MCATs, Affirmative Action, and DEI, Oh My

[Toni]

I think that most people absolutely are injured to the impact art has on our lives. We need to encourage more art and more literature.

Do you think we need more art at the expense of more plumbers?

If you had to read what passes for writing of many university students, you’d really want to invest heavily in literature and writing degrees.

I don't think degrees in literature is the solution for primary school failures to teach basics.

I don't think that we are drawing from the same pool, so that's not a good question.

My observation is that people who read good writing tend to become better writers. And I've witnessed people held back professionally because they were not good writers--and also because they felt they weren't good at it and that it wasn't much use to try.

 

[Emily Lake]

I think that most people absolutely are injured to the impact art has on our lives. We need to encourage more art and more literature.

Do you think we need more art at the expense of more plumbers?

If you had to read what passes for writing of many university students, you’d really want to invest heavily in literature and writing degrees.

I don't think degrees in literature is the solution for primary school failures to teach basics.

I don't think that we are drawing from the same pool, so that's not a good question.

I think when we're talking about incentives, we are talking about the same pool. If we incentivize ALL degrees and fields equally, people will tend to disproportionately choose those that are easier to get and result in nicer jobs. I think if we incentivized trades, we'd have more tradesmen.

My observation is that people who read good writing tend to become better writers. And I've witnessed people held back professionally because they were not good writers--and also because they felt they weren't good at it and that it wasn't much use to try.

You're not wrong, exactly. I'm just saying that the failure point is far upstream of college. And if someone has writing and reading competence at a high school level, they're unlikely to be held back by that. Most of the effort in jobs is to get people to write with clarity and concision. For some people that means they need to learn to compose their thoughts in a more linear fashion, use basic grammar correctly, and check their spelling when there's a squiggly line under a word. For some, it means walking themselves down from jargon, prosaic word choices, and mini-novels.