Come Back! Come Back! This report by the Computing Research Association warns of a drop in the number of undergraduates interested in majoring in computer science. The drop applies to both genders, but it's particularly dramatic among women. Between 2000 and 2004, the number of men planning to major in comp sci declined 60 percent; between 1988 and 2004 (don't ask me why the dates are different), the number of women declined 80 percent.

Key quote: "The furor over recent remarks by Harvard University president Lawrence Summers about women's alleged inability to understand science is whispered to be making things worse."

There's no evidence presented for that claim, and I'm sure it would be nearly impossible to prove, but I'd like to see some substantiation.

Bottom line: "The number of total incoming freshmen last fall who felt they would probably major in computer science was just less than 1.5 percent of all enrolled freshmen."

I don't know if that number applies to Harvard. I do know that Larry Summers has pushed for the elimination of humanities departments with such low levels of interest....  ¶ 8:00 AM