WebHubTelescope | March 30, 2012 at 9:53 am | Reply
“Are the academics smart? Of course they are. Are the smart enough to plan our lives? No.”
—————————–
They plan your life more than you know. If you graduated from college and didn’t flunk out, the academics were the gatekeepers who decided whether you got a diploma.
——————————–
The context is engineering. While there are some basic education requirements where there are no right or wrong answers and the professor has more leeway in grading there’s not much leeway for professors teaching hard sciences, math, and engineering.
To the basic question “are academics smart” is a relative one. Relative to what? Relative to cab drivers? Yes. Relative to highly successful engineers in the commercial sector? No. Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Those who can’t teach become liberal arts professors.