Caltech class sizes and the "Rule of 150"

[InquilineKea]

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Alright, so you’ve basically changed your entire argument; before, you were saying that Gladwell’s conclusions were valid, and now, you’re concentrating on the Honor Code.

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<p>Which is a subset of the original argument - since the enforceability of the Honor Code is contingent on Gladwell’s conclusions (just as the enforceability of informal rules is contingent on small group sizes). As you have pointed out, not all of the conclusions from “The Rule of 150” may be completely applicable to Caltech house systems, but it may nonetheless describe some facts relating to the Caltech house system. </p>

<p>So a corollary question would be: would such protocol such as the Honor Code be enforceable in dorms of similar size as Caltech houses?</p>

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Frankly, I don’t understand any legitimate reason for this new position any more than your last; MIT and Ivies have people living in dormitories whose social structure is roughly similar to that of a Caltech House, with comparable numbers of residents.</p>

<p>Why should it be any different, then?

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<p>So the question, then, is, is Caltech’s house system designed in such a way such that the “rule of 150” is more applicable than it would be in a normal college dorm? All models only apply to special conditions. The “Rule of 150” was intended to apply to the “special condition” of particular human communities (I haven’t read any of the primary research on this rule, but I’m assuming that the researchers intended the rule to be applicable to groups that are somewhat insular). The question, then, is do Caltech house systems fit those “special conditions” any more in degree than do regular dorm systems? (It seems that the Caltech house systems are unique, compared to the dorm systems of other universities)</p>