Welcome to the Matrix

From MIT’s Technology Review:

Today, we get an answer of sorts from Silas Beane, at the University of Bonn in Germany, and a few pals. They say there is a way to see evidence that we are being simulated, at least in certain scenarios.

For the pointer, I thank my wife.

A New Education Platform

One of my favorite blogs, Marginal Revolution, has now introduced Marginal Revolution University.  Tyler Cowen describes the project by saying:

We think education should be better, cheaper, and easier to access.  So we decided to take matters into our own hands and create a new online education platform toward those ends. We have decided to do more to communicate our personal vision of economics to you and to the broader world.

Bryan Caplan offers his take here and writes:

My real view, however, is that MRUniversity is going to do very well for Tyler, Alex, and the world.  A business idea doesn’t have to precipitate a revolution to add tremendous value.  Even if online education tops out at 1% of the higher education market, and MRUniversity captures 1% of that 1%, they’ll be rich.  And it wouldn’t surprise me if they can do better in less-developed countries, whereconformity norms don’t work so heavily against them.  Even if MRUniversity never makes a dime, moreover, it will supply the public good of economic education that the world so sorely needs.

In the end, though, I predict that Marginal Revolution University will be a lot like Marginal Revolution itself.  It won’t be a strong substitute for brick-and-mortar education.  It won’t directly make a lot of money.  But it will breathe new life into the timeless subject of economics – and be a profitable loss leader for two very entrepreneurial economists.

Hate for Driverless Cars

It’s not secret that I am a fan of driverless cars.  That’s why this ad is disappointing.

For the pointer and good commentary, I thank Alex Tabarrok.

Curiosity has Landed

Here is some video from NASA/JPL of the landing:

and one of the first images:

Two Marginal Students

Time has an interesting piece on online education.

In terms of learning on the college level, the Department of Education looked at thousands of research studies from 1996 to 2008 and found that in higher education, students rarely learned as much from online courses as they did in traditional classes. In fact, the report found that the biggest benefit of online instruction came from a blended learning environment that combined technology with traditional methods, but warned that the uptick had more to do with the increased amount of individualized instruction students got in that environment, not the presence of technology. For all but the brightest, the more time students spend with traditional instruction, the better they seem to do.

After reading the article, I was left wondering what the impact of increased online higher education platforms will be on the marginal student (i.e. the last student to choose college at its current price or conversely the last student to not choose college at its current price).
Assuming that college is a signaling device nearly as much or as much as it is an actual education tool, there is a chance that the impact of increased online education will have a negative impact on outcomes of students even more than the article suggests.

If attending marginal students choose instead to become online students, their signal strength will be reduced in the marketplace. I actually think that the Time article understates the educational abilities of online classes – after all we are still very much in the experimental stage of these methods; however, the article completely misses the possibility that online education will signal a subpar student. There could be several manifestations of this, all of which would create a marginal increase in doubt by potential future employers.

Of course, there is the non-attending marginal student. The potential economy-wide effect of online college courses will also depend on what the improved signaling of current non-attendees is. This is really the big unknown. What is the increased value of online college versus no college?

TED Thursday – Online Education

Daphne Koller discusses online education.

Something that brings Bill Clinton and Haley Barbour Together

From The New York Times:

Terry McAuliffe, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is starting a company that makes little electric cars. On a sweltering Friday in early July, GreenTech Automotive unveiled its signature vehicle — the MyCar — at a plant opening in the North Mississippi town of Horn Lake. McAuliffe was puttering backstage before the event with his pals Bill Clinton and Haley Barbour, the former governor of Mississippi and archetypal Republican lobbyist.

The story of digital education continues

Today the story is from a David Bornstein Opinionator column in The New York Times. He writes:

Free and open online education could help close this gap, but only if it’s intentionally directed to the people around the world who most need it. Right now, a lot of free education is thrown online without a clear sense of how it will help people prepare themselves for employment. In May, Unesco, the branch of the United Nations that focuses on education, held an international gathering in China, where representatives concluded that the development of technical and vocational education and training — what one official called the “poor cousin of mainstream education” — should be deemed a “top priority” to tackle global unemployment.

TED Thursday – The Self-Driving Car Discussion Continues

Chris Gerdes discusses 150 mph self-driving cars.

 

Even More on Digital Education

From Inside Higher Ed (via Tyler Cowen):

Unlike traditional college courses, these courses will rely heavily on course  materials — a buffet of traditional textbooks, recorded lectures and automated  tutoring software — to instill students with the knowledge and skills they need  to complete assignments and pass exams. Instructors will be available on demand,  but the university hopes to assemble a library of nonhuman learning resources  effective enough so that students will only need to call on professors as a last  resort.