The problem of research debt is indeed huge. But the best explanations I know were written by researchers doing explanation part-time, not dedicated explainers. I think getting researchers involved in teaching is a big part of why universities succeed. Students aren’t vessels to be filled, they are torches to be lit, and you can only light a torch from another torch. (I was lucky to attend a high school where math was taught partly by mathematicians, and it pretty much set me for life.) Maybe MIRI should make researchers spend half of their time writing explanations and rate their popularity.
I think getting researchers involved in teaching is a big part of why universities succeed.
This is how universities also sometimes get teachers who hate teaching, and who are sometimes very unpleasant to learn from.
Students aren’t vessels to be filled, they are torches to be lit
Sounds like a false dilemma. Ceteris paribus, wouldn’t getting more knowledge easier be better? The less time and energy you spend on learning X, the more time and energy you can spend on learning or researching Y. Also, having a topic more clearly explained can make it accessible to students at younger age.
The problem of research debt is indeed huge. But the best explanations I know were written by researchers doing explanation part-time, not dedicated explainers. I think getting researchers involved in teaching is a big part of why universities succeed. Students aren’t vessels to be filled, they are torches to be lit, and you can only light a torch from another torch. (I was lucky to attend a high school where math was taught partly by mathematicians, and it pretty much set me for life.) Maybe MIRI should make researchers spend half of their time writing explanations and rate their popularity.
This is how universities also sometimes get teachers who hate teaching, and who are sometimes very unpleasant to learn from.
Sounds like a false dilemma. Ceteris paribus, wouldn’t getting more knowledge easier be better? The less time and energy you spend on learning X, the more time and energy you can spend on learning or researching Y. Also, having a topic more clearly explained can make it accessible to students at younger age.