> The duo noted the picture-free material tended to be comprehended just as well as material with pictures, but students preferred the more vibrant option. I w

> The duo noted the picture-free material tended to be comprehended just as well as material with pictures, but students preferred the more vibrant option. I wonder why students' preferences are even a consideration: if they learn just as well with older, pictureless books … why not use those? > But it's worth asking—if professors know these textbooks are absurdly expensive, why assign them? Well, the answer involves a couple of factors, basically: Many professors simply don't know the prices of the textbooks, and, far less frequently, sometimes the professors themselves wrote the book. FWIW, when I was in school I recall one professor doing his best to ensure that our bill for each of his classes was never more than $50. I think that all of our professors exercised some care in that regard — but ours was a small liberal arts college, with every class taught by a professor or associate professor.