How IT makes us think about things differently

Matthew B. Crawford writes about the unexpected influence of IT (Information Technology) on the academy. He points out that on one hand, IT liberalizes the academy, giving voices to the voiceless. But he points out how easily that is abused, by giving equal weight to all voices (and thus the rise and abuse of web "services" like RMP (Rate My Professor), which merely counts checkboxes rather than building a case for whether Professor X is really bad, or boring, or whether the student who is clicking the boxes is just a bad student, or bored.

I especially like what Crawford says about the effects of all this information and how it has moved the academy towards commerciality. In other words, butts in seats, and what classes "sell." He points out the dilemma towards what classes are offered, and the subsequent "evening out" of the PC curriculum, in this way:

Ideally, a teacher’s judgment about what is good for you is not colored by what is immediately pleasant for you. But increasingly, what is good for the teacher (professionally) is determined by what is immediately pleasant for the student.

Thus, professors are encouraged to do what the students like, rather than do what may be, in the professor's judgment, best for the student. Not a good place to go, if you ask me.
Read the entire article.