The Garden of Academe

http://www.economist.com/node/7945858

This article is essentially a review of the book: “The Price of Admission: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges—and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates."

The Economist opines that it "deserves to become a classic." The book reveals the shocking truth that college admissions officers rarely even attempt "fairness," as that term might be understood by most of those actually "competing" for admission to college. A vast collection of applicants have "unfair" advantages in this game: affirmative action cases, athletes (even in obscure sports), and the offspring of alumni, the rich, and college employees. The author, Daniel Golden, estimates that only 40% of the slots at elite universities are available to applicants without one of the above listed categorical advantages. The result: "Two groups of people overwhelmingly bear the burden of these policies—Asian-Americans and poor whites." I would extend that to all whites who are not in one of the favored categories.

Tellingly, at some elite schools blacks are better represented than non-Jewish whites, despite the fact that whites have much higher test scores and grades than blacks--and despite the fact that whites are better represented in all the favored categories except affirmative action. It would be very interesting indeed to see a breakdown of those who make it in on merit. My guess is the gentiles, Jews, and Asians each take a third of the 40 percent of the class admitted on merit. The Jews are in the highly fortunate, and far from accidental, position of being lumped in the "white" category despite having higher IQs than the Asians. Though they're only 3 percent of the "white" population, they typically take 30-50 percent of the slots allotted to "whites" at the Ivy League schools. Several other studies have made it clear that the overall result of the web of social and financial preferences leads to various levels of admissions standards for the four primary races in America. From most advantaged to least advantaged the list runs: Black, Hispanic, White, Asian. Of course, it's no accident but precisely the intent that this is the inverse of the actual academic performance of each group--the better the performance, the more that group is punished by exclusion and higher standards. Thus, like American government, American academia has become an institution designed to benefit the rich and the welfare cases, at the expense of the merely meritorious. They are clever enough, though, these wiley academic beguilers, to sustain a core of high merit students and capable professors to provide shade for all the coddled rich kids and race-based incapables.

Mad Monstrosities

A book review/essay after my own taste (and talent)--though I think old Posner would have done well to make mention of Zamyatin's "We", an embarassing omission:

http://www.powells.com/review/2003_09_18

The piece is more about the possible forms and causes of a future dystopia than the novel "Oryx and Crake." It also presents spoilers about that worthy novel. He considers several variations on the theme The Extinction of Humanity by Technology. This theme is reconsidered in more detail in his later book "Catastrophe," which was reasonably good and also discussed some possible natural catastrophes. On this subject, Posner knows what he is talking about and the linked essay is definitely worth reading for all and sundry.