I noticed this, apparently genuine, screengrab circulating on social media:
Can it be? Can 2025 be just a dream and we’re really still in 2024? Did Trump not really get elected? More importantly, am I still on sabbatical? If so, why do I have a desk full of projects to grade? And why am I not in Barcelona?
I checked it myself and found this:
Someone at Google obviously tried to fix something by hand and didn’t entirely succeed.
Do you still think that AI isn’t a bubble waiting to burst?
A few weeks ago I did a post in response to the fact that Professor Philip Moriarty of Nottingham University – a former colleague of mine – had written a blog post in protest at his institution’s most recent and most blatant attempts to game the wretched world university rankings.
One of the targets of his ire were the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) rankings. Ironically, I was looking in my spam folder yesterday and what did I find but an invitation to participate in the QS rankings, correctly identified as junk:
Clearly my email filters know what they’re doing!
Anyway, this gives me an excuse to boost Phil’s post again. The open letter contained therein is aimed at persuading not only Nottingham but other universities both in the UK and elsewhere to follow the example of Utrecht and abandon these absurd and meaningless rankings. To sign the open letter please follow this link and to see a list of signatories see here.
Professor Philip Moriarty of Nottingham University – a former colleague of mine – has written a blog post in protest at his institution’s most recent and most blatant attempts to game the wretched World University Rankings system. I encourage you to read it in its entirety.
The post will touch a nerve with many colleagues around the world who will want to sign – as I have done – the open letter contained therein which is aimed at persuading not only Nottingham but other universities both in the UK and elsewhere to follow the example of Utrecht and abandon these absurd and meaningless rankings.
To sign the open letter please follow this link and to see a list of signatories see here.
Please sign – and spread the link to – this open letter as widely as possible. I’m sure there are many more academics out there who would be more than happy to sign!
In the Dark 