Comments on: Asian Universities are Lagging (according to lagging indicators) http://metamodern.com/2009/11/07/asian-universities-are-lagging-according-to-lagging-indicators/ The Trajectory of Technology Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:33:58 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Eric Drexler http://metamodern.com/2009/11/07/asian-universities-are-lagging-according-to-lagging-indicators/comment-page-1/#comment-2091 Eric Drexler Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:38:14 +0000 http://metamodern.com/?p=5549#comment-2091 Yes, I agree, but by “materialized” I meant to imply “by magic” — a thought experiment, to illustrate a problem with the scoring algorithm. Equivalently, imagine that Harvard were to be shut down, but with its campus, programs, and people transferred to a (so-called) new university, Harvard-2; then consider the result if Harvard-2 were to be scored as a new university, with only the briefest history, no accomplished alumni, no pre-2009 papers in the ISI, <i>etc.</i> A more realistic case would be a rapidly rising institution that moves from mediocre to top-level performance in 10 years, but is substantially underestimated for the same reasons that Harvard-2 would be. Yes, I agree, but by “materialized” I meant to imply “by magic” — a thought experiment, to illustrate a problem with the scoring algorithm. Equivalently, imagine that Harvard were to be shut down, but with its campus, programs, and people transferred to a (so-called) new university, Harvard-2; then consider the result if Harvard-2 were to be scored as a new university, with only the briefest history, no accomplished alumni, no pre-2009 papers in the ISI, etc.

A more realistic case would be a rapidly rising institution that moves from mediocre to top-level performance in 10 years, but is substantially underestimated for the same reasons that Harvard-2 would be.

]]> By: Andrew W. http://metamodern.com/2009/11/07/asian-universities-are-lagging-according-to-lagging-indicators/comment-page-1/#comment-2088 Andrew W. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:43:31 +0000 http://metamodern.com/?p=5549#comment-2088 <b> For example, if an identical twin of Harvard materialized in Somerville or Beijing today, its rank would be abysmal for years to come.<blockquote cite=""> This is perhaps much harder than it seems, Harvard didn't become'Harvard' overnight. For example, if an identical twin of Harvard materialized in Somerville or Beijing today, its rank would be abysmal for years to come.

This is perhaps much harder than it seems, Harvard didn’t become’Harvard’ overnight.

]]> By: Eric Drexler http://metamodern.com/2009/11/07/asian-universities-are-lagging-according-to-lagging-indicators/comment-page-1/#comment-2026 Eric Drexler Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:00:38 +0000 http://metamodern.com/?p=5549#comment-2026 You can test that hypothesis by dragging the slider to 1950, clicking “Play”, and watching the history — you’ll see that the other relevant countries have advanced faster, starting from a lower base. You can test that hypothesis by dragging the slider to 1950, clicking “Play”, and watching the history — you’ll see that the other relevant countries have advanced faster, starting from a lower base.

]]> By: Chris Phoenix http://metamodern.com/2009/11/07/asian-universities-are-lagging-according-to-lagging-indicators/comment-page-1/#comment-2025 Chris Phoenix Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:31:28 +0000 http://metamodern.com/?p=5549#comment-2025 It looks like many of the countries that float above the trend line (with infant mortality that's high for their income) are those with oil wealth. Perhaps the US float above the line corresponds to a relatively sudden influx of tech wealth in the last half-century? It looks like many of the countries that float above the trend line (with infant mortality that’s high for their income) are those with oil wealth. Perhaps the US float above the line corresponds to a relatively sudden influx of tech wealth in the last half-century?

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