AKA Review - 12.01.2023

From The Atlantic
The False Binary in Higher Ed

By Ben Wildavsky

The public’s pessimism about the value of a college degree is understandable, but the push to replace a liberal education with practical training is deeply misguided. The two approaches are complements, not substitutes; the best careers require both. And research shows the job market rewards the combination: “hybrid jobs,” demanding a blend of technical skills and creative thinking, are growing the fastest and are of the highest value to employers, typically paying more than those requiring a narrower set of skills. Read this article.

From Caltech News
Bringing Fresh Talent into the Humanities

By Cynthia Eller

Unlike postdoctoral positions in the sciences, humanities postdocs are rare. All the more unusual then that Caltech, among the world’s most prestigious institutions for the pure and applied sciences, has for 35 years made its highly endowed humanities postdoc program an integral part of the institution. The variety of subjects covered by humanities postdocs, students’ eagerness to integrate what they're doing in the sciences with what they're reading in the humanities, and the extraordinary academic careers Caltech humanities postdocs have gone on to are hallmarks of this unusual program. Read this article.

From The New York Times
Liberalism is a Technology for Preventing Civil War

By David French

Numerous constitutional rules apply to our nation’s culture wars and help ensure that our diverse society peacefully perseveres through profound divisions. Their purpose, argues this New York Times columnist, is to keep Americans free and safe but not necessarily comfortable. With this in mind, he provides a set of principles for reasoned campus debate and dialogue, one he acknowledges is not a framework for comfort, noting that in a pluralistic society, citizens should expect to feel angry. “Diverting that anger into words and not violence is how our society survives.” Read this article.

From The Atlantic
Cancel Culture Cuts Both Ways

By Yascha Mounk

The “cancel culture” debate has focused on people targeted by the left-wing for offending their progressive sensibilities. However, using Israel’s response to Hamas terrorism as context, the author argues that cancellation is wielded by both the left and the right to silence anyone who violates their orthodoxies. Lest we wish the boundaries of permissible speech to be set by whatever offends the loudest activists, universities must embrace a defense of free speech that teaches tolerance of words and ideas we find offensive, regardless of the causes they serve. Read this article.

From The Chicago Booth Review
AI is Going to Disrupt the Labor Market. It Doesn't Have to Destroy It.

By Rebecca Stropoli

This in-depth analysis argues that instead of wiping out jobs, AI could create many new ones and make workers more productive. But to realize this hopeful future, the author argues, companies, governments, and educators must begin planning for it now, using four approaches: 1. Tax rates that incentivize investment in human labor over capital. 2. Reskilling that helps workers confront a growing number of technologies over longer careers. 3. AI training, from kindergarten through expanded lifelong learning. 4. Listening to workers, who will seek increasing protections against being automated out of their jobs. Read this article.