Re: [Phys-L] MOOC: Edx Offers Mechanics course by Prof.Walter Lewin

["John Clement" <clement@hal-pc.org>]

%50,000 is for the entertainment.  I suspect he gets more for his TV
appearances.  You are also paying for the name.  But how do you know that he
actually does educate students in his lectures?  One shot entertaining
lectures are like tent revivals.  They generate immediate enthusiasm, but do
they have an effect on the listeners' paradigms?  I think that they are
actually not that effective or they would still be very common.
Entertainers get what the market will bear.  If you go to an opera with a
star, the star gets a large salary for a few hours performance plus a
rehearsal.  How much does a star athlete get/game?  If you look at the
amount of training and preparation, Tysen may be overpriced compared to a
trained singer or dancer who has to continually work at their art.  Tysen
merely has to write and deliver a lecture, and he probably has a number of
boilerplates ready.  He may be underpaid relative to a star athlete.

A previous post noted that the "Great course! Kind of like the Feynman
Lectures - the more you know about physics - the more you appreciate what
Lewin does."  And that is the problem.  If you already have a good grasp on
physics, then the lectues may have some effectiveness.  But it is doubtful
that they will be very effective for people with lower understanding, and
paradigms or embedded misconceptions that prevent understanding.  The big
problem with online courses is how you evaluate their effectiveness.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX


> We have a science lecture series at our high school, where we 
> bring in someone to talk to our students, and then share/Q&A 
> in a smaller setting.
> A few years ago we had Tim Samaras (storm chaser), who gave 
> an invigorating talk, and the kids were so interested. We've 
> been trying to get Neil deGrasse Tyson, but I hear he charges 
> $50,000 per lecture.. Most schools can't afford this. I guess 
> colleges. And is this the best way to share knowledge and 
> educate society? I did hear him speak at the summer AAPT 
> meeting a few years ago. He was smart and entertaining (so am 
> I, and most of you), but is anyone really worth that much 
> money? What knowledge does he have that I (and most of you) 
> don't to warrant that price tag???