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Classic Sayre's Law: "Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayre's_
by Gatsky 11y ago
Classic Sayre's Law:
"Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayre's_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayre's_law
- greenyoda 11y agoExcept that this isn't just petty political infighting among the faculty over office space and such. It affects students' educations, which are pretty high stakes (the main purpose of the university, some might even say).
- xamuel 11y agoA skillful writer can make any job sound indispensable. Money is a better indicator than words when it comes to what society really values beneath all the soundbites.
- nitrogen 11y agoSociety doesn't always value economically what it needs existentially.
- spenczar5 11y agoMoney also flows freer from where it is more available, though. Your statement would imply that rich people's proclivities reflect general values, regardless of the source of their wealth, which doesn't seem right.
- brianchu 11y agoI think the stakes are quite high. If he is truly a superior lecturer, at stake is the calculus education of over 800 students per year at one of the top schools in the nation, many of whom will be future scientists and engineers.
- robwilliams 11y agoThe stakes are perceived as low because it's not a life-or-death decision and nobody but math students at a single school care about it.