@AttorneyMother:
Good afternoon; is your household ready for Chapter II of this season Duke - UNC saga?
With a (I trust) shared understanding that the classic academic world, especially at so-called “elite” institutions tends to be very self-satisfied, really has little accountability (when compared, for example, to for profit, and even nonprofit, enterprises), and little competition-derived incentive to change (as a group), here’s the issue I have with “arcane, esoteric, and possibly useless” research: a zero sum game/opportunity cost system underpins governance at universities. Every dollar expended for “how many angles can dance on the head of a pin” research is a dollar unavailable for scholarships, for research that might have near term, major, and societally beneficial results, for tuition reduction, for enhanced laboratory and library facilities and equipment, and for so much more.
Certainly, in a resource unconstrained environment, I support ALL academic research for its intrinsic value (and, sometimes, tangible and pragmatic benefits result from seemingly near-worthless and arcane scholarly investigations and analyses). Generally, however, much esoteric scholarship results in largely squandered time, effort, money and other VERY limited (and, therefore, very precious) resources that can – and likely should – be utilized where the probable results would: (a) provide a greater good; (b) more immediately; and © with greater certainty.
To summarize, we live in a world of resource and financial scarcity and every expenditure must be assessed by legitimate “opportunity cost” analysis. We both know esoteric research would never be tolerated in most (including other not-for-profit) enterprises; accordingly, why should they so routinely be sanctioned in elite academia, when the concomitant result is deferral or elimination of likely more-important and more-beneficial work?
Finally, I absolutely do NOT favor teaching instead of research – an optimized balance of both is vital – however, neither do I favor valuable and limited resources being almost certainly wasted on research with little potential societal benefit. Let’s attempt to ensure that every dollar and every talented labor hour counts.
“Coffee house” debates are not dead. Have a good (which for your daughter mean a victorious) evening - Roy
