What good is your fancy college degree?

& lots of letters from readers

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Eric Zorn is a former opinion columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Find a longer bio and contact information here. This issue exceeds in size the maximum length for a standard email. To read the entire issue in your browser, click on the headline link above. Paid subscribers receive each Picayune Plus in their email inbox each Tuesday, are part of our civil and productive commenting community and enjoy the sublime satisfaction of supporting this enterprise.

Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. I talk with WGN-AM 720 host John Williams about what’s making news and likely to be grist for the PS mill. The WGN listen-live link is here.

What is the value of an education at a prestige college?

My former colleague Charlie Johnson asked on Twitter, "Who, in the Year of Our Lord 2024, believes the value of an elite college education is rooted in the pedagogical acumen and citation metrics of the instructors?"

I don't think that. My guess is that the professors at, say, Harvard, — accomplished, respected and famous as many of them certainly are — are not particularly better at imparting their wisdom than the far less credentialed professors at non-elite schools. Academic brilliance does not necessarily correlate with pedagogical brilliance.

My guess is that there is a self-reinforcing quality to education at top-flight schools — that a student's experience at, say, Harvard is greatly enhanced by being surrounded by high-achieving, intensely motivated peers who have gained admission by virtue of being at the tops of their classes. They inspire and challenge one another. And their academic prowess allows teachers to go faster and dig deeper into subjects.

These students naturally tend to go on to success in their chosen fields -- their degree being a major selling point on their resumes — in a way that further burnishes the reputation of the institution and continues to make it a destination for the most accomplished and promising high school students.

When I posted this observation to Facebook the responses were interesting. Here are some edited samples:

Scott Reeder — There is an old saying that success has more to do with the hands you shake than the grades you make. Elite schools are terrific networking opportunities for intelligent, highly motivated students. I’m at a bit of a loss as to how calculus would be taught differently at Brown than at a community college.

Brian Gallagher — It’s the standards the students set for themselves that drive the school’s reputation. Go to the best state school you can, and work to get into the prestige grad school. If you get a top tier MBA or law degree, no one will ask if you went to Illinois or Indiana.

Pete Prokopowicz — Probably the greatest value at elite schools are the letters of recommendation from big name profs. This is definitely true if you're staying in academia.

Bob Ryan — Graduates from the top schools benefit greatly because of the graduate network that helps them so much post graduation. While I’d prefer my children go to smaller schools and get a good liberal arts education, they will probably not enjoy the support network that the prestige schools have for their grads.

Cate Dunlap — I mostly disagree. I can still remember things I heard and learned from professors at Northwestern who were highly respected for their academic credentials.

Dave Borland — The more prestigious and research-oriented the university, the more time students spend being instructed by graduate teaching assistants, not professors.

Charlie Meyerson — The pandemic made clear that the true overriding value of a college education—the one sadly denied students over a couple of years—is the ability to rub shoulders in person with smart people. And even then, with fellow students more than with professors. My career has been shaped — for the better — far more by my contemporary students than by my professors

Can you beat this? Three years with the same pair of AirPods

Two years ago in the Picayune Sentinel I boasted “Against all odds, I've had my AirPods for a whole year.”

I resisted the lure of Apple AirPods for a little more than four years after their introduction in late 2016. Friends raved about the wireless in-ear speakers and said they were well worth the price. But given my track record for losing and breaking cheaper, conventional wired EarPods. I was certain it would be a waste to upgrade.

But my wife believed in me and got me AirPods for my birthday a year ago. They lived up to the hype with their performance and their convenience. … And though I’ve mislaid my AirPods every so often — lost them in the bedding, set them down and then forgotten where for hours at a time — they’ve always turned up.

They continued to turn up and to satisfy. I never lost them (for long) and they provided reliable service. Then, right around the three-year mark last month, they began to lose their ability to hold a charge and the charging pod also started to fail. I’d be 20 minute or so into a run or a walk and one or both of them would die.

Soundguys explains:

Your AirPods should last you for about two to three years. Like in all true wireless earbuds, the lithium-ion battery tends to be the first thing that goes bad … . Every time you charge your AirPods, the batteries lose a small amount of capacity. Unfortunately, this decline is irreversible, and the batteries break down completely over time. Every battery has a limited number of charge cycles until it can’t hold a charge anymore.

Battery replacement is tricky and costs about $100 for the pair; I opted to upgrade to AirPods pro — my prize for setting a world record for AirPod longevity? — and keep the others around for occasional household use and possibly display in a trophy case.

Also in the Eric buys new stuff department…

Every time I got a dental x-ray I found myself deeply enjoying the feel of the protective lead apron draped over my chest, so I finally decided to try a weighted blanket. As an experiment I ordered a 15-pound, one-person (48” x 72”) cover for $40 (YNM brand).

It’s taken a while to get used to and it has a tendency to slide off me at night, but it’s very cozy and soothing when it’s correctly draped. I have no idea if and how people use them in the summer.

I’m not ready to recommend weighted blankets but I’m favorably impressed so far and interested in the experiences of those of you who have long experience with them. Pleasures? Drawbacks?

Notes and comments from readers — lightly edited — along with my responses

Alert: After this week I plan to include more identifying information with this correspondence, so please make a note if you don’t want me to use your full name.

Picayune minus?

Tim C. — I love the Picayune Sentinel but I also find it exhausting! It is really long. I wonder if you might try making it a lot shorter. Then on-line you could offer a longer version; or offer subscribers the choice of longer and shorter versions. I’d love a briefer newsletter that isn’t quite such a mental burden.

Zorn — I’m really glad you like it and sorry that it can feel like a burden. I’ve been trying to flesh out the table of contents at the top of the main issue to make it easier for readers to hopscotch through and read just what interests them, as they would in any magazine or newspaper.

If the platform permitted it, I could (and would!) have “continue reading” links at the bottom of longer items that would reveal the rest of the text for those drawn in by the first few paragraphs of each item. But sadly that function is not available.

I have no principled objection to offering separate versions of the newsletter, but generating them would require quite a bit of extra work.

Biden & Trump

GTG — Tom S., your conservative reader who tried to come up with 25 reasons not to vote for Joe Biden, is a troll. His reasons are largely absurd. For example, he complains that “Biden takes excessive vacations.” But he seems to forget that Donald Trump not only went golfing nearly every weekend, but he also charged the Secret Service full rates to stay at his overpriced golf club, then forced the agents to rent golf carts from him so they could travel the course to protect him, again at full price.

DWD — The 14th Amendment bars from office those who “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against (the United States), or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” But who’s to say what “engaged” is?

Zorn — The U.S. Supreme Court. Maybe. Or maybe the high court will kick the question over to Congress. The murkiness over “engaged” is yet another example of wording in the Constitution that is maddeningly vague — think about all the debates over what a “well-regulated militia” is — You’d think that when drafting this amendment they would have agreed on some very clear wording as they gamed out scenarios that might arise.

David L. — I respectfully disagree with the assertion in your rebuttals to Tom S.’s reasons not to vote for Biden that we do not have open borders at present. December saw yet another new record, with 300,000 people crossing into our country without permission. This projects to annual illegal immigration of over 3 1/2 million people in a year's time. At what numbers do you concede that the borders are essentially open for anyone who decides to come here?

Illegal immigration is the leading issue on people's minds in national polling, and at present Biden is underwater by over a 2-1 margin on this issue for his failure to take steps to control and discourage illegal immigration.

Zorn — I agree that this is a major concern and that Democrats need to find a better way to bring those numbers down for humanitarian and political reasons. And I hope you agree that it’s somewhat vexing to try to reconcile our nation’s values — and the purported Christian religiosity of the majority of Americans — with the desperation of those who have come to our once golden door seeking refuge and a better life, much as my ancestors did and I suspect yours did as well.

As for the term “open borders, I refer you to the Dec. 29, 2023 Washington Post:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported more than 142,000 immigrants in fiscal year 2023, nearly double the number from the year before, as the Biden administration ramped up enforcement to stem illegal border crossings, according to the agency’s annual report, published Friday. Nearly 18,000 of those deported were parents and children traveling as family units, surpassing the 14,400 removed under the Trump administration in fiscal 2020.

I know the right loves to bleat the inflammatory term “open borders,” but no country with truly open borders would be deporting nearly 12,000 people a month.

Ted M. — Biden is the experienced, cool head America needs at this strange juncture. Unlike his predecessor, he is trusted by our allies and respected by our enemies. We deserve and need his style of leadership, which has presided over a "Goldilocks" economy (not too hot, not too cool, no disturbing inflation, no threat of deflation; negligible unemployment; no market volatility); no foreign entanglements; no shooting war; no stymieing or disrupting of the nation's economy; abiding respect overseas.

Under-controlled illegal immigration at our southern border is objectionable, but has not upended life in the USA. We tend to forget that under Eisenhower, under Reagan and under Trump, undocumented immigrants have been a challenge. Calamity has not followed.

Jake H. — Mitch McConnell made a big boo-boo in not rallying his troops to convict Trump in his second impeachment. They could have been rid of the bastard once and for all, and for reasons quite just and legally unimpeachable, pun intended, and they balked.

De-select selective enrollment schools?

Debra K. — It's best for all high school classes to have a mixture of brainics, C students, and those who struggle but try hard. Yes, that also means getting rid of AP and Honor classes, which segregates students even more. When students see and interact with a mixture of all types of their peers that's a good thing, because they'll be working with and living with all types of people once they graduate. It would be a fight to get rid of the AP and Honors systems as a first step, but something I'd like to hear others’ thoughts on.

Jake H. — As a veteran high school teacher, I've found it’s a hard fact of life that students have widely varying academic talents. They need to be met where they are and then challenged in an environment that is as supportive and inspiring as we can make it. If the class is too hard, students become overwhelmed and depressed and disengage. If the class is too easy, students become bored and disengage. In terms of academics and curriculum, the ideal class size is one. That's impractical of course. The next best is groups of students at about the same place.

Remedial classrooms are actually pretty effective in making up for prior learning deficits. And, at the other end of the spectrum, "brainiacs" need to be challenged in order to really be engaged in learning and fulfill their potential.

I would heartily endorse one obvious reform: stop using the word "honors." I don't think there's anything particularly honorable about a more challenging class. Amid so much hand-wringing over terminology these days, I'm surprised that this one hasn't bitten the dust. The classes should simply be called what they are -- "advanced" or "accelerated."

Bonding over sports

Dave J. — I’m glad you got to watch that game your dad. What a history you two share with the Michigan team. The post-game photo of the two of you at the kitchen table was a bright light in a dim, troubled world.

Zorn — It was a rare and unforgettable evening. People who scoff at sports don’t seem to appreciate how it brings people together.

The pope wants to make surrogate motherhood illegal

GTF — That old fool in the Vatican apparently and conveniently forgets that the guy he worships was born out of a form of surrogacy!

Kaye G. — I was surprised to learn that the Catholic Church also condemns in vitro fertilization. Imagine the number of people who would never be grandparents if their children followed that stipulation.

Hold that thought!

Laurence S. — As a sports official myself for over fifty years, I can tell you that the vast majority of fans don't know the rules very well, don't have a clue about officiating mechanics, and have skewed views depending on which team they are rooting for. You referred to a controversial holding call against Washington last Monday as “ticky-tack.” But games are governed by rules. Players are supposed to perform according to those rules. If they don't, they get penalized. Simple as that.

On the play in question, the Washington player definitely held the Michigan player and impeded his progress toward the quarterback. He should have blocked him legally. If the ref hadn't called the holding, I'm quite sure Michigan fans would have been screaming bloody murder.

Zorn — I did a little reffing of youth basketball when I was a teenager and I know how hard it is to sort out routine contact from a foul, and meaningful fouls — that impact the play — from incidental or utterly minor infractions that should not change the course of play. From my seat in front of the TV, that hold didn’t impact the play — a long, completed pass — and so the ref should have kept the flag in his pocket.

I’m glad he didn’t, of course, but I’m just saying.

I suspect the refs could call holding or pass interference twice or three times as often as they do and still be well within the letter of the rules.

Boiling your tea water in the microwave?

Melinda K. — One of the tweet of the week nominees resonated with my family of heavy tea drinkers (“Quick, while the British people are sleeping: Raise your hand if you make tea by microwaving hot water,” by @elle91.) We would never boil our water for tea in the microwave God gave us electric kettles for a reason!

Zorn — We are electric kettle people as well, though we attach no religious significance to their creation. But I wonder if your family (or mine) could really tell the difference in a blind taste test between tea brewed from kettle water and tea brewed from microwaved water. My guess is that we could not. Try it and get back to me?

Abstention overruled

Rick W. — How do I vote “no” on all of this week's tweets?

Bob E — This week, none of the nominees for tweet of the week made me laugh.

Donald A. — I wish you offered the option that we in the Science Fiction community have when we fill out our ballots for the annual Hugo Awards given to the best science fiction or fantasy works of the previous year: "Noah Ward." That would be the true and clear winner of this group of tweets.

Zorn— My click traffic report from Crowdsignal — the polling application I use — shows me the total number of votes cast for all tweets, so not voting for any tweet does register as “no award,” albeit indirectly. For the record, these and other correspondents seem to have been onto something. The number of votes cast in the the current poll will end up being a bit lower than average.

I can't worry too much about this, though, because all I can do is what I do — curate the best tweets I can find in any given week. Some weeks, I'm also not thrilled with the selection — this was not a banner week, to be sure — but as I look over the sweep of the year I see a lot of really good jokes.

Christopher P — The winning visual tweet last week showed a church sign with Worship, Teaching, Friends banners hung up so it looked like WTF. But the joke was on those who thought this was a blunder by obtuse church officials who didn’t know the profane meaning of the common internet abbreviation “WTF.” But see:

“We are aware of what ‘WTF’ originally stands for, and that is actually why we chose it,” says Rob James, with Copper Pointe Church, the Albuquerque, N.M., church behind the college and young adult ministry, Wake. “It is something that our target audience is very familiar with. We are a progressive college group located in Albuquerque, N.M., and we know that any college-aged person is a phone-wielding, text-sending machine. So why not use what they are familiar with?”

“WTF” was on purpose. In fact, it’s a main cornerstone in their branding. Their url is wakeWTF.com, their Twitter handle is @WTFisWake and their Facebook page is Facebook.com/WTFisWake.

“We have taken precautions so that nobody gets the wrong intention,” says Rob. “For example, it will never be seen on any of our media as a question. It is always a statement. WTF is Wake. Worship+Teaching+Friends is Wake. Those are the three standards we have based our college group on.”

And so far the response has been positive, at least among the college students they’re trying to reach, with more than 300 students on seven campuses attending.

As Rob explains “We often hear the question in excitement, ‘You guys are the WTF church, right?'”

It puts Copper Pointe’s tagline in a new light: “Church like never before.”

Zorn — Hmm. Do they pray to JFC?

Where does the name ‘Mincing Rascals’ come from?

Rick W. — I asked ChatGPT about the origin of the name of your news-review podcast,“The Mincing Rascals.” It produced the following guess:

“The name for the podcast likely reflects a playful and somewhat sarcastic tone. It suggests a group of individuals who engage in witty and clever discussions. However, for the specific origin, you might want to check the podcast’s official sources or episodes for any insights they provide on the name’s origin.”

Zorn — Playful, yes. Witty and clever? Frequently. Sarcastic? Never!

As an official source, I will tell you that the name comes from the English-language version of Global Times, the official newspaper of China's Communist Party. In response to the U.S. indicting five Chinese military officers in 2014 on charges of computer espionage, the paper accused the U.S. of being a "mincing rascal" and “high-level hooligan.”

I’d never heard the expression “mincing rascal” and asked a number of Chinese people about it when I visited the country the following year, wondering if it were the translation of a common insult. Not one person had ever heard it.

“High-level hooligans” would also be a good name for a podcast.

What was the best book you read in 2023?

Jeanne DeV. — It’s a toss-up between “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver and “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir.

Jay G. — I second “Demon Copperhead.” It was excellent.

Joanie W. — “The Rosy Crucifixion: Sexus, Plexus, and Nexus,” a Henry Miller trilogy.

Ted B. — It seems to me that many works of fiction lately have excellent writing but not necessarily good storytelling. I've had better luck recently with autobiographies. You don't need to be a fan of Paul Newman, Rickie Lee Jones, Lucinda Williams, Geddy Lee, etc. to find their stories fascinating. Also, another plug for Mark Guarino's well-researched book "Country & Midwestern."

Suzanne C. — “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks.

Bob E. — “Gulliver's Travels” by Jonathan Swift and “Biggest Ideas in the Universe” by the physicist Sean Carroll.

Zorn — I’m still taking nominations and suggestions! Mine, again, was Jonathan Franzen’s “Crossroads.”

Ya gotta see these tweets!

Here are some funny visual images I've come across recently on social media. Enjoy, then evaluate:

Vote for your favorite. I’ll share the winner in Thursday’s main edition.

Usage note: To me, “tweet” has become a generic term for a short post on social media.

There’s still time to vote in the conventional Tweet of the Week poll!

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Contact

I prefer to interact with readers in the supporters-only comment section, but I do read all the email that comes in. Some of those letters I reprint and respond to in the Z-mail section of Tuesday’s Picayune Plus, which is delivered to paid subscribers and available to all readers somewhat after the fact. I generally don’t respond to letters otherwise.

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