From Wikipedia:

Psychohistory, a fictional science in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe, combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make (nearly) exact predictions of the collective actions of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire.

Which is why I checked the md5 hash and found that it matches before posting :)

Here's a Slashdot post that shows my e-mail address next to my username.

Who will be the first to crack it?

Fixed that for you.

That's SPAM consumption you're talking about, not SPAM production.

I thought it was bad enough when the U. S. was falling behind the rest of the world in health care and science education. Now we've fallen behind in spam generation as well?!?! Come on people! This is a wake-up call if ever I heard one!

but must admit that this strikes a blow to their reputation for competence and effectiveness.

... and that was back when gas was cheap!

If you read some of my responses to AC posts, I think you will find your questions mostly answered.

For me, it was less about getting "the college experience" and more about going to a large, well-regarded research university. I wish I could go back and see how it would have worked out if I had done things differently, but at this point there is no way to know if the better university was worth the extra debt.

The point is not that everything doesn't work out in the end. The point is that too many obstacles are being thrown up in front of people who want to get an advanced education. It does not make sense to do this. While it sucks for me and people like me in the short term, the more important thing is that it hurts the society as a whole in the long term. Fleecing grad students is a net win for the banks and a net loss for the country.

Postponing grad school would have significantly hobbled an scientific research career; more than a few years would have been required to pay off my loans. In case you didn't notice, a career in science is not lucrative and our country needs scientists and engineers badly. I don't think I should get special treatment - I think that EVERYONE should have access to more practical ways to finance an education than are currently available.

I don't think grad school is an entitlement, and I worked hard day and night for four years in physics and chemistry to earn the right to attend graduate school. However, I recognize that postponing grad school for a few to several years would have a negative impact on a scientific/academic career. Our system of educational financing should not penalize individuals who want to pursue an advanced education, and right now it does. As far as taxpayers go, I am a taxpayer and believe that the government should subsidize education FAR more that it does right now. Educated citizens are the future of any nation.