The increase of human knowledge
Warwick University's is 'to increase significantly the range of human knowledge and understanding', but preferably not, it seems, through answering freedom of information requests.
I was intrigued to read an in last Friday's Times Higher Education, in which the university's registrar Jon Baldwin argues that subjecting universities to FOI undermines their independence.
Baldwin doesn't like time-consuming requests from companies seeking information for commercial advantage, nor conspiracy theorists, nor journalists who trawl large lists of universities with questions in hope of a story. And of course he's not the only recipient of FOI requests to be vexed by these annoyances.
Since I've never put an FOI request to Warwick, I don't think he can have me in mind. But maybe now's the time. He writes that 'I almost expect the next one to be "please simply list the three things you would least like us to publish in our next edition".'
Now supposing the university really does have a document entitled 'the three things we least want published', it's quite possible they could be the three things about the university whose publication is most in the public interest. That's given me an idea ...
Possibly it could make a greater contribution to human knowledge and understanding than the pleasant year I spent at Warwick University pondering the under-determination of theory by data and other equally crucial philosophical matters.
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