Computers can now apparently do document research that lawyers used to do. Paul "Let Me Explain Climate Change to You" Krugman, in a post today, sees this as a falling demand for brains.
He then discusses the value of a college education. The premium earned by college students over high school students appears to have plateaued. This to him is apparently another indication of a declining demand for brains.
To me, as far as document research goes, it looks like a decline in the demand for humans to do routine boring work that can now be done by computers, leaving humans free to do more creative work.
As far as the plateauing of a college education, two points. A college education, in and of itself, is not necessarily a use of brains versus non-use of brains by those who do not have a college education (especially given the types of "education" going on at many public government-sponsored institutions of "higher" learning). I note that Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg never completed college educations.
Second, a plateauing of an earnings edge for the college educated does not in any way indicate a falling demand for brains. There is simply no logic to this contention, especially when you take my argument that a lot of ever-expanding public education is not about the use of brains. The public, government-sponsored college "educated" distorts the overall measure of the quality of those receiving a college education, and thus unfavorably distorts the brains premium---when you use the edgy concept of a college education in the first place as a measure of the use of brain power at work.
Finally, Krugman's failure to understand how an economy works limits his ability to understand the many ways in which a brain is used in an economy. I'm thinking especially about the use of the brain in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship, as Israel Kirzner most effectively demonstrated in Competition and Entrepreneurship, is a very important use of the brain that is at the core of advancing society. By definition, it is not something that is going to be replaced by a computer and will be much needed until we all find ourselves back in the Garden of Eden. Indeed, the more that brains are used in an entrepreneurial sense the better off an economy is, though this is not something that should even be thought of in terms of traditional supply and demand curves. In other words this entire concept appears to be way over Krugman's head, since he is bitching about the "falling demand for brains."
Bottom line: Krugman's confused piece indicates that the planet is nowhere near an overabundance in the brains department.
He certainly didn't help his argument by tipping his hat to unionization and guaranteed healthcare. Also, the distortion caused by govt student loans means delaying income for some students. In some cases, the cost outweighs the benefit but the easy credit and govt education monopoly favors pursuing college as the dominant means of starting a career. A far more expensive jobs training program than can be had while on the job.
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