Thursday, October 07, 2004
Are We Competitive?
I read the following, and just had to comment:
The framework for thought and inquisitiveness has as it's foundation the mastery of basic principles, fundamental content and the associations among multiple disciplines. That is, an education with rich content provides the deep context in which fertile minds can, in facing a problem, innovate. The "material learned" must in fact be learned before "application under supervision" can proceed.
Ricardo might have said that if there are no jobs in computer science (which is hard to imagine), then it is not our competitive advantage, and we should concentrate on those areas which are. Perhaps instead of computer programmers, we will have wine tasters/blenders?
There is a whole lot of information for students about future job markets, so I think very few will have gotten an education without having assessed their prospects. I haven't seen job markets where occupations are wiped out in four years, except perhaps within market distortions caused by government policy that hides actual circumstances. That is, if the sugar subsidies were stopped tomorrow, many thousands of landholders, mortgageholders, growers, employees, ancillary businesses and others would be adversely effected, and with no warning. (my personal experience in the real estate market was a collapse in less than a year) .
Perhaps in the world economy, US wages are in fact too high in many industries, and adjustments will have to be made. I don't think sudden dislocations are in store because of it, but perhaps some will have to either make extra efforts or lower their standard of living.
America has a history of great resilience and competitive spirit. We just have to continue to be more innovative and more competitive than those other countries. At least that's my hope.
¶ 7:24 AM
At the end of the educational experience there must be a job utilizing the skills acquired by the educatioal experience, that pays enough to make the cost of getting there worthwhile. Adult learning requires application, and if all the entry level jobs in the field of computer science, to pick a subject, are gone, there is no application phase, so our computer engineers and scientists have no place to go except to drive a taxi or go to business school and you know how that works out. The innovators become those who go into the field in entry level jobs in China or India, and progress from manual application to problem solving, the basis of innovation. I don't think the quality of the basic educational experience is the issue, but the application under supervision of the material learned, expanded by work experience and the demands of finding solutions to new problems by research and application of basic principals. Educational content is not as important as developiing inquisitive minds and providing a framework for thought.Mmmm.
The framework for thought and inquisitiveness has as it's foundation the mastery of basic principles, fundamental content and the associations among multiple disciplines. That is, an education with rich content provides the deep context in which fertile minds can, in facing a problem, innovate. The "material learned" must in fact be learned before "application under supervision" can proceed.
Ricardo might have said that if there are no jobs in computer science (which is hard to imagine), then it is not our competitive advantage, and we should concentrate on those areas which are. Perhaps instead of computer programmers, we will have wine tasters/blenders?
There is a whole lot of information for students about future job markets, so I think very few will have gotten an education without having assessed their prospects. I haven't seen job markets where occupations are wiped out in four years, except perhaps within market distortions caused by government policy that hides actual circumstances. That is, if the sugar subsidies were stopped tomorrow, many thousands of landholders, mortgageholders, growers, employees, ancillary businesses and others would be adversely effected, and with no warning. (my personal experience in the real estate market was a collapse in less than a year) .
Perhaps in the world economy, US wages are in fact too high in many industries, and adjustments will have to be made. I don't think sudden dislocations are in store because of it, but perhaps some will have to either make extra efforts or lower their standard of living.
America has a history of great resilience and competitive spirit. We just have to continue to be more innovative and more competitive than those other countries. At least that's my hope.
¶ 7:24 AM
