President McCoy Keynotes Putnam County Museum's 15th Anniversary Celebration

March 21, 2018

"In a world in which the past, present and future seem to be colliding at an ever-accelerating rate, places like the Putnam County Museum are vital to understanding our world, DePauw University President Mark McCoy told the annual meeting of museum members," reports the Banner-Graphic.  The Greencastle newspaper carries a report on Sunday's event.

Dr. McCoy told the gathering, "Every time I come in here, I’m amazed to see what something was like ‘in the day.’ The museum is doing a great job of preserving that."

As news reports examine artificial intelligence and its potential impacts on life and work, McCoy says, "The conversation at DePauw has been that radical changes are right around the corner."

Eric Bernsee writes, "McCoy drew upon Moore’s Law to illustrate how rapidly change can occur. The crux of Moore’s Law is that every two years since 1971, the average computer chip has become half the size and twice as fast. To put that in a real-world frame of reference, President McCoy contrasted a 1971 Volkswagen with a 2017 VW as if Moore’s Law were applied to the principles of Fahrvergnügen. The 2017 VW, after becoming twice as fast and half as costly every two years since 1971, would now be capable of 300,000 mph, get two million miles on a gallon of gasoline and cost four cents to build."

The president stated, "We need to teach people about what it’s like to be human -- and that’s liberal arts education."

Access the complete article at the paper's website.

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