bricks in the wall

In The Next Fifty Years, computer scientist Roger Schank shares his vision of a time when there will be no need, apparently, for tenured humanities professors. I'm sure he's wrong about that.

But bring on the talking walls, why not? Just remember: being informative is not at all the same as being wise.

It's urgent for us to wonder right now, though, as the drumbeat for "distance education" and virtual classrooms-- cheaper in so many ways-- grows ever louder: in a half-century, will our institutions of higher learning still recognize or defend that distinction?