> Was it always the case that half of our students would cheat if it were easy enough?
That's not even the right question. In the 80s and 90s learning things WAS the cheat code. It meant you had a one-up on everyone else, and it was this concept that made it so you would crack open a book and try to learn everything you can on a given subject.
In today's landscape, the learning part isn't just optional, it's deleterious to success. Why fill your brain with knowledge in today's fast moving world. If you studied video game programming and have a brain full of algorithms showing how different enemies come at you (attacking, hiding, etc..) and some company out there is just training a model that figures that out, then what use is your mastery?
I think in the 80s and 90s almost all of computer science still had a 30-40 year shelf life. At this point we're on the brink of many algorithms being entirely toppled by models.
Going further, companies operate on cash - being the best at delivering. Colleges operate on filling your head with all the concepts to solve rote problems. At this point if your college math exam asks: What is the volume of a candy-cane that is 9cm tall (total) and has an arc of 15 degrees per cm and has a cane-radius of 8mm? The arched part is only 5 cm long.
In today's college would the answer be nothing other than, "Just type that into chatgpt and it will show you the work".
In other words, there is no longer a need for people to KNOW that.
> Was it always the case that half of our students would cheat if it were easy enough?
That's not even the right question. In the 80s and 90s learning things WAS the cheat code. It meant you had a one-up on everyone else, and it was this concept that made it so you would crack open a book and try to learn everything you can on a given subject.
In today's landscape, the learning part isn't just optional, it's deleterious to success. Why fill your brain with knowledge in today's fast moving world. If you studied video game programming and have a brain full of algorithms showing how different enemies come at you (attacking, hiding, etc..) and some company out there is just training a model that figures that out, then what use is your mastery?
I think in the 80s and 90s almost all of computer science still had a 30-40 year shelf life. At this point we're on the brink of many algorithms being entirely toppled by models.
Going further, companies operate on cash - being the best at delivering. Colleges operate on filling your head with all the concepts to solve rote problems. At this point if your college math exam asks: What is the volume of a candy-cane that is 9cm tall (total) and has an arc of 15 degrees per cm and has a cane-radius of 8mm? The arched part is only 5 cm long.
In today's college would the answer be nothing other than, "Just type that into chatgpt and it will show you the work".
In other words, there is no longer a need for people to KNOW that.