Interesting perspective on how important writing is for examining students. I certainly agree that one can judge someone‘s understanding way better in a conversation than a text.
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | I’m a College Professor. Writing Isn’t as Important as We Think. (Gift Article)
If I do not treat writing as essential for achieving thought, it is not clear why I should force my students to.
![Screenshot of first part of letter (continues in next image). Text reads:
Dear Sir Adrian
I write to request that in its deliberations tomorrow the Council resolves to take a principled stand to defend the scientific values written into its code of conduct.
In its attempts to deal with the actions of Elon Musk FRS, the Royal Society has repeatedly failed to explain how his repudiation of those values is consistent with the code of conduct that all Fellows must adhere to as a condition of their fellowship. As is now well established, these actions include attacking Antony Fauci FRS without good cause; spreading scientific misinformation on X [through his own utterances and by relaxing controls on the platform]; recklessly and unlawfully degrading the research ecosystem of the US as part of DOGE; and bragging publicly about "feeding USAID into the wood chipper", which the Lancet estimates will cause the deaths of 14 million people, many of them children under the age of five, by 2030.
The Society’s inaction extends to the recent brief exchange of correspondence between Prof Sir Paul Nurse and Mr Musk. Although there was some initial contact, when Sir Paul laid out the Society’s specific concerns there was no reply or explanation from Musk. For reasons that I’m afraid I cannot fathom, you chose once again not to enforce your code of conduct.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:jviud2kbpxo3lwd3do4mqepg/bafkreiev6nrcxar4eabbnj3t2p5tfi4icoeagakrqrtc5jhcq6op3424me)
