I think the crux of the problem lies in the sheer number of students who attend college today; as the author points out: "It is true that only about 5 perc

I think the crux of the problem lies in the sheer number of students who attend college today; as the author points out: "It is true that only about 5 percent of the British population attended university in my own student days, ... [today] that figure has risen to around 50 percent..." The reality is that teaching critical thinking doesn't scale nicely, because it requires an intimate dialogue; the process of rigorously critiquing ideas is a two-way street. In today's institutions, where professors lecture to classes of 200+ students, this simply isn't possible. In the article, the author claims universities have abandoned their roles as centres of critical thinking due to capitalistic forces. While I think this is true, I also believe that our collective attitude towards university shares the blame. Unfortunately, college is seen as the only legitimate path to success after high school. If students had more opportunities to explore their interests, instead of being funnelled into university, perhaps universities could re-establish themselves as institutions where critical discussion takes place.