tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10166090.post3695000340318751525..comments2024-02-17T07:59:18.705-08:00Comments on Grad Student Madness: The Value of Living an Unproductive LifeRufushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17762279210783841414noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10166090.post-36146570988972831512007-06-30T09:06:00.000-07:002007-06-30T09:06:00.000-07:00Holly- that's right, isn't it? Almost none of thos...Holly- that's right, isn't it? Almost none of those kids go on to play professional sports and the programs often cost the universities quite a bit more than they bring in. Actually, one of the reasons that I'm looking to teach in Canada is that their universities are more sensible about athletics programs.Rufushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17762279210783841414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10166090.post-57267790113848162872007-06-30T09:03:00.000-07:002007-06-30T09:03:00.000-07:00Stylegeek: Wow, that's a great point! I was listen...Stylegeek: Wow, that's a great point! I was listening to a mathematical physicist on the radio discussing an experiment with a particle accelerator that had been in the works for about three years. The reporter asked him if he wanted the results to correspond to their predictions. His response was something like: "Well, no actually, because if the results are totally unexpected, we get to scrap our equations and work on totally new ones." And then he added, "But, sadly, the people funding the experiment don't feel the same way..."Rufushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17762279210783841414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10166090.post-20467059267042085162007-06-30T05:07:00.000-07:002007-06-30T05:07:00.000-07:00This is true of the fine arts, as well, it's a ver...This is true of the fine arts, as well, it's a very defensive field to be in. If one believes the dominant attitude, what indeed IS the point of people who "only" paint, draw, sculpt, sing, dance, whatever? Surely all those resources would be better spent if the aspirants would simply surrender now, and go work at the mall. (Which might have the secondary benefit of "fixing" the illegal immigration problem?)<BR/><BR/>And yet, I find myself asking why, at the university where I got my essentially worthless undergrad degree, the football coach got paid (a LOT) more than the president of the university. Football is at least as useless as the arts, by any measure except cardio-vascular fitness.<BR/><BR/>If a fine arts major doesn't come rocketing out of the program with a gallery contract, or acceptance to a bigger/better grad program, or some small taste of fame, it is generally assumed that person is a write-off as far as actually being a creative professional. If you aren't already getting paid to make art the minute you walk away with your diploma in your hand, you are an irredeemably lost cause--the professors who so recently were encouraging your talent and skill now shake their heads and cluck their tongues. There is no long term view, that this is a life-work, that it is a process, rather than a product, that a bunch of 24 year old kids might not yet be at the peak of their abilities. (Which, for the record, I sincerely hope is not the case!)Hollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10593117152792976823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10166090.post-52597929798280340872007-06-30T01:57:00.000-07:002007-06-30T01:57:00.000-07:00I think there is a counterpart to the "humanities ...I think there is a counterpart to the "humanities as useless" stereotype in the sciences, and that is the fixation of the general public (and of some academics and funding bodies who should know better) on science that produces technological consumer playthings. If you want to do groundbreaking fundamental mathematical physics, for example, you sure as hell better be able to argue that it might lead to a breakthrough in new computer technology, or similar, otherwise there's no chance anyone will give you any respect or money.StyleyGeekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10287051608503966129noreply@blogger.com