3 ms·
Aren't institutions evolving on their own like super-organisms? The origin of modern universities is kinda funny. Basically, a flock of students, a few erudite
by zachguo 7y ago
Aren't institutions evolving on their own like super-organisms?
The origin of modern universities is kinda funny. Basically, a flock of students, a few erudite scholars, and local landlords fought with each other until they reached an agreement about a set of rules that everyone was happy with, then institutionalized it.
The process is roughly
1) a few scholars stayed together in one small town in Italy, which attracted a flock of knowledge-hungry students
2) local landlords charged high rents for the students
3) students unionized to fight against landlords
4) student union became powerful enough to put pressure on teachers too
5) teachers also unionized to counter student union
6) fights among student union, teacher union and local landlords continued
7) they reached agreements about the syllabus, grading, tuition, dedicated real estate for classrooms, and admin department to handle all these.
http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100643670&fa=author&person_id=445 http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=8014010064367...
- zwkrt 7y agoIf one takes a meta viewpoint about evolution not as how single organisms evolve over time but instead the complex processes that happen to be occuring on the surface of the Earth, then you don't actually need to separate your thoughts about biological, cultural, or technical evolution. It's all part of one big ball of mud rolling down the same hill! The only reason that humans seem to think that microchips and sailboats and GIFs are fundamentally different than oxygen and proteins and honey is that humans think other humans are Very Important.
- natmaka 7y ago> Aren't institutions evolving on their own like super-organisms? Pournelle's iron law of bureaucracy describes one of the underlying dynamics: "...in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representatives who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Pournelle#Pournelle's_iron_law_of_bureaucracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Pournelle#Pournelle's_ir...