I think Dave Myers is probably too much of a gentleman to attempt to defend
himself, so I'm taking up the gauntlet.
Dave works like a dog on his many textbooks. If he does well financially, it's
because he does such a great job and they're very popular. Why can't we think
that it's a wonderful thing if he made a generous contribution?
I couldn't get the link that Don sent to open up with any info about Dave's
purported gift, but I have heard the same comment regarding the wonderful
generosity of Melinda and Bill Gates. ("Gee, they make so much money that a
gift like that won't hurt them.") Well, that certainly negates the positive
aspect of the gift-giving. Hugh Hefner and The Donald make quite a bit of
money, but I haven't read lately about them going to Africa to find a cure for
malaria, etc.
Beth Benoit
Granite State College
Plymouth State University
New Hampshire
----- Original Message -----
From: Don Allen
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 12:06 PM
Subject: Re: [tips] Obama thinks textbook writers are scammers
Chris-
Didn't David Meyers give APS a gift of 1 million dollars?
see: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?
id=1546
Did he win it in the lottery or was some of that money from textbook
sales?
-Don.
Don Allen
Dept. of Psychology
Langara College
100 W. 49th Ave.
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada V5Y 2Z6
Phone: 604-323-5871
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher D. Green" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Monday, February 25, 2008 8:13 am
Subject: [tips] Obama thinks textbook writers are scammers
To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)"
<[email protected]>
> Check out the following item from today's Inside Higher Ed:
>
> If Barack Obama is elected president, students upset about
> textbook
> prices may have an ally. While he hasn't proposed any legislation
> on the
> topic, he used an appearance Friday at the University of Texas-Pan
> American to criticize the way professors benefit from writing
> expensive
> texts. The /Chicago Tribune/
>
<http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/obama_on_a_col
lege_textbook_ra.html>
> quoted him as saying: "Books are a big scam. I taught law at the
> University of Chicago for 10 years, and one of the biggest scams
> is law
> professors write their own textbooks and then assign it to their
> students. They make a mint. It's a huge racket. /The Wall Street
> Journal/
> <http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/02/22/obama-to-students-be-
> careful-with-those-credit-cards/?mod=googlenews_wsj>
> reported that in a discussion in which Obama reiterated his
> criticism of
> private student loans, he also urged students to be careful about
> their
> own spending. "Just be careful about those credit cards, all
> right?
> Don't eat out as much," the /Journal/ quoted him saying.
>
> I can't speak for law schools, but I don't know that anyone makes
> "a
> mint" on textbooks. If it doesn't sell well beyond one's own
> classes, it
> isn't going to be around for very long, I would guess. And doesn't
> it
> seem reasonable that if you spend a great deal of time an effort
> laying
> out a particular topic in the way you think it should be taught,
> that
> you would want to also use that book in order to teach it that way?
>
> Regards,
> Chris
> --
>
> Christopher D. Green
> Department of Psychology
> York University
> Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
> Canada
>
>
>
> 416-736-2100 ex. 66164
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://www.yorku.ca/christo/
>
>
>
> "Part of respecting another person is taking the time to criticise
> his
> or her views."
>
> - Melissa Lane, in a /Guardian/ obituary for philosopher Peter
> Lipton
> =================================
>
>
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>
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