5 ms·
STEM has eaten the world (in a good way!)
by alexander2002 1y ago
STEM has eaten the world (in a good way!)
- PeterStuer 1y agoI hate to inform you "Departmental politics, publish or perish, shrinking funding, and the declining prestige of the fields" has applied to STEM just the same as the humanities.
- shermantanktop 1y agoI’ve noticed that, but I think it hit the humanities in the 1980s and arrived at STEM more recently. It’s just the MBA-driven financialization and enshittification of everything. But it’s ultimately down to the fact that a college degree is no longer a ticket to the middle class, so it matters a lot what degree and from which school.
- bonoboTP 1y agoIt was a fundamental confusion of cause and effect. People noted that the college educated earned more, so assumed that expanding college will confer that same status to all that obtain that pledge. But it inflated its value. Similarly if you squeeze everyone through high school and look the other way even if they don't match the criteria, you just inflate the value of the high school diploma instead of giving the previous high school graduate prestige to everyone. Then the same happened with undergrad. More students, less requirements and then surprise that you don't get an automatic college wage premium for having studied English literature or psychology or communication at some low tier college.
- terminalshort 1y agoSome people just don't seem to understand that the value of a credential rests entirely on the fact that other people don't have it.
- bonoboTP 1y agoIn part, but that wouldn't be enough. The value is that only/mostly people with certain skills and talents have it.
- immibis 1y agoPartially. If everyone can read and write, this doesn't make a certificate of being able to read and write meaningless. Well, it makes the certificate meaningless. But the skill is still there and it's good that everyone has it.
- LarsDu88 1y agoSTEM has the same issues as humanities when it comes to academia, but the difference is that for graduate students, there's often (although not always) a straighter path into industry.
- rightbyte 1y agoIn a bad way. If we didn't have such hubris maybe we wouldn't have fed the capital with our souls?
- AfterHIA 1y agoIt's worth noting since the STEM explosion the world has gotten more violent and inequality has gotten much worse. They might not relate but perhaps they do.
- imtringued 1y agoThat's just economics burying obvious problems under the rug. Economics has become a clown science to me personally, because you can even tell them that you have a method to accomplish everything they claim happens automatically through a handful of policies and they will laugh you out of the room, while they keep juggling (and sometimes dropping) chainsaws and telling you that you just need to hold them right.
- AfterHIA 1y agoI'm not sure that I get your point but I dig your style. I too am skeptical of economists especially after reading the Nassim Taleb books. Elaborate friend.
- nradov 1y agoThe mistake you're making is confusing confidence for intelligence and insight. Taleb has a few good ideas but most of his writing consists of arguing against strawmen and making invalid assumptions about fields where he lacks any practical experience. It's mainly suckers who admire his writing.
- AfterHIA 1y agoI'm actually not a follower of Taleb although I do like his, "talk mad shit" style of engagement. In many ways I agree but this isn't speaking to the point of my previous comment.
- nradov 1y agoCitation needed. The rate of violent deaths per capita worldwide is at a historically low level.
- alexander2002 1y agoKeep down voting stem haters.
- InsideOutSanta 1y agoPeople here don't hate STEM, they just understand that STEM is not the only thing that matters.
- tom_ 1y agoIf you want the reader to do something, it's polite to say please.