Despite appearances to the contrary, this year’s presidential follies have managed to feature at least a few policy discussions amid all the name-calling. Income inequality in particular has animated voters on both sides of the partisan divide, but the solutions advocated by candidates from each party are markedly different. Democrats claim higher taxes on the […] … learn more→

Who was teaching at Donald Trump’s possibly fraudulent online school? An odd crew of Ivy League professors, hucksters, and one well-paid felon. In 2008, James Harris was hired to be an instructor with Trump University, the online school launched by reality TV star and real estate mogul Donald Trump three years earlier. Harris was a […] … learn more→

Pi Day is upon us again, for those who note today’s date in the format 3/14 (March 14). But rather than talk about Pi Day itself, as I did last year, this year I want to talk about Pi and mathematical notions of beauty. How better to do so than to talk about the 18th […] … learn more→

A recent article highlights yet another unintended consequence of the student loan scam: people fleeing the country to escape the incredible burden that our higher education system puts on them for an increasingly worthless “higher” education. It isn’t simply the high cost of tuition that’s the issue here. The “free money” that goes to any […] … learn more→

As universities prepare for a new regime of regulation aimed at monitoring the quality of their teaching, they may find some comfort in the 900-year-old history of debates around autonomy, governance, who can award qualifications and even the relationships between students and their teachers. Who held power over universities and their pursuit of intellectual inquiry […] … learn more→

This article is prompted by a couple of Twitter conversations around a Times Higher Education article that quotes Ross Mounce, founding editor of Research Ideas and Outcomes, who argues for open publication at every stage of the research process, including (successful and unsuccessful) grant applications. The article acknowledges that this is likely to be controversial, but it got a few […] … learn more→

Friend: “You’re an idiot. Inflation is only 1.5% according to the BLS, and that’s what it’s been for years.” Me: “How would you know? You’ve been in med school in the Czech Republic for what, 4 years now?” Friend: “Yeah, the tuition here is much cheaper. But I have the internet so I can see […] … learn more→

Picture the scene: professor X, given 15 minutes to present his latest research at a major international symposium, delays proceedings for 10 minutes as he, the chair and the discussant all cluster around the podium, trying to understand why PowerPoint is not working. The audience shifts restlessly in their seats as the chair apologises once […] … learn more→

Come 1994, many South Africans assumed that the official end of apartheid meant “job done – we are a democracy.” But despite an excellent constitution and world-class public institutions, the country looks increasingly dysfunctional. So if a great constitution and carefully designed public institutions don’t make a democracy, what was left out? I believe that, […] … learn more→

Picture this: it’s 20 April 2021 and the charming Austrian village of Braunau am Inn – Hitler’s birth place – reveals a new statue of Adolf Hitler on the main square. With the new statue, the village wishes to commemorate Hitler’s valuable contributions to Germany and Austria, contributions from which many still reap benefits. If […] … learn more→