Cutting Law School by 1 Year Could Worsen Law Grads' Finances

(Note: I admit, this post really has nothing to do with technology.  But it might still be interesting to anyone with an interest in education, or graduate school.)

In comments that most non-lawyers probably glossed over, President Obama commented today that "law schools would probably be wise to think about being two years instead of three."

Obama made the comments during a pro-student tour in which the President is taking aim at the high and continually rising costs of education.  The logic seems sound -- if a legal education costs $70,000 per year (accounting for inflation and interest), then two years in law school costs $70,000 less than three years. If you then assume that these hypothetical students could work during what would be their third year of law school, this puts the students $100,000 or more ahead of where they would be.

Anecdotally, this proposal seems to be extremely popular, with lawyers and law students on various social networks decrying the uselessness of the third year of law school.  (A popular follow-on proposal is "add an optional third year" or "get an LL.M. if you disagree".)  Indeed, Obama himself was a law professor, and other law professors have made this proposal before.

Surely, it can't be that easy.

Dinosaur Poaching: A Crime Against Scientists and Children

(See edit below for one archaeologist's reaction to this post.)

Dinosaur piracy.

There, I said it. Today I am writing about dinosaur piracy.

A man was arrested today in Florida on suspicion of smuggling illegal goods and the sale of illegal goods. The "goods" in question are the skeleton of a Tarbosaurus bataar, a dinosaur related to the ever-popular Tyrannosaurus rex. (Most news sources are identifying the skeleton as "Tyrannosaurus bataar". This designation is currently disfavored. There is some disagreement about whether Tyrannosaurus and Tarbosaurus should be considered the same genus or separate. They are currently viewed as two separate genera. Now you know more than you ever thought you would about Tarbosaurus.) The Tarbosaur has been impounded by the U.S. government.

So what exactly is dinosaur piracy? I am glad I rhetorically asked that question on your behalf.

Science Professors Show Gender Bias; Only Science Professors Shocked

The headline in the New York Times yesterday read, "Bias Persists for Women of Science, a Study Finds." * I think calling that an understatement would be an understatement.

The article refers to the tediously-named article "Science Faculty's Subtle Gender Biases Favor Male Students" published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study itself was elegantly simple. The organizers sent one-page descriptions of potential job candidates to university professors in the sciences and asked them to assess the candidates for apparent competence, hireability, and potential for mentorship, as well as recommend a starting salary. Some professors received descriptions of male candidates, and others received descriptions of female candidates.

The catch? Every single job candidate was identical except for gender. Word-for-word, the female applicants were identical to their male candidates, except that the name "Jennifer" replaced the name "John".

The results are striking. Male professors rated female applicants as 17% less competent, 21% less hireable, and 16% less desirable for mentorship than male applicants, with a recommended salary 11% lower. Female professors were even harsher, rating the female applicants 19% less competent, 27% less hireable, and 17% less desirable for mentorship, with 15% lower recommended salaries.

Wait ... what?