Voltaire is quoted as having claimed that the perfect is the enemy of the good.  Recently I heard someone assert, without any reference to Voltaire, that good is the enemy of best.  While both adages firmly identify the combatants, each appears to take a different side in the battle.  One implies that we may fail [...]

To my son, a fourth-grader, the ultimate knowledge authority is “the Internet.”  Anything he needs to know, he can find online.  Any argument can be settled by looking the facts up on the Web.  Eventually he will learn that there is as much conflicting information in cyberspace as there is in his classroom or our [...]

Fall classes begin today.  Among other things, this means new students standing in hallways and lobbies wishing that their printed class schedules came with holographic guides to building floor plans.  Most of our campus buildings are not equipped with clear visual guides or, in some cases, even logical room numbering sequences.  Where are those “You [...]

The other morning I pulled up to the drive-thru at McDonald’s to grab a soda. As I rolled down my window a friendly female voice asked me very sweetly whether I’d like to add a McCafe Mocha to my order, to which I replied, “No thanks, I just need a large Diet Coke.” The next [...]

One of the many ways people can fritter away time on Facebook, the popular social networking site, is by taking “quizzes.”  One can test one’s knowledge on a range of topics, from sports trivia to world events; but the really popular applications are personality quizzes.  These are not psychological instruments like Myers-Briggs or the MMPI.  [...]

During last week’s spring break I had the happy opportunity to combine business with pleasure, traveling to Chicago to visit family and connecting with some Arts and Letters alumni while I was in town.  I could just as easily say I combined pleasure with pleasure, because meeting with alumni certainly is one of the more [...]

I have a memory of being about 10 years old and my best friend Brian and I trying to fool some younger kids on our playground into believing that we knew a foreign language.  We would make up nonsense phrases and nod knowingly to each other, as if we understood perfectly the other’s gibberish.  I [...]

Higher education has received some good air play lately, featuring prominently in President Obama’s rhetoric and the House’s stimulus proposal as well as Governor Nixon’s proposed budget (political tussles over the MOHELA funds notwithstanding).   It is heartening to hear our political leaders speak of education as an essential investment.  Recently MSU President Michael Nietzel  argued [...]

The 1980’s SNL character Father Guido Sarducci had a routine about his idea for the “five minute university,” which would teach people what the average college graduate remembers five years after leaving school.  College, the chain smoking Vatican gossip columnist observed, amounts to rote memorization for short-term regurgitation and very little retention.  As I plan [...]

The Monday following commencement is a pretty quiet day on campus, particularly in December when students have hurried home for the holidays, faculty are recuperating from marathon grading sessions, and many staff have taken additional vacation days to extend their time off between semesters. I am getting ready to do the same, actually, taking this [...]