From the Readers

Acclamation for McClenahan

Dear Editor:

I have six words to describe my view of Chuck McClenahan's "Random Sampler" in the May issue of the Review: "Right on, right on, right on."

Chuck expresses his views on three issues that I believe many of us feel strongly about. Concerning the lack of contested CAS elections, Chuck regrets, "that there was no mechanism to allow the candidates to promulgate their personal vision for the CAS." At one time, the Society was small enough that most of the members knew the nominees, and presumably their views, personally. I believe that is no longer the case. We have simply become too big for that to be true any longer; and we have certainly become too big to rely solely on personal interactions and knowledge to select our future leaders. The current nomination and election process, once sufficient to insure a steady supply of vibrant candidates, may no longer serve the best interests of the CAS.

Regarding mutual recognition, I agree with Chuck that we abdicate our responsibility by passing on the opportunity to have our codes and standards apply to foreign-trained actuaries practicing in the U.S. It is that abdication, rather than any cheapening of the value of the ACAS or FCAS, that could hurt us.

I save my most resounding "RIGHT ON" for Chuck's words on the state of math education in this country. As the father of a son who has struggled with several rounds of SAT exams, [taken] more than one not inexpensive review course, and who, at this moment, nervously [waits] for a letter from his first-choice college, I can tell you the Educational Testing Service and the colleges they serve do not care what color you think math is. They care only whether you "blacken" the correct oval enough times to get a score that meets their profile for success.

It is interesting that the problems of the lack of contested CAS elections and the state of math education spring from the same misguided liberal thinking: that insulating people's fragile egos from the hard knocks of the real world is in their best interests. Nothing could be further from the truth or, in my view, more dangerous or debilitating to the human spirit. My personal experience has always been that in any endeavor—sports, the class room, everyday human encounters, even the CAS exams—I have learned far more from failure than from success.

Thank you, Chuck, for your insight. Such a gift must have been developed in a world in which you were allowed gloriously to fail.

Frank Karlinski, FCAS

Open Elections

Dear Editor:

The Random Sampler by Charles McClenahan in the May 2000 issue of The Actuarial Review was well thought out. One of the only "advantages" that noncompetitive elections offer is the ease of congratulating all candidates. (I say that with tongue in cheek, of course!) As Charles McClenahan rightly picked up, the public discussion of society issues is the major service provided by open elections. The closed nature of most CAS discussions is not healthy for our organization. Nevertheless, many persons—simply by the nature of men and women—cling to power, even when "power" is merely the possession of more information or the right to make certain decisions unimpeded. This helps the egos of individuals but it hurts the organization. And the strength of this desire is surprising; the attempts I made to change the structure during my three years on the Board were fruitless. How unfortunate that our society cannot rise above this!

Sincerely,

Sholom Feldblum, FCAS

The Color of Actuarial Science

Dear Editor:

I share Charles McClenahan's concern for the state of mathematics education in this country (The Actuarial Review, May 2000), but the question about the color of math sparked a lively debate around our dining room table. My husband, a fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, favored a highly saturated primary color, because of its depth and clarity. I think of math as sort of opalescent, with many subtle interconnections that are revealed only upon long and careful examination. But we agreed on the colors of actuarial science: foreseeable fuchsia and profits ecru.

Esther Portnoy, FSA