Things That Make You Go "Hmmm"...

Science Blogs: Dr. Isis

I'll let the good doctor explain:

"Dr. Isis observes:

"It's interesting that the real change in grading appears to have occurred in the period between 1962 and 1974, probably coinciding with the increase in conscription for the Vietnam War. After 1974 things appear to trend toward a return to baseline. Then in 1990, something new happens that drives grade inflation.

"I think it's pretty obvious what happened: increased competition for graduate school slots put (and still puts) pressure on faculty to not give C's and to give more A's.

"I don't mean that faculty received orders telling them to stop giving C's and start giving more A's. But admissions to decent post-graduate programs is so competitive that a B has a noticeable effect (lowers the GPA) and a C is the new F. Combined with students attempting to game the system to aid their GPA's (i.e., take 'gut courses'), and you'll get grade inflation."

The link to the rest of the article is under the graphic photo above. Forgive me the doctor is a biologist. The premise is probably extended to all sciences.

My guess (and, it is a total guess) is that science -- like software -- has fallen into what I refer to as the "More Law," not to be confused with "Moore's Law."

There was a time: software upgrades were annual, you couldn't use the previous revision and you were "forced" to get the latest and greatest, else you could not read attachments or communicate via email.

Mobile phone carriers became the next archetype of the "More Law" as lifetimes went from years to mere months, the next generation of the newest chip starting at the midlife of the last. This push -- albeit by customer demands to the semiconductor industry -- expands technology and manufacturing while decreasing what I used to refer to as "deep expertise" on a device. This is a knowing based on experience with your part, one look at parametric data, unit probe or final test and you knew an implant went south, sodium or potassium caused your voltage threshold to shift, causing the device to go from an on state to off (or vise versa); a photo tool gave you the wrong effective channel length, a defect happened at a particular point in the line.

Following my analogy: education has been made a market commodity, you go for the undergraduate teacher that will be "easy," and not challenging. That's because your future depends on the split second impression a graduate department makes on GRE and upper division scores, not your "deep expertise" in your chosen field of endeavor.

If our grades are truly this impressive: where are the corresponding jobs that should be created by such achievement?

Things that make you go...hmmm!