also cited the county's median income as $47,000 per capita (that's more likely the figure for family income, not individual income), 15% below the poverty line and the fact that taxes constitute 56% of the county's revenue. He did not mention that the county has a functional illiteracy rate of 14% and that 24% of the county's citizens have a disability of some kind.
The challenge facing the county was to deal with reduction in funds received from the state, forcing the county to reduce its contribution to both the Community College and the Public Schools at the same time those institutions received reduced resources from the state. The surprise resignation by Dr. James Coon, county school superintendent, represented his contribution to the reduction of central staff in an effort to hold down expenses. Even so, there will be staff reductions, increase in class size, and a likely adverse effect on the quality of education in the county.
The county commissioners have done the best they could under difficult circumstances.
This is a case of stuff flowing down hill. The economic crisis didn't start here and can't be fixed here. It started on Wall Street. It can be fixed by Washington. It won't be fixed until our leaders recognize that what is needed is a substantial fiscal stimulus.
I have written about this before. I won't go into it again, at least not now.
But the only people benefiting from the current situation and the refusal of the national government to take effective stimulus measures are the top 1% of our economy, who own fifty percent of the nation's assets. The next 9% are doing OK. The bottom 90% are hurting. And it's all so unnecessary.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Singing from the Wrong Sheet of Music
Last Saturday, we attended a baccalaureate ceremony for our graduating grandson.
There was lovely music, sung by the college choir. Early in the ceremony, the choir sang a spirited rendition of "America the Beautiful."
Unlike the unsingable drinking song with Francis Scott Key's lyrics that we chose as our national anthem in 1931 under President Hoover, "America the Beautiful" isn't bombastic.
I wonder how much of our national readiness to go off firing rockets comes from "bombs bursting in air" and prideful assertions that we are "the land of the free" and the "home of the brave."
Maybe if we had a less bombastic anthem, we could pay more attention to the arts of agriculture and industry, the challenges of diplomacy and the creation and celebration of beauty and a bounteous plenty. Who knows what heights such an anthem might inspire us to achieve.
"America the Beautiful" is just such an anthem.
There was lovely music, sung by the college choir. Early in the ceremony, the choir sang a spirited rendition of "America the Beautiful."
Unlike the unsingable drinking song with Francis Scott Key's lyrics that we chose as our national anthem in 1931 under President Hoover, "America the Beautiful" isn't bombastic.
I wonder how much of our national readiness to go off firing rockets comes from "bombs bursting in air" and prideful assertions that we are "the land of the free" and the "home of the brave."
Maybe if we had a less bombastic anthem, we could pay more attention to the arts of agriculture and industry, the challenges of diplomacy and the creation and celebration of beauty and a bounteous plenty. Who knows what heights such an anthem might inspire us to achieve.
"America the Beautiful" is just such an anthem.
Delicious Seed Corn
The Governor vetoed the NC legislature's budget which reduced our education spending to the level of Mississippi.
All over a penny sales tax.
Are the citizens of NC so cheap we would withhold a penny from our schools? I don't think so.
But all of the Republican members of the general assembly and five Democrats made it clear they don't give a fig for our children. Or our college students. Or the economic future of the state.
I know something about Mississippi. I started school there in 1943. I graduated from Ole Miss in 1958.
If you really want to, it isn't hard to win a race to the bottom.
We don't want to go there.
But as I warned before, we are eating our seed corn. I hope we enjoy it.
All over a penny sales tax.
Are the citizens of NC so cheap we would withhold a penny from our schools? I don't think so.
But all of the Republican members of the general assembly and five Democrats made it clear they don't give a fig for our children. Or our college students. Or the economic future of the state.
I know something about Mississippi. I started school there in 1943. I graduated from Ole Miss in 1958.
If you really want to, it isn't hard to win a race to the bottom.
We don't want to go there.
But as I warned before, we are eating our seed corn. I hope we enjoy it.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Graduation Day
Hanover, NH Sunday, June 12, 2011. The Dartmouth class of 2011 graduated this morning. It was cold and rainy, but both funny and exciting.
The commencement address was delivered by Conan O'Brian.
There were two valedictorians - both were young women. Forty years ago, no women were admitted. Now, about half the student body are women. And most of the honors graduates.
The same number of graduates were named Wang as were named Smith.
It was a diverse student body. Many of color, including Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Oriental Americans, South Asians and Africans. They are America's new elite.
Today we saw the future in Hanover, NH. And the future is good.
The commencement address was delivered by Conan O'Brian.
There were two valedictorians - both were young women. Forty years ago, no women were admitted. Now, about half the student body are women. And most of the honors graduates.
The same number of graduates were named Wang as were named Smith.
It was a diverse student body. Many of color, including Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Oriental Americans, South Asians and Africans. They are America's new elite.
Today we saw the future in Hanover, NH. And the future is good.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
NC Education Budget and Seed Corn
I mentioned a while back that cutting education for North Carolina's young people was like eating your seed corn. The consequences can last for a long time, indeed.
We now know the budget proposed by Republicans in the NC Senate would cut the budget for public schools, community colleges and universities by more than $1.1 Billion.
We can't afford cuts like that.
We now know the budget proposed by Republicans in the NC Senate would cut the budget for public schools, community colleges and universities by more than $1.1 Billion.
We can't afford cuts like that.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Graduation Season and Job Prospects
I'm on the road this week and next week for graduation season. It's inspiring to see the shining, expectant faces of new graduates ready to take on the world.
But what if the world isn't ready for them?
I've been concerned for some time about the effects of increasingly sophisticated automation on top of offshore outsourcing on job prospects for Americans. Not long ago, I called attention to data showing the present recession has hollowed out jobs in the economy formerly filled by our great but diminishing middle class.
Is this a temporary phenomenon caused by the present recession? Or is it something more permanent - a structural change affecting everyone's future.
Right now, I think our economy is being made worse by austerity measures being pushed by [can I call them fools?] in the capitols of the world. But what of the future? We are said to be in a recovery. But statistics seem to show that the percentage of Americans who are employed is at a historic low, and newly created jobs aren't appearing quickly enough to increase that percentage.
I just came across a sobering blog discussion of the long term effect of automation here. The author criticizes my two favorite macroeconomists for failing to address this problem.
I think it is a fair criticism.
I played a modest role about twenty-five years ago in a project intended to replace skilled technicians with an artificial intelligence program aboard US Navy ships. It had great potential to reduce the education and training required for maintenance technicians.
Next week I will travel to the graduation ceremony for our oldest grandchild at one of America's finest Universities. I worry that the kind of development I worked on years ago may affect his prospects and those of his younger brother.
The issue of how we can make a prosperous future for our descendants in the face of these rapid technological developments needs the urgent attention of our best economists.
Did the Luddites have a point?
But what if the world isn't ready for them?
I've been concerned for some time about the effects of increasingly sophisticated automation on top of offshore outsourcing on job prospects for Americans. Not long ago, I called attention to data showing the present recession has hollowed out jobs in the economy formerly filled by our great but diminishing middle class.
Is this a temporary phenomenon caused by the present recession? Or is it something more permanent - a structural change affecting everyone's future.
Right now, I think our economy is being made worse by austerity measures being pushed by [can I call them fools?] in the capitols of the world. But what of the future? We are said to be in a recovery. But statistics seem to show that the percentage of Americans who are employed is at a historic low, and newly created jobs aren't appearing quickly enough to increase that percentage.
I just came across a sobering blog discussion of the long term effect of automation here. The author criticizes my two favorite macroeconomists for failing to address this problem.
I think it is a fair criticism.
I played a modest role about twenty-five years ago in a project intended to replace skilled technicians with an artificial intelligence program aboard US Navy ships. It had great potential to reduce the education and training required for maintenance technicians.
Next week I will travel to the graduation ceremony for our oldest grandchild at one of America's finest Universities. I worry that the kind of development I worked on years ago may affect his prospects and those of his younger brother.
The issue of how we can make a prosperous future for our descendants in the face of these rapid technological developments needs the urgent attention of our best economists.
Did the Luddites have a point?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Where Do All These Bills Come From?
The newly elected North Carolina legislature has pursued a frantic pace of new legislation.
Some observers have charged that the new legislators have no idea what the effect of their proposed legislation will be. That may be true.
Normally, anyone taking a new job spends a little time getting to know the ropes. Not these legislators.
So where are all the bills coming from? Did you ever hear of ALEC? That is, the American Legislative Exchange Council. You thought you elected your local candidate to the state House of Representatives and the state Senate? Actually, you elected ALEC.
How do I know? I have been following the bills introduced in the legislature, and I have looked at the ALEC web site. Here is a link to ALEC's model legislation. Just read ALEC's models and compare them to the bills introduced by the new legislators. Most of them are ALEC bills.
So who is ALEC? The nationwide voice of corporate interests seeking to get their way through uniform acts by all of the state legislatures. Their aims have nothing to do with North Carolina. Do they have the public interest at heart? Not Likely.
Here is a good backgrounder.
Some observers have charged that the new legislators have no idea what the effect of their proposed legislation will be. That may be true.
Normally, anyone taking a new job spends a little time getting to know the ropes. Not these legislators.
So where are all the bills coming from? Did you ever hear of ALEC? That is, the American Legislative Exchange Council. You thought you elected your local candidate to the state House of Representatives and the state Senate? Actually, you elected ALEC.
How do I know? I have been following the bills introduced in the legislature, and I have looked at the ALEC web site. Here is a link to ALEC's model legislation. Just read ALEC's models and compare them to the bills introduced by the new legislators. Most of them are ALEC bills.
So who is ALEC? The nationwide voice of corporate interests seeking to get their way through uniform acts by all of the state legislatures. Their aims have nothing to do with North Carolina. Do they have the public interest at heart? Not Likely.
Here is a good backgrounder.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Management is Prediction
"The theory of knowledge helps us to understand that management in any form is prediction."
-W. Edwards Deming, The New Economics
Other Deming observations:
Knowledge is built on theory;
Use of Data requires prediction;
There is no true measurement without an operational definition;
Information is not knowledge.
-W. Edwards Deming, The New Economics
Other Deming observations:
Knowledge is built on theory;
Use of Data requires prediction;
There is no true measurement without an operational definition;
Information is not knowledge.
Oh, That's Just a Theory!
It's often the case that people unfamiliar with or resistant to scientific undertakings dismiss peer-reviewed research by saying: "that's just a theory." As if it were an unsupported guess.
I have even said something like that myself: "I have a theory" about something. What I mean to say is, "I have a hypothesis."
A hypothesis is more than a guess. It is a supposition based on familiarity with the subject, experience, or deep thought. A proper hypothesis must be testable.
The point of testing a hypothesis is to disprove it. No hypothesis can be proven. It can only be disproven. If a proper test fails to disprove a hypothesis, the next step is to try another test. Collect more data. Give the problem more thought. Examine whether we have a case of coincidence or one of cause and effect.
Then take all the data collected, observations made, and develop a theory. The theory must be compatible with all the observed data. The theory should also be testable. If the tests fail to disprove the theory, then it may be adopted as the best explanation available, but no theory can ever be proven. It is the job of scientists to reexamine accepted theory in light of new knowledge, new methods of measurement and observation.
Theory is the best you get. There is never final certainty.
I have even said something like that myself: "I have a theory" about something. What I mean to say is, "I have a hypothesis."
A hypothesis is more than a guess. It is a supposition based on familiarity with the subject, experience, or deep thought. A proper hypothesis must be testable.
The point of testing a hypothesis is to disprove it. No hypothesis can be proven. It can only be disproven. If a proper test fails to disprove a hypothesis, the next step is to try another test. Collect more data. Give the problem more thought. Examine whether we have a case of coincidence or one of cause and effect.
Then take all the data collected, observations made, and develop a theory. The theory must be compatible with all the observed data. The theory should also be testable. If the tests fail to disprove the theory, then it may be adopted as the best explanation available, but no theory can ever be proven. It is the job of scientists to reexamine accepted theory in light of new knowledge, new methods of measurement and observation.
Theory is the best you get. There is never final certainty.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
On Cooperation
"Competition leads to loss. People pulling in opposite directions on a rope only exhaust themselves: they go nowhere. What we need is cooperation. Every example of cooperation is one of benefit and gains to them that cooperate. Cooperation is especially productive in a system well managed. It is easy to make a list of examples of cooperation, some of which are so natural that we may not have recognized them as cooperation. Everybody wins."
W. Edwards Deming
W. Edwards Deming
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Don't Eat Our Seed Corn
Folks who didn't grow up on a farm may not get the allusion to seed corn. Let me explain.
Back in the olden days (before hybrid seeds and genetic engineering), farmers harvested their crops and set aside some of the harvest to use as seeds for the following year's planting. Even in hard times, they would never eat the grain set aside as seed. If they ate the seed corn, it would extend and intensify the famine into the next year.
Something like that is going on in Raleigh this year as the state legislature is pushing drastic cuts in education programs, layoffs of teachers and diversion of public school resources to charter schools and even private schools. That may even be worse than eating seed corn, because the effects may last for a lifetime of the students affected.
"Why should I care?" you may ask, "I have no children in school."
Such an attitude would be foolish in the extreme. All children in school are our children. They are the ones whose contributions to Social Security taxes and Medicare funds will be used to support us in our old age. Even for those who don't need Social Security to survive, retirement plans depend on future productivity increasing the value of factories and enterprises and expanding our national wealth and the value of our stocks and bonds. Who will labor to cause that increase?
These very schoolchildren.
One of the most pernicious ideas abroad in the land is that children and their parents are "customers" of our schools and that the school systems must compete for their favor. The truth is that we are all recipients of the value provided by effective school systems.
Good schools attract intelligent and capable parents to come here. They attract businesses to our state. Schools are a valuable economic multiplier. We let them languish at our collective peril.
Let's make our schools even better, instead of starving them for resources.
Back in the olden days (before hybrid seeds and genetic engineering), farmers harvested their crops and set aside some of the harvest to use as seeds for the following year's planting. Even in hard times, they would never eat the grain set aside as seed. If they ate the seed corn, it would extend and intensify the famine into the next year.
Something like that is going on in Raleigh this year as the state legislature is pushing drastic cuts in education programs, layoffs of teachers and diversion of public school resources to charter schools and even private schools. That may even be worse than eating seed corn, because the effects may last for a lifetime of the students affected.
"Why should I care?" you may ask, "I have no children in school."
Such an attitude would be foolish in the extreme. All children in school are our children. They are the ones whose contributions to Social Security taxes and Medicare funds will be used to support us in our old age. Even for those who don't need Social Security to survive, retirement plans depend on future productivity increasing the value of factories and enterprises and expanding our national wealth and the value of our stocks and bonds. Who will labor to cause that increase?
These very schoolchildren.
One of the most pernicious ideas abroad in the land is that children and their parents are "customers" of our schools and that the school systems must compete for their favor. The truth is that we are all recipients of the value provided by effective school systems.
Good schools attract intelligent and capable parents to come here. They attract businesses to our state. Schools are a valuable economic multiplier. We let them languish at our collective peril.
Let's make our schools even better, instead of starving them for resources.
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