AKA Review - 01.05.2024

From The Atlantic

AI tools have made science faster than ever—in drug design, for example, potentially halving the time to market of new drugs. Such tools, however, also challenge the fundamental model of scientific discovery—people observing and explaining the world—with one less human. AI models trained on huge quantities of data provide responses probabilistically, without true understanding of how or why an answer came to be. If understanding is the true foundation of scientific knowledge, AI demands that we study its algorithms as much as we study nature, transforming how we conceive of understanding itself. Read this article

From Education Next
The Eight Career Arts
By Ben Wildavsky

In this excerpt from his new book, The Career Arts, education scholar Ben Wildavsky recommends eight practices through which learners can equip themselves well for the future. Eschewing black-or-white-thinking, he makes a compelling argument for both traditional and non-traditional educational paths. His case highlights: extensive evidence of the economic benefits of college degrees; the false dichotomy between cloistered academic experiences and vocational preparation; the importance of both broad capabilities and targeted skills; and the particular value of building social capital. Read this article

From The New York Times
What's Driving Former Progressives to the Right?

By Michelle Goldberg

History provides many examples of high-profile leftists who swung right. What’s changed is the large audience among the general public for such “born-again reactionaries.” The fundamental problem, argues NY Times columnist Michelle Goldberg, is that the left rarely articulates a compelling vision of the future. The right doesn’t need such a view to appeal to the alienated when it can rely on a romantic conception of the past and false promises of return to it. As more right-wing factions set aside their differences to adopt new and ugly dreams, the left will increasingly need “beautiful dreams of its own” to compete. Read this article

From The Chronicle of Higher Education
Course Evaluations are Garbage Science
By Len Gutkin

In this literature review that bears out the article’s title, Chronicle editor Len Gutkin provides a valuable resource for academic leaders wishing to challenge the value of student course evaluations. Sadly, few will. “Despite their well-documented failings”—perpetuating racial and gender bias, triggering grade inflation, corrupting pedagogy—“evaluations are almost ubiquitous.” Why? “As student entitlement increases,” he argues, “so does the pressure on administrators to satisfy student demands.” Evaluations are a disciplinary tool they wield to make sure the faculty satisfies the customers. Read this article

From CNN.com
How Taylor Swift Became the Trojan Horse of Academia
By Scottie Andrew

The scope and stature of universities offering courses on Taylor Swift—Harvard, UT-Austin, Stanford, ASU to name a few—suggests there’s more going on than just a cheap attempt to get the attention of disenchanted students. In his review of the variety of courses taught—on literary forms and traditions, the intense idolatry that surrounds highly public figures, the cultural impact of women artists, the impact of celebrityhood on personal development—the author makes an implicit case that pop culture icons are suitable for academic dissection and an effective means for engaging young learners. Read this article