A Break from Elections: A Little Seriousness, Please!

The day after this article is published, the elections will have concluded. Let's leave the topic of elections for next week. 

1) Now, a bit of banter, a bit of seriousness. 

Before the era of the "partisan press," there was the era of the "tabloid press." Newspapers read to get news, catch up on the agenda, and perceive the world had turned into tools of consumer culture. Models on the back pages and newspaper supplements about high society were in vogue. 

Opposite the "tabloid press" were serious newspapers, most of them leftist. At the forefront of these was the Cumhuriyet newspaper. The supplements it provided, along with the books it gave away every Tuesday and Friday, created an addiction for those who wanted to be informed. 

Times have changed. Cumhuriyet has slowly adapted to this as well. Everyone has become "a little" liberalized. 

While browsing the Cumhuriyet newspaper's website the other day, I discovered an interesting heading in the "menu" bar: "Astrology". I thought it was a typo.

It seriously says "astrology." A result of "clickbait"... I hope it is done solely for the sake of "clickbait". 

In our age, especially in the Cumhuriyet newspaper, making space for astrology is an absolute disgrace. 

It is a terrible price paid for the departure of the "Science and Technology" supplement, headed by Orhan Bursalı, from the newspaper. 

Astrology, like many other New Age movements, is unfortunately a reactionary movement with a "modern sauce"! I exclude those who engage in astrology conversations to have "pleasant" moments or to "banter." 

Space is being given to charlatans called "astrologers" both on social media and on highly-watched YouTube channels. Given this, there is no point in favoring astrology. While science, scientific thinking, and secular education are under threat, making space for astrology, even if for "clickbait," is contrary to the mission of the Cumhuriyet newspaper. I invite the newspaper's management to be serious. Please do not forget your founding philosophy and mission. Do not make space for this disgrace for the sake of clicks. 

2) Curricula must be renewed

University education has remained very primitive. The content of undergraduate programs misses life, the content of other neighboring undergraduate programs, scientific needs, and more importantly, reality. Here are a few examples: 

a) Dietetics: In this department, the advice of "eating little and often" is still being spread. While Type 3 diabetes literature has increased, intermittent fasting practices have become widespread, and the importance of the leptin hormone has been understood, this advice is still in circulation. Let's put individual prescriptions aside. Do students studying in this department take courses that will help them grasp the accuracy of these prescriptions? Do you think they take physiology and biochemistry courses in a meaningful way? Let me tell you a secret: Biochemistry to this extent is not even in the undergraduate program of medical school. 

b) Law: The education provided in law schools has also become outdated. Our law is becoming Anglo-Saxon. That is, the dominance of the US-UK legal system is increasing day by day. Is there a law course related to this in our faculties? Rest assured, there is not. In fact, the number of law schools that have a proper English course can be counted on one hand. Given this, what do we expect from young lawyers? Furthermore, the traditional courses of law are now almost being skipped. Many Civil Law professors are against civil law; most constitutionalists are against constitutionalism; a significant portion of legal historians are against Roman law. Woe to the student!

c) The situation in science and engineering courses is not encouraging at all. They are completely devoid of philosophy and, specifically, philosophy of science content. There is great ignorance regarding concepts such as hypothesis, theory, and proposition. In addition to this ignorance, our students graduate without even having basic knowledge about many popular topics of modern science.

d) It is very difficult to encounter behavioral economics courses in economics departments. Yet, all the assumptions of the liberal economic understanding are presented to the student as if they were truths. Economics departments have been training champions of liberalism for some time now.

I am content with giving examples from a few fields here. In short, even our "best" universities and departments have become outdated with their understanding of education and educational content. 

Let's talk after the election. An early election is expected well before 2028. Exciting days are coming. May it be auspicious for the country and the nation.