Computers

* After conquering the world, Alexander the Great decided to acquire an education. To do so, he enlisted the help of the latest high-tech educational device: the private tutor. When you have conquered the world, you can get the very best; he hired Aristotle.

One day, after a particularly trying geometry lesson, he asked Aristotle to show him the short cuts. “Sire,” the famed philosopher replied, “there is no royal road to geometry.”

Today’s search for educational short cuts centers on the computer. As Colman McCarthy points out (Commentary, Aug. 4), computer literacy can be obtained in a few hours, and within a decade nearly everyone will be computer literate. True literacy, and an appreciation thereof, requires skilled and dedicated teachers. Society would advance considerably if it were to demonstrate that it values education and literacy as much as it values athleticism and electronic gadgetry.

PROF. JAMES D. STEIN JR.

Department of Mathematics

Cal State Long Beach