tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post626587174702250661..comments2024-03-27T18:24:19.683-07:00Comments on Steve Sailer: iSteve: Stanford v. HarvardUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-63383973843122934852014-06-02T11:40:15.959-07:002014-06-02T11:40:15.959-07:00The last two comments tell me just how bad things ...The last two comments tell me just how bad things have got, as well as just how good Berkeley was in the late '60s.<br />My undergraduate professors, who happily and proudly taught us themselves, included tenured professors in the history, English and philosophy departments. Guest professors included the French Thomist philosopher Etienne Gilson (then over 80 years of age), the English historian John Hale (later knighted), and the Augustinian scholar Peter Brown. Our introductory course in logic was taught by Alfred Tarski for heaven's sake! <br />I remember almost no mere teaching assistants, except as precisely that, assistants. So the intellectual life at Berkeley for undergraduates was as rich and fulfilling as one wanted to make it.<br />As for University Avenue: it was just as bad then as now. But for students it was nothing more than the corridor in and out of the place from the freeway. Student life centred around Telegraph Avenue (which IS very much worse now; last time I was there, hardly a bookshop was to be found) and, for those of us in fraternities, Piedmont.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-50191796774255437692014-06-01T19:57:16.742-07:002014-06-01T19:57:16.742-07:00Unless its advanced seminars for grad students, I ...<i>Unless its advanced seminars for grad students, I don't see how professors make better teachers than TAs in most undergrad departments.</i><br /><br />There are still some places, like good community college systems, where the professors are not striving near full-time for research dollars. A professor with decades experience teaching a ugrad class, who thinks of that as his profession, can be a much better teacher than a young TA. But you're right, that's not how it is in a lot of departments.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-4863457921345936982014-06-01T13:39:26.636-07:002014-06-01T13:39:26.636-07:00"And almost all undergrad classes are taught ..."And almost all undergrad classes are taught by professors rather than TAs."<br /><br />Most undergrad classes are pretty lame stuff. Whether the lectures are by professor or TAs, it's the same stuff regurgitated from books. <br /><br />Unless its advanced seminars for grad students, I don't see how professors make better teachers than TAs in most undergrad departments. <br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-39438977688601612722014-06-01T13:36:51.192-07:002014-06-01T13:36:51.192-07:00colligy is less about whom you learn from than who...colligy is less about whom you learn from than whom you study with. <br /><br />Except in some advanced hard science departments, what is taught at Yale or Harvard aint no different from what one can learn/read in any other colleges. The only crucial difference is that your peers have higher IQ. <br /><br />You go to top schools not for the teachers and texts but for the students and associations. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-8987336605134602982014-06-01T08:29:34.327-07:002014-06-01T08:29:34.327-07:00I always heard that among the Ivies, Princeton is ...I always heard that among the Ivies, Princeton is the best for undergrad studies. The fact that they don't have law, business, or medical schools shows where their emphasis lies. And almost all undergrad classes are taught by professors rather than TAs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-28365021053724784862014-05-31T17:08:05.758-07:002014-05-31T17:08:05.758-07:00Regarding Heisman, I haven't been able to find...Regarding Heisman, I haven't been able to find any condensed version and there is not much recent discussion on the internet. Goodreads does have 13 excerpts. I read the thing by saving it in iBooks, the problem is I can't bookmark pages or highlight passages, because it's a pdf, not an ebook. So I had to be careful to keep track of page numbers, and if i recall any passages I have to mine them through the search field.<br /><br />I think getting the thing converted from a PDF to a ebook would be cool. One of the readers here might have a suggestion on how to get that done. <br /><br />The table of contents alone is worth a glance, it's very funny.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-75361554875084481802014-05-31T16:17:39.187-07:002014-05-31T16:17:39.187-07:00Good point on Harvard's ugliness. Why? Is it H...Good point on Harvard's ugliness. Why? Is it Harvard's decentralization? The B-school looks OK, by itself. But the Law School is clumped together too, and it's ugly. A big part of it, perhaps, is the complete lack of appreciation of nature. Neither grass, nor trees, nor rocks are used effectively. Eric Rasmusenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01609599580545475695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-90814809794717229882014-05-31T16:17:10.367-07:002014-05-31T16:17:10.367-07:00I haven't read the late Heisman's book, bu...I haven't read the late Heisman's book, but it looked pretty interesting although long and poorly copyedited. Has any website put up the best excerpts?Steve Sailerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920109042402850214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-5944205371989501232014-05-31T10:05:54.762-07:002014-05-31T10:05:54.762-07:00Last time there was talk of silicon alley was 1999...Last time there was talk of silicon alley was 1999 look how that turned out. NYC is always late to the tech party.<br /><br />NYC is not even in the same league as Boston or Seattle or Austin. <br /><br />There is one simple reason for this. Anyone with any brains in NYC is working in finance. Only after they fail at that do the consider other options. <br /><br />A 1 billion dollar exit is a VC's dream. Many never get even a single one of these deals. By the way a billion dollar exit is only way the employees are making anything other than chump change. Compare that to even a a run of the mill hedge fund that is managing 2-3 billion and up. I don't think I have to tell you where any sensible person is going to steer their career.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-86270139799233564312014-05-31T08:41:57.391-07:002014-05-31T08:41:57.391-07:00I really do hate to go off-topic, but sometimes th...I really do hate to go off-topic, but sometimes the flesh is weak. In this case, the source of the urge is the complete disregard for Mitchell Heisman's suicide note. When every serial killer gets a Wikipedia page, Mitchell is ignored. I was even a little upset when The Derb gave it a cursory, dismissive review, especially since when reading it, I was so often reminded of We Are Doomed. Forgive me, but every once in a while I'm going to break down and drop a quote:<br /><i>Eugenic control over human evolution is, very simply, not in the interest of “the individual”. It is especially not in the interest of the individual at the very top, for eugenics would aim to displace those at the top from their perch. Individualism leads to huckster capitalistic philosophy of P. T. Barnum: “There’s another sucker born every minute”. Declining intelligence and declining standards of judgment might be genetically self-destructive collectively, but for “the individual” it makes great economic sense since the competition becomes easier to overcome, defeat, and exploit.</i><br /><br />I really wish Mitch had made it to Havard or Stanford instead of being dismissed as a SUNY mediocrity. His book is an incredible amalgamation of thought. The real reason he is ignored is not because he killed himself, but because his message is that everyone has their reasons. Humans cannot bear too much objectivity. He can't be pigeonholed and so he has no advocates.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-30476533875700921312014-05-30T22:20:12.958-07:002014-05-30T22:20:12.958-07:00Could your brother have gotten a gig as an RA ther...Could your brother have gotten a gig as an RA there, which, presumably, would have included on campus housing?Dave Pinsenhttp://twitter.com/dpinsennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-72836833505432666472014-05-30T21:11:51.189-07:002014-05-30T21:11:51.189-07:00Two thoughts on why Berkeley doesn't get as mu...Two thoughts on why Berkeley doesn't get as much "respect" as Stanford, in addition to Stanford's fostering of startup culture and being private, not state:<br /><br />* From Stanford it is very easy to drive to silicon valley. There are at least 3 large roads: 101, 280, and the central expressway. From much of silicon valley you can drive to Stanford for lunch (and vice versa). Of course it is also easy to drive to San Francisco. <br /><br />Berkeley on the other hand, is a real chore to get to from silicon valley. From a lot of places you'll have to cross one of the usually jammed bridges.<br /><br /><br />* Stanford is a nice enough place to visit.<br /><br />Driving up University Avenue to UC Berkeley can feel like driving the bad parts of the seedy strip outside a major military base. Maybe it was chic in the 60s, but now it's just gamey.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-12799640168165044942014-05-30T15:23:24.418-07:002014-05-30T15:23:24.418-07:00@ Anon 2:09
Berkeley's still one of the stron...@ Anon 2:09<br /><br />Berkeley's still one of the strongest universities in the world -- it's just a miserable place to do your undergrad when you compare it to other elite schools.<br /><br />It's almost 50% Asian, and only getting worse by the year.Renaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-86476172453454373992014-05-30T14:09:40.871-07:002014-05-30T14:09:40.871-07:00I grew up in Palo Alto, and knew the Stanford camp...I grew up in Palo Alto, and knew the Stanford campus like the back of my hand. In those days (fifty years ago) one could (and I did) walk into the various buildings on campus and wander around, in and out of classrooms and labs, picking up beakers with who knows what in them, opening cupboards, and ... well, perhaps we'll leave it there.<br />The result was that I wanted a new world around me when it was my turn to go to college and I chose Berkeley. Then, at least, Berkeley had a very much higher academic reputation, with internationally famous professors in every department; Stanford was seen as beautiful, spacious, and rather empty. With the exception of the Hoover Institution, it impressed one as a place which hardly registered outside of California.<br />I agree that things have changed; no doubt affirmative action has had a lot to do with Berkeley's relative decline.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-80397243461139094742014-05-30T08:46:13.821-07:002014-05-30T08:46:13.821-07:00My impression about New York is that the geeks hat...My impression about New York is that the geeks hate the place because the bankers steal all the women (remember, these guys aren't too smooth to begin with), and there's no big engineering school to draw from.<br /><br />But I could be wrong--the city's gotten a lot of money in the last few decades, and maybe they can buy themselves a tech industry.SFGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-90257131760414282332014-05-30T08:17:59.892-07:002014-05-30T08:17:59.892-07:00>>Jody said:
"""""...>>Jody said:<br /><br />""""""""""""""""that was the point. they didn't care enough to up the offer."""""""""""""""<br /><br />Last time I checked, the jobs in the NCAA are university jobs and the NCAA is not the NFL.<br /><br />In the ideal world a sports assistant coach has no business whatsoever out earning a legitimate professor of Physics, Medicine, Engineering, even Law. Colleges are supposed to be about academics not bread and circuses.<br /><br /><br /><br />""""""""""to get equal coaches in sports where they are not paying million dollar salaries, they have to pay more than other universities, because the cost of living is way higher out there. period. they can't pay you 50 grand to be the assistant track & field or wrestling or soccer coach. a 35 year old adult will refuse to live out there on that kind of salary. they will take another job in another state for more money where it's also less expensive to live."""""""""""<br /><br /><br />Right, so that 50grand for an assistant goes a lot farther and that's probably what Pitt offered for the job. No way that they'd offer more for an assistant job.<br /><br />You know, in some high schools across US they pay assistant coaches 50grand or more? What is this coming to?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />""""""""because even though the money wasn't great, pittsburgh doesn't cost much to live in."""""""""<br /><br />It's one of the lowest in US and they're not gonna pay fifty grand if they can help it. They're parsimonious for a reason.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-11766815795903765442014-05-30T05:54:31.871-07:002014-05-30T05:54:31.871-07:00Steve,
Being a LA guy, perhaps you can comment on...Steve,<br /><br />Being a LA guy, perhaps you can comment on the following. <br /><br />I am from the Peninsula/South Bay Area, grew up on the Stanford campus and later Palo Alto. I've attended Stanford football games at USC and tailgated on the USC campus. What struck me the most were the large contingent of Mexican/latino USC fans who I assume never attended USC but considered USC their team or LA's team. <br /><br />Whereas at Stanford, you'd be hard-pressed to find a latino Stanford fan that didn't attend the school or any college - like many Mexican USC fans. Is that because Stanford is much more elitist than USC and doesn't exactly want to "reach out" to the communities of San Jose and other nearby locales that have a sizeable latino population...and that latinos cannot relate to Stanford - but they can to San Jose State University and, to a lesser extent, UC-Berkeley? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-72455632826646260242014-05-30T00:31:09.282-07:002014-05-30T00:31:09.282-07:00The number of tech startups in NYC has exploded in...The number of tech startups in NYC has exploded in recent years, but local VC Fred Wilson has argued that NYC needs a "big exit" (IPO or acquisition) to get to the next level. A multibillion dollar exit would create a lot of multimillionaire angel investors who could get the perpetual motion machine spinning.<br /><br />Foursquare looked like it could be that big exit a few years ago but it seems to have lost steam.Dave Pinsenhttp://twitter.com/dpinsennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-25586035286128489562014-05-30T00:26:26.632-07:002014-05-30T00:26:26.632-07:00Snow is pretty, and without wind, even temps close...Snow is pretty, and without wind, even temps close to zero are comfortable for walks to your car & back without a coat. I enjoyed this past winter. Winter is underrated. <br /><br />Summer is more of an issue in the northeast, due to the humidity, but if you have AC or a pool or you're at the beach it's fine.Dave Pinsenhttp://twitter.com/dpinsennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-70614766132565465052014-05-30T00:13:18.162-07:002014-05-30T00:13:18.162-07:00"And, Stanford doesn't care."
that ..."And, Stanford doesn't care."<br /><br />that was the point. they didn't care enough to up the offer.<br /><br />to get equal coaches in sports where they are not paying million dollar salaries, they have to pay more than other universities, because the cost of living is way higher out there. period. they can't pay you 50 grand to be the assistant track & field or wrestling or soccer coach. a 35 year old adult will refuse to live out there on that kind of salary. they will take another job in another state for more money where it's also less expensive to live.<br /><br />i work out with a guy who was the assitant strength trainer at pittsburgh for 1 year. he quit because he could make more money in a corporate job while training as a powerlifter in his spare time, rather than training pittsburgh's NCAA players full time, who he found to be annoying and unserious. however, if the players weren't such disappointments to work with, he would have stayed, because even though the money wasn't great, pittsburgh doesn't cost much to live in.<br /><br />he told me all the players think they are going pro, when only 2 or 3 pittsburgh players go pro in any sport per year.<br /><br />in 2009 penn state had to pay cael sanderson 250 grand a year to leave iowa state and coach their wrestling team, because they wanted to win at wrestling. they got results. now they pay him over 300 a year with incentives to keep him winning championships for them. this is the salary range for all these sports. swimming & diving, tennis, wrestling, track & field, golf. coaches are all paid between 100 and 300, some up to 500. if you want to win, you bring in the best guys. if you're building a major NCAA program in one of these sports, total salaries for all coaches goes up quick. course, 500 for a football coach would be a bargain. shouldn't expect results from him unless he's a younger prodigy type.jodynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-40207988859521588872014-05-29T23:33:20.585-07:002014-05-29T23:33:20.585-07:00People rave about the weather and climate at Stanf...<i>People rave about the weather and climate at Stanford. That's fine if you are going to college to study mountain biking but the crappier weather in Cambridge or New Haven are actually advantages if you have a true academic bent.</i><br /><br />They are not advantages if you don't want to study depression.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-1220999956893452892014-05-29T22:27:58.077-07:002014-05-29T22:27:58.077-07:00People rave about the weather and climate at Stanf...People rave about the weather and climate at Stanford. That's fine if you are going to college to study mountain biking but the crappier weather in Cambridge or New Haven are actually advantages if you have a true academic bent. I went undergrad to an East Coast Ivy and to Stanford for grad school. At least in the 1990s Stanford did not match up at all in the serious humanistic disciplines. Still, if your intention is just to use college as a spring-board for a career in tech, finance or law Stanford probably is the best place to go. Peter Akuleyevnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-12164750738302100382014-05-29T22:27:57.391-07:002014-05-29T22:27:57.391-07:00People rave about the weather and climate at Stanf...People rave about the weather and climate at Stanford. That's fine if you are going to college to study mountain biking but the crappier weather in Cambridge or New Haven are actually advantages if you have a true academic bent. I went undergrad to an East Coast Ivy and to Stanford for grad school. At least in the 1990s Stanford did not match up at all in the serious humanistic disciplines. Still, if your intention is just to use college as a spring-board for a career in tech, finance or law Stanford probably is the best place to go. Peter Akuleyevnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-60744425074962702592014-05-29T22:24:25.084-07:002014-05-29T22:24:25.084-07:00Stanford's no different than the rest except f...Stanford's no different than the rest except for geography.<br />They care about:<br />1. Their endowment<br />2. Their reputation<br />...<br />100. Their students<br />...<br />200. The surrounding communityAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-31837547907566717932014-05-29T22:14:15.955-07:002014-05-29T22:14:15.955-07:00You cant have a truly elite university where it ne...You cant have a truly elite university where it never, ever snows. Cold and snow are needed to toughen kids up. I grew up thinking of Stanford as similar to Duke and Northwestern, and I still believe that. Nice place, but not HYP.<br /><br />My guess is that Princeton has the best quality of life, including somewhat better girls and weather than HY.jacknoreply@blogger.com