Random thoughts.

What am I thinking about today? This moring while I was eating my yogurt and granola, I was skimming through a recent Scientific American that highlights Einstein. One article was comparing and contrasting Einstein to Newton, saying they were basically the two most important scientific minds...ever. Anyway, the article said Newton's universe is one of absolutes and Einstein's is one of relatives. Various other articles went on to explain how many scientists today devote their careers to disproving Einstein's theories and whatnot. It made me think that very few people in academia think for themselves anymore, if they ever really did. Scientists have to tear apart someone else's work to validate their own careers. Newton's work became the basis of modern scientific thought and Einstein envisioned the other side of Newton's coin. And everyone else has been following in their footsteps. Is it laziness? Anyway, I see the same thing here. The graduate students learn to regurgitate what their professors tell them is the truth. So another generation of "scholars" continues this legacy of the status quo. The professors are not interested in listening to something different that might challenge them to readjust their thinking. It's pathetic, all of it. People who think universities are supposed to represent the open markeplace of ideas are sorely mistaken. The thinking here is just as closed as any other sector of society. They pretend they're open, but dare to disagree on a term paper and you're looking at a big old F. It's just another level of conformity.