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| http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1078502/Laser-treatment-used-protect-Acropolis-pollution.html |
"Jonathan Evans, now Lord Evans, studied classics at Bristol University. Director-general of MI5 from 2007-13, just as cyber terrorism became one of the country’s biggest threats, he argues that a classics education provides the best foundation for whatever challenges lie ahead. Kathryn Parsons, despite having studied classics at Cambridge before co-founding Decoded, one of Britain’s fastest-growing technology training companies, argues Britain more urgently needs computer scientists than classics scholars."
I guess the same debate took place for engineers during every age of technological innovation - the industrial revolution, nuclear age, digital age. And it is a healthy debate to have. But I don't think it is a real choice.
We need critical thinking and we need the skills to tackle the problems of the age and move humanity on. The joy of our human intellect is that we can appreciate art and science, and we are at our best when we can recognize the value of both, whether from ourselves or others. As Mintzberg wrote in "Managers not MBAs", trying to make business too much of a science is not a recipe for success either. Equally, creating mobile apps for the sake of apps and a quick buck, is not in itself the best application of the skills of computer science.
How do we listen better and think more holistically? A subject like classics can help. In studying the human condition through the foundation of much western thought, but with the separation of time and language, encourages empathy and reflection on all aspects of the human spirit. Computer science is a critical skill for today's society, but society continues to need to advance, not just digitize.
Notes:
Will classics or computer science close the skills gap? - FT.com: Since Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt warned Britain in 2011 that it was “just throwing away its great computing heritage” by focusing on humanities rather than computer science, the chorus of technical leaders warning of the widening skills gap has continued to grow. Baroness Martha Lane Fox, technology entrepreneur and ambassador, used the influential BBC Dimbleby Lecture this year to implore Britain to produce more programmers. But is that really the answer, or is a classics education more versatile and valuable?
Henry Mintzberg | The Economist: "In “Managers not MBAs”, Mintzberg moved on to another recurring theme of his—that the MBA, the bread-and-butter course of many business schools and the sine qua non of fast-track management careers, “prepares people to manage nothing”. Synthesis, not analysis, he said, “is the very essence of management”, and the MBA course teaches only analysis. He pointed out that Ford's Robert McNamara and Enron's Jeffrey Skilling were both near the top of their class at Harvard Business School. But though they were brilliant analysts and star MBA students, they made lousy leaders. MBA graduates, says Mintzberg, are “glib and quick-witted… not committed to particular industries but to management as a means of personal advancement”. They are definitely not good listeners."
I guess the same debate took place for engineers during every age of technological innovation - the industrial revolution, nuclear age, digital age. And it is a healthy debate to have. But I don't think it is a real choice.
We need critical thinking and we need the skills to tackle the problems of the age and move humanity on. The joy of our human intellect is that we can appreciate art and science, and we are at our best when we can recognize the value of both, whether from ourselves or others. As Mintzberg wrote in "Managers not MBAs", trying to make business too much of a science is not a recipe for success either. Equally, creating mobile apps for the sake of apps and a quick buck, is not in itself the best application of the skills of computer science.
How do we listen better and think more holistically? A subject like classics can help. In studying the human condition through the foundation of much western thought, but with the separation of time and language, encourages empathy and reflection on all aspects of the human spirit. Computer science is a critical skill for today's society, but society continues to need to advance, not just digitize.
Notes:
Will classics or computer science close the skills gap? - FT.com: Since Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt warned Britain in 2011 that it was “just throwing away its great computing heritage” by focusing on humanities rather than computer science, the chorus of technical leaders warning of the widening skills gap has continued to grow. Baroness Martha Lane Fox, technology entrepreneur and ambassador, used the influential BBC Dimbleby Lecture this year to implore Britain to produce more programmers. But is that really the answer, or is a classics education more versatile and valuable?
Henry Mintzberg | The Economist: "In “Managers not MBAs”, Mintzberg moved on to another recurring theme of his—that the MBA, the bread-and-butter course of many business schools and the sine qua non of fast-track management careers, “prepares people to manage nothing”. Synthesis, not analysis, he said, “is the very essence of management”, and the MBA course teaches only analysis. He pointed out that Ford's Robert McNamara and Enron's Jeffrey Skilling were both near the top of their class at Harvard Business School. But though they were brilliant analysts and star MBA students, they made lousy leaders. MBA graduates, says Mintzberg, are “glib and quick-witted… not committed to particular industries but to management as a means of personal advancement”. They are definitely not good listeners."
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