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I was pointing to a time when both institutions were producing valuable tools from their research and development that significantly bettered the world around them.

MIT & Harvard have not been affecting change in the world around them like they did in prior decades.

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> I was pointing to a time when both institutions were producing valuable tools from their research and development that significantly bettered the world around them.

And how does this claim translate into "education and research are only present at these institutions as window dressing"?

I currently work at a famous MIT and Harvard-affiliated research institute that aims to eventually cure cancer and other genetically-caused diseases. Or at least find better treatments for them. Is this not important research? Is trying to treat and/or cure terrible diseases merely "window dressing" to you?

Before working on this, I worked at an MIT research lab that developed an X-ray space telescope. Software that I wrote was essential for the publication of about 1,000 peer-reviewed astronomy papers.

Is 1,000 peer-reviewed astronomy papers "window dressing"?

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