July 2013
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Former Indiana Governor Daniels (now President of Purdue) wanted to suppress politically unpalatable speech
Pretty appalling. One wonders how many other Governors "behind closed doors" have tired the same? UPDATE: Dean Rowan calls to my attention Daniels's response. Well, that's a relief: he was only trying to micro-manage the pre-college curriculum with an eye to his version of political correctness.
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The economic value of a law degree
There's a new and well-done paper by a law professor and economist which might interest some readers; predictably it's already being trashed by those who didn't even bother to read it.
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Silicon Valley is now the Dunning-Kruger Effect capital of America…
…and this blog makes fun of them (and it's pretty funny). (Thanks to Dean Rowan for the pointer.)
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“The Economic Value of a Law Degree”
This article ought to fundamentally change the conversation about the economic value of legal education; it's considerably more sophisticated methodologically than anything I've seen, and it sensibly compares the value of the JD to the alternatives, such as only having a BA. (A peculiarity of the cyber-ranting about "don't go to law school" is that it…
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More schools shrinking their faculties (and their student bodies)
There is an informative piece (behind a paywall, however) in the WSJ about the elimination of faculty positions, mostly through retirements and buy-outs of existing faculty; besides Seton Hall and Vermont, other schools mentioned are: Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minn….has shrunk its full-time faculty about 18% since 2010, and the school…
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Birmingham’s Lisa Bortolotti featured…
…at Brains blog.
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“Beyond Blame”…
…at the Boston Review. A lead essay by law professor Barbara Fried (Stanford), with whole bunch of replies, including several from philosophers (Christine Korsgaard and T.M. Scanlon [both Harvard], Erin Kelly [Tufts], George Sher [Rice], Gideon Rosen [Princeton], and me).
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Here’s a straightforward explanation of how the Florida legislature made the acquittal of George Zimmerman (and no doubt others) possible
Here. But for this heinously stupid "Stand Your Ground" law, it is hard to imagine that Zimmerman would have walked away on both the murder and manslaughter charges. Another interesting perspective on Mr. Zimmerman is here.
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NYU’s Misleading Presentation of its Academic Job Placement
Tsk, tsk–technically accurate, but also misleading, since it omits the fact that NYU also had the third highest number of candidates on the market (and by a wide margin). In fact, NYU's percentage placement of its academic job seekers is quite respectable (and better than Harvard's, as it happens!), but the fact is most NYU teaching candidates did…
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“Beyond Blame”…
…at the Boston Review. A lead essay by law professor Barbara Fried (Stanford), with responses by legal scholars, philosophers, and psychologists, including Adriaan Lanni (Harvard), Christine Korsgaard and T.M. Scanlon (both Harvard), Paul Bloom (Yale), Gideon Rosen (Princeton), and yours truly, among others.
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Best Wellington-area tours…
…for my kids, who are "Lord of the Rings" fans. We'd like to see the landscapes, not the movie studios. Recommendations gratefully received here or via e-mail. Thanks. ADDENDUM: After Wellington, we fly to Queenstown, then drive on to Fiordland and then from there to Dunedin. Any advice for the South Island welcome too!
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Greenwald interviewed on Snowden, NSA spying etc…
…by Hampshire philosopher Falguni Sheth. (Thanks to Peter Ludlow for the pointer.)
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Is Canada going insane?
Someone is seriously proposing a day in honor of a Pope?
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Philosophers: do you see yourself making the world “a better place”? (Does that matter?)
A recently tenured philosopher writes: I was wondering if you could request comments from the readers of your blog on the following question: how do academics see themselves as making the world a better place? I am just tenured, and, while I can see how my teaching and advising duties have a direct impact on…
I would be interested to hear more about the assumptions that would imply climate change ends civilization within your lifetime.…