STEM, the acronym for Science Technology Engineering and Math, came into common usage in the early 2000s fueled in part by a 1983 report called “A Nation at Risk” that highlighted the need for educational reform with increased emphasis on STEM subjects. I don’t think you can blame it on the Russians—and Sputnik in particular—but falling behind “the evil empire” in science was a motivating factor.
Today’s Op-Ed in the New York Times, entitled “Attention, Men: Books are Sexy” by Maureen Dowd, is just one of several recent articles lamenting the decline of literacy and literary fiction in current culture. David Brooks offered his assessment, “When Novels Mattered” in the same paper on July 10th, blaming the internet for its decline.
