February 24, 2005

TORQUEMADA WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPRESSED

Harvard chief's 'sexism' apology (The Times, February 25th, 2005)

Harvard University president Lawrence Summers appears to have saved his job after apologising for politically incorrect remarks about differences between men and women.

Dr Summers, who was Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, escaped a confidence vote yesterday at the second faculty meeting since his comments about women's ability in maths and science.

"I am determined to set a different tone," Dr Summers said. "I pledge to you that I will seek to listen more, and more carefully, and to temper my words and actions in ways that convey respect and help us work together more harmoniously."

Dr Summers had suggested that innate differences between the sexes may account for the lack of female professors in maths and science.

One of the most bizarre features of our times is how so many modern parents sacrifice so much to send their kids to institutions dedicated to closing their inquiring minds.

Posted by Peter Burnet at February 24, 2005 7:02 PM
Comments

Yes, the price seems steep, but if you waited too long and couldn't abort them what better way is available to show your true devotion.

Posted by: Luciferous at February 24, 2005 7:10 PM

Smart people have their own superstitions.

Posted by: Matt Murphy at February 24, 2005 7:37 PM

The correlation between IQ and wisdom is amusingly weak.

Posted by: ghostcat at February 24, 2005 7:45 PM

What a coward.

Posted by: carter at February 24, 2005 8:19 PM

The choices are very limited. Summers has brought a lot of this on himself by being so craven.

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at February 25, 2005 1:12 AM

I have a hunch that Summers will slink away to fight again another day. With so many Harvard faculty experiencing the vapors over his honest comments, he's making the right decision. Summers is much too smart to leave the institution where he is making a big improvement in Harvard's reputation.

Posted by: John J. Coupal at February 25, 2005 1:12 AM

The smartest person I ever knew at Math and Physics was a girl from Taiwan; she was awarded a full scholarship to MIT.

Today she is a homemaking mother.

Posted by: Randall Voth at February 25, 2005 3:52 AM

The reason you try to get into an Ivy League school is the credential itself, not whether you learn anything. I know plenty of math geeks who are smarter and better at it than I am, but who don't have access to the better jobs because of where they got their terminal credential. In law and business, the difference is more striking.

And if you decide to waste 4 years of your parents' money by being a liberal arts type, you can do it at an Ivy League school and still get a real job, whereas you'd better not put down that spatula if you go to Rutgers or Arizona State.

Posted by: Bart at February 25, 2005 6:31 AM

Summers probably thought he could sneak a curve past these hyper-sensitive hysterics. He was wrong about that, and maybe his ego is getting a good knocking. Next time he should stick to the fastball.

But it was amusing to hear Sean Hannity question a 21 year-old Harvard female student yesterday - she sounded like a 14 year-old reader of the academic equivalent of "Tiger Beat". If that is best the academic left can do in its adherents, things aren't so bad after all.

Posted by: jim hamlen at February 26, 2005 10:40 AM
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