Kan Computators Evalyu8 Dis?

Today's IM from Elise brings word of a great blog, Obsidian Wings. The co-bloggers write great stuff like this post about new computer technologies which can (allegedly, and poorly) evaluate essays and this post about why jerkish-seeming blowhards ("Chets") can get ahead in the world. The writing's good, the ideas are interesting, and sniper-kitten graphic is funny.

Anyhow, the post about the essay-eval software should be maddening as hell to anyone who's ever graded anyone else's writing: "According to one of the people who is selling this stuff, their biggest problem is that no one believes that computers can possibly do a good job grading essays." Hilzoy rightly responds, "I can see how this would be a problem," and entertainingly elaborates.

I share her disbelief and disgust. Computers only recently acquired the ability to be folded in half and carried in a backpack, and now some 100W bulb at Pearson thinks they can develop a "tool" to grade essays on a six-point scale... We need a handbasket with a windshield if we're all going to hell this fast.