I've worked as an unpaid intern. I think that some internships can certainly "pay" dividends other than a regular paycheck; some employers can afford to share only their experience and facilities. I was fortunate enough to learn a great deal, and my internship translated directly into a job. That's one of the better scenarios I can imagine. If I'd gotten course credit for my internship, it would've been perfect.

I can, however, see what the article is talking about. The system holds plenty of potential for abuse, and I'm sure that some internships are abusive. It is nerve-wracking to be "wasting" your time without pay when there are loans coming down on your head. Some internships likely do amount to unpaid labor.

Unfortunately, the simple reality is that we can't afford to pay every intern a paycheck. I'm sure all grade-schoolers and college students would love a paycheck for all the work they do (I certainly would have!), but we can avoid paying them because their work is preparatory. A good internship is a furtherance of one's education, and should be treated as such.

Add a considerate stipend, or preferably course credit. I would encourage employers, also, to set a higher bar for internship candidates -- I know that interviews are very time-consuming, but having a higher standard with greater rewards (course credit)might remedy some of the problems on both ends.

I, for one, welcome our new octopus overlords.

@Chet, Stabitha

Sign me up. Would that make the three of us the first Campbellian Arch-Bishops? Or would we need a more suitably Campbellian title?

I'm not so sure that Tycho Brahe really deserves to be on that list -- according to Gilder & Gilder (2005), analysis of hair samples from Brahe's body in both 1901 and 1996 suggest that he actually died of massive mercury poisoning, and that the burst bladder story was the product of a coverup. Gilder & Gilder take that a step further to suggest that he was murdered.

As somebody who once intervened in a broadly similar situation, I can say that it takes a great deal of courage and possibly a helping of idealistic stupidity (or stupid idealism) to get involved in something like that without knowing everything about the situation.

I had the advantage of surprising the assailant, and I was fortunately in better shape than he was. I was lucky enough to succeed and leave with only a few scrapes and bruises. In retrospect, what I did was foolish -- he could have had a gun or there could have been others.

All the same, I know that I felt morally obligated as a human being to stop something so reprehensible. I felt personally obligated, as a man whose fiance has been a victim. Call it what you will, but I would never be able to look myself in the mirror if I'd acted otherwise.

As for those railway employees, they may not have had the "luck" I had. We don't know how fit they were relative to the assailant. The assailant might have been armed. They certainly would've lost their jobs, and possibly even their lives. They may have families to support. There was no way for them to win.

All the same... I can't think of a job that I wouldn't give up in a heartbeat to stop such a monstrous crime.