tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post114946641133896256..comments2024-03-18T23:13:09.570-05:00Comments on Computational Complexity: The May 1 DeadlineLance Fortnowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06752030912874378610noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-1149529070573911702006-06-05T12:37:00.000-05:002006-06-05T12:37:00.000-05:00I was unaware of this rule, which leads meto ask, ...I was unaware of this rule, which leads me<BR/>to ask, Was it enforced? If so, how?<BR/>Some kind of rule is a good idea<BR/>(perhaps June 1), but unless it can be<BR/>enforced its stupid. More generally, its<BR/>stupid to have laws that you can't enforce,<BR/>since people may try and fail and nobody<BR/>quite knows what the rules are. <BR/><BR/>bill gasarchGASARCHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06134382469361359081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-1149507563405199522006-06-05T06:39:00.000-05:002006-06-05T06:39:00.000-05:00For me, the most striking aspect of Lance's post w...For me, the most striking aspect of Lance's post was its implicit contrast between 1964 and 2006.<BR/><BR/>In 1964: "<I>The sharp increase in the demand for teacher-scholars of high talent arising from our growing national needs in both instruction and research is now pressing against a limited supply of such talent in many disciplines.</I>"<BR/><BR/>Compare with 2006: "<I> The high-demand low-supply of faculty in 1964 no longer holds true today.</I>"<BR/><BR/>On a planet as crowded as ours, afflicted with desperate levels of "<A HREF="http://www.marshallfoundation.org/marshall_plan_speech_harvard.html" REL="nofollow">hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos</A>", why is there not an even more urgent need today, than in 1964, for "teachers and scholars of high talent"?<BR/><BR/>Just to remind the younger folks of some history, the 1960s were a decade when leading mathematicians like <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_Lang" REL="nofollow">Serge Lang</A> and <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck" REL="nofollow">Alexander Grothendieck</A> (see AMS Notices, parts <A HREF="http://www.ams.org/notices/200409/fea-grothendieck-part1.pdf" REL="nofollow">I</A> and <A HREF="http://www.ams.org/notices/200410/fea-grothendieck-part2.pdf" REL="nofollow">II</A>) were passionately engaged with the great issues of the day. Perhaps not to great effect, but still, these mathematical leaders were fully engaged!<BR/><BR/>This passion for engagement was planet-wide, as reflected in President Kennedy's famous speech of May 1961 on <A HREF="http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Speeches/JFK/003POF03NationalNeeds05251961.htm" REL="nofollow"><I>Urgent National Needs</I></A>. An audio excerpt is <A HREF="http://www.jfklibrary.org/jfkl/asset_tree/AudioVisual/Topic%20Guides/Space%20Program/jfk_space_may61_low.wma" REL="nofollow">here</A>.<BR/><BR/>Kennedy's speech is still worth reading and reflecting upon today --- not with blind acceptance, but rather, as a challenge for our generation to do at least as well. <BR/><BR/>As Lance's post makes clear, something is badly amiss with the modern culture of mathematics, science, and technology ... what is it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-1149474374576997332006-06-04T21:26:00.000-05:002006-06-04T21:26:00.000-05:00Would you really rather have a faculty member arou...<EM>Would you really rather have a faculty member around who really didn't want to stay and was trapped by the rule?</EM><BR/><BR/>Depends who wants to leave :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-1149473762526457032006-06-04T21:16:00.000-05:002006-06-04T21:16:00.000-05:00The issue is structural in CS and relates to our h...The issue is structural in CS and relates to our heavily reliance on conferences as the major publication venues. With many of the major conferences having spring/summer schedules and late fall or early January submission deadlines, applicants often only have time to prepare their application materials late in fall or in January after they have completed their submissions. This makes it very difficult to have an interview season that begins much before February (unlike Math whose season effectively ends around that time). <BR/><BR/>Moreover, CS regularly invests more in the interview process than fields like Math so it is hard to have it end before April. (For some institutions this is extended by the quarter system which cuts out interviewing in certain key weeks in March.) Once offers have been made, people need time to decide.<BR/><BR/>Even without these structural issues, certain departments have regularly scheduled retreats at which these decisions are made (often only in early May) and that extends the time for everyone else.<BR/><BR/>Unlike many fields (and completely unenvisioned by the AAU in 1964) we have a decent-sized industrial market for faculty which means that any agreement merely among universities would not suffice.<BR/><BR/>So, as a field we have never effectively had a May 1 deadline. We have learned to live without it. <BR/><BR/>Would you really rather have a faculty member around who really didn't want to stay and was trapped by the rule?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-1149467909562053102006-06-04T19:38:00.000-05:002006-06-04T19:38:00.000-05:00Lance, I must have completely missed your point. H...Lance, I must have completely missed your point. How would getting rid of the May 1st deadline benefit <EM>anyone</EM> (except possibly those senior faculty who are getting offers so late in the game)? Is the fact that the hiring season lasts until June supposed to be a good thing? And doesn't allowing senior faculty members to hold out even longer before making a decision only extend the hiring season even further?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com