Re: Are 'best' universities being targeted

[world!srctran@uunet.uu.net (Gregory Aharonian)]

In response to my posting a list of "best" universities, Mike Feldman
writes

>Greg started this. He is many things (most of which I like, by the
>way), but I never thought I'd end up calling him an academic snob...

Mike,
	If you read what I originally posted, I prefaced the posting
with a comment on the meaningless of "best" rankings of universities.
I made it quite clear that it was Barron's list, and that such lists
should be taken with a grain of salt.  So calling me a snob is kind
of a stretch (unless you know my feelings on non-physicists and 
non-mathematicians :-)

	I do believe that there exists utility-function rankings of
universities (in terms of what they offer to their students, and
the country).  I don't know what these functions are, but I do
believe they exist, given that endless numbers of published rankings
of universities do show strong correlations.
	And I believe that there will be little correlation between
those universites with high rankings in terms of the influence their
students and faculty will have on the software industry, and those
universities receiving Ada9X money.
	Now that may be a good strategy or not.  I do not know.  But
seeing as how the Ada9X people seem to be counting on this strategy
as a major component in making Ada more widely used (a strategy I find
very questionable), I do believe the strategy should be reexamined and
and some data collected on the university process.  I do not think the
Ada9X office has a deep enough understanding of the interactions
between industry and academia to rely solely on their current academic
strategy to see Ada succeed.
-- 
**************************************************************************
 Greg Aharonian
 Source Translation & Optimization
 P.O. Box 404, Belmont, MA 02178