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itake11/21/20242 repliesview on HN

jobs that pay well are a signal that there is high demand for this skill in our society and that more people need to develops these skills.

Why would we not want universities to respond to that signal?


Replies

jedberg11/21/2024

Because the job of a university isn't just to produce highly paid workers. It is to improve society through education. And sometimes people need to learn things that don't pay well, just for the sake of learning them.

People make fun of English and Art majors, but yet the majority of people consume art and writing as their primary activities outside of work (watching TV and movies).

The world would be a sad, boring place without those majors.

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bertylicious11/21/2024

This is what Horkheimer and Adorno called "instrumental reason" ("instrumentelle Vernunft").