Comments on: Steaming toward STEM

By: Name Withheld

Name Withheld — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 02:14:32 +0000

#12 Making “incremental” changes is something that can be done well, and sometimes it requires a lot of ingenuity and a complete education. And it employs people at professional wages. Your example of windshield wiper design is something that would be assigned to an entry-level engineer, not someone with a PhD. Maybe a better example would be the Boeing Dreamliner batteries that have had problems. Will that problem be solved by a radical paradigm change (switching to nuclear fusion, perhaps), or will they find better materials for the electrodes or the membrane or will they adjust the electrolyte composition or change the design of the case? You could argue that the problem might have been prevented by a paradigm change in the first place, obviating lithium batteries, but it’s more likely that the problem is a *result* of an intended paradigm change in aircraft design. Big new ideas create voids that lesser, yet still fully trained scientists fill. I’m in a position to observe a lot of graduate students in STEM and what I see is that there is a good balance between those who seem destined to make the big jumps and those who seem more likely (as a result of interest and motivation as well as ability) to take up the “development” side of R&D. Far fewer of the former are needed. Another good example is in the chemical industry, where an “incremental” improvement in a process can result in enormous increases in profits due to the scale on which the process operates. Hiring scientists and engineers to find such “small” improvements seems easily justified. But global competition ensures that “incremental” does not mean easy.

I think we do agree that all these people need to be able to read, write, communicate. As far as “critical thinking” is concerned, I think there are a variety of ways to define that, and I don’t think it only applies to the likes of Einstein.

By: 89Hoo

89Hoo — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 14:33:13 +0000

Well said, Painless.

By: Painless

Painless — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 13:41:50 +0000

My daughter is finishing up her PhD in neuroscience. She tells me the vast majority of those she comes into contact with (including her advisor) are essentially drones, unable to do anything but make incremental changes to existing paradigms. If all you’re looking for is a slightly better windshield wiper on next years Buick, by all means encourage a circumscribed curriculum. But if you want to actually have technological breakthroughs, you might want to encourage critical thinking skills from very early on.
My high school Latin teacher told me it’s not what you can do with an education, it’s who you can be with one. I’d be sad to think that were no longer true.

By: Name Withheld

Name Withheld — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 04:21:16 +0000

The reason I think STEM college professors want their students to have good backgrounds in writing and critical reading is because I know dozens and dozens of them and we talk about this quite a lot. What is the basis for your counter claim?

By: Al

Al — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 03:10:02 +0000

Name Withheld…technical people read history and practice music as a hobby. Not as a college major.

“The arts foster creativity and curiosity”…How? Thru art appreciation class?

“Ask college professors in the STEM field what they want their students to learn, I bet you expository writing and critical reading will be near the top of that list”…I disagree. You think math, chemistry, and engineering professors want expository writing and critical reading? No way. Reading Writing and Rithmatic sounds like a good plan.

Right now, kids are entering college totally unprepared for science, and have poor reading levels.

I do agree that reading is of the utmost importance, without it kids can go no where.

I read that piece in the Washington Post and it sounded like a liberal arts guy trying to justify his job.

Better guide kids to an education that will allow them to make a good living and not be a waiter with a BA degree and STEM does it.

By: 89Hoo

89Hoo — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:39:44 +0000

6 – the notion of charging undergraduates different tuition rates depending on majors is interesting. Just for kicks, Scott:

a) would you support this?

and if yes,

b) would you scale the rates based on potential employability/income upon graduation, or upon burden to taxpayer (we’re talking public institutions here).

Put differently, would you charge more for an engineering degree or for a degree in rhetoric and communications?

By: Luanne R.

Luanne R. — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:27:52 +0000

Here's a link to the State Council of Higher Education's report on wages of graduates by school and major.

By: Mark John

Mark John — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:10:56 +0000

Let’s not make this a political issue Scott. Virginia Tech currently has a surcharge for the College of Engineering. There is legislation up for vote this term for colleges and universities to publish graduation rates, placement rates and starting salaries of each major and discipline. Regardless, we are losing ground and we need to catch up. STEM, STEM H, STEAM.. are all worthwhile initiatives. Before you criticize a program, take some time to read a little about the program. Parents, guardians, etc all play a significant role in educating our children. Government schools can only do so much and spend too much time with disruptive students. We all need to do better.

By: Scott M.

Scott M. — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:19:18 +0000

Discussion of STEM is apropos as this blog entry just popped up at one of my favorite sites.

http://anticap.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/teach-your-parents/

Kids are going to have to start teaching their parents because, if they don’t, there won’t be an educational system left for them.

Not if Republicans get their way. . .

In Florida, where Gov. Rick Scott wants the state’s public universities to start charging undergraduates different tuition rates depending on their major…..

In North Carolina, where Gov. Pat McCrory proposes to eliminate courses that offer “no chances of getting people jobs.”……

And in Texas, where the Republican Party rejects “critical thinking.”….

By: 89Hoo

89Hoo — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:50:41 +0000

4 – it is (and was). Apologies if I was not clear.