Over-ranked rankings

Most people seem to love to read rankings – of cities, colleges, best places to retire, etc., etc. But just about all these rankings are comparing apples and oranges. Each of these places is unique.

National city rankings, for instance, usually fail to include such qualities as convenience, as measured by compactness and proximity to nearby important cities; cultural complexity and interest, and the beauty of the built environment. Rather they emphasize such financial metrics as low taxes for retirees.  And thus boring SunBelt cities tend to be ranked much higher than, say, Providence, which all in all, is a much more interesting place than most Sun Belt cities. (Perhaps the most exciting Sun Belt cities are seedy, dangerous, exciting New Orleans and Miami, the sort of place that the writer Somerset Maugham called a “sunny place for shady people’’.)

I’m quite aware of Providence’s shortcomings.

And college rankings take little note of the big differences between a rural college and city university or even between a large and small institution, which can have big impact on how courses are taught and the overall college experience. The rankings industry is big, but it sells very misleading stuff.