> No doubt about it, we can't make everyone the same, nor do we want to. We
can,
> however, make their levels of understanding and logical thought processes
> similar through proper education. Human diversity is expected. We can't
> change people's race, creed, color, physical characteristics, nor does
Deming
> or anyone else want to. However, we can educate people to similar levels
of
> understanding and logical thought processes, to the benefit of a diverse
> workplace.
>
> Your comment implies that the goal of the system should be to rank, to
assign
> labels to people, essentially to weed - a kind of social Darwinism.
------------------------------------
Actually my thinking was along another line, but what you bring up is an
important idea. Based on the "discussions" in "SCIENCE" over these last few
months on the issue of creationism vs evolution, this has meaning. This was
from book reviews, letters to the editor, articles and editorials. The
bottom line for "biologists" is that evolution explains everthing. Your idea
of "weeding out" is exactly what evolution does.
On the college campus, a form of evolution is occuring. Not biological, but
in other ways. The "frats" are evolving to acheive a "very social"
personality, ideal for selling insurance and becomming a CEO. The computer
geeks are driven by an urge to excel, to create the perfect computer virus.
(The ability to do this is the door to 6 and 7 figure salaries from the high
tech companies these days.) Ranking is nothing more than a numerical method
of measuring the degree of success. in any of these directions. Degrees and
graduation is now all about making money or acheiving "fame".
--------------------------------------
>This is
> where Deming would disagree - he would say that the goal is to educate
people
> for their own good and for the good of society.
---------------------------------------
This actualy was the intent of education all the way from the Greek period
(600 BC) to the 19th century. This exactly was the curriculum in greek,
literature, history, philosophy, mathematics. It was to create an educated
person that was good for society. However science and industry and commerce
changed all that. Now the concept of what is good for society is measured on
the ability to make the Dow-Jones go up, or on the ability to uncover
patentable human genetic information or on a marketing strategy that results
in 1000 million more hamburgers or cans/bottles of cola being sold by X..
---------------------------------------
> I think he would have said that
> the use of grading to do this is lazy, inefficient, and ultimately
destructive.
--------------------------------------
Demming sounds like Karl Marx. In an ideal enlightened society Demmings
approach would work. However the ideal enlightened society always comes
apart because of greed.
In a greedy, unenlightened, violent society, survival requires self
preservation, gated communities, classification, defining categories (us vs
them) and ranking of people.
Just look how little of this economic growth has ended up in improving the
infrastructure of our comminities (schools, roads, parks, transportation,
etc,etc). We have to fight off the developers who have bottomless pockets of
investment money for building shopping malls, high rise downtown office
buildings and gated communities, but nothing for the decaying infrastructure
of the existing community.
----------------------------------------
> It could be done instead by more careful admissions processes, advising,
and so
> on. He also would have said that this is not going to be easy, much like
> learning to play the piano!
---------------------------------------
Here in California, the University of California system has found out that
admissions policies are really just high level politics. The decision of
whom gets in and who doesn't, is all politics and little to do with academic
interests. There is always a special interest group that is highly offended
and goes to court. There is always somebody left out who stirs the pot.
--------------------------------
>
> Thanks for the continuing discussion!
>
> Peter
>
------------------------
Your welcome!
DAH
