This was the generally accepted approach nationwide in the past, until we realized it fuels systemic transgenerational inequalities, a bit like economic, racial, residential, etc. forms of segregation.
I have been following my dreams for... perhaps the past 16 years, since late adolescence. It's always been a part of my makeup to chase after what seems most desirable while being somewhat risk averse. It's been a tumultuous ride. I've made plenty of mistakes, of poor decisions, I've tried many ways of living, I've been lucky and unlucky, I've learned a lot, I've suffered a lot, I've changed a lot. I've sacrificed health and relationships, spent resources aplenty... for mixed results. I can confidently say what make me happiest are my partner of eight years and my two daughters. I feel like I (we) built something nice to continue living carefully with passion.
E.g. I decided about two years ago to transition from Education (I was a special ed teacher in the private sector), where I hoped to develop useful tech for learning, to the world of Tech with the same goal in mind. I have always had an affinity for programming-- I have fond memories of making games (e.g. snake), bots, harmless trojans, etc. with the mIRC scripting language--, and an interest in solving problems related to the contents of our minds. I completed a few contracts in web development related to Wordpress (html, css, js, php, mysql) to get myself going, before deciding to learn a stack that would enable me to find better work opportunities or develop a learning product. I settled on React/Apollo/Express/Prisma/Postgres and have been working part-time on a flashcard web app eversince. I'm inspired by the likes of Duolingo, Anki and Quizlet, though I have a special appreciation for Lichess, among others. I wish to make it easier to choose/manage/share what one knows. I would like to generate revenue with this enterprise, but I'm unsure whether I will succeed. If I don't, I wonder how difficult it would be to find work related to what I've learned.
A thousand or so vocal Facebook users found on anti-mask groups were surveyed... Not exactly the epitome of representativity...
94% of them say they will refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19... Both educated and anti-science. Maybe their educational system failed them, or there are other important factors at play.
57% believe in a global Zionist conspiracy theory... 52% think the Illuminati are attempting to control the population...
Sacrificing oneself for a chance at exposing a story may not be worth the risk? We hear of anonymous sources all the time that make it, don't we? Perhaps there are other ways to bring on change.
I hope whomever you denounced doesn't consider you a threat anymore.
I hope you manage to overcome the PTSD. Seek help if you can, if you haven't already.
I wonder if this subscription model can be sustainable for web applications that have recurring expenses like server and storage costs. Does anyone know any successful examples?
> Of course, but not sure how that's relevant here.
The relevance is fairly obvious in my previous comments. See the child who knows of squirrels example. Here is an excerpt from the article that speaks for the relevance:
"For people, patching means education. And not the worker-prep kind of education where you learn how to be an obedient and productive office worker, but the kind that teaches the fundamentals of how things work—from physics to psychology, and from physiology to philosophy."
> Not sure that's unfair.
Many people grow up in terrible conditions and are never given a proper chance to acquire a decent education. It's not especially fair or helpful to insult them.
> What if there is no solution? What if "Idiocracy" was accurate? Or "Planet of the Apes"? Science "fiction" is rife with stories about how humanity ended up destroying itself, especially via technology. It's not like we haven't seen this coming for a long time.
Possibilities aren't definitive. Promoting hopelessness and fortune telling doesn't seem very appealing. It leads to negative outlooks and self-fulfilling prophecies that aren't in anyone's interest.
The contextual backdrop is never negligible, but it's the powers that be that change the course of the world. Secularization has been seen as the step forward. So has quality initial and ongoing Education for all. We trudge forward as individualistic pursuits erode those of the collective.
It reminds me of a study: many groups undertake a turn-based team game in which the prize grows until a certain maximum. Make it to the end of the game: everyone takes an equal part of the prize home. At any point before the end, the entirety of the current prize can be claimed by one individual. Not in one single group was the prize shared. There was always at least one person who waited long enough to claim more than what would have been shared otherwise.
There is plenty of evidence indicating socio-economic status correlates with educational outcomes. Wouldn't you agree victims of disinformation are those least equipped to tell apart facts from fabrications? Isn't it the heart of the issue? The article unfairly refers to a "nation of idiots". Aren't many "idiots" responsible for electing the likes of the current American, English or Brazilian leaders. What is the solution? Taking the "idiot's" power away isn't democratic, it's a speedway to totalitanism. Protecting the "idiots" from disinformation is impossible: plenty of money sees benefits in compromising the people, it will find a way. Quality initial and continuing education is possible and democratic. Democratic societies are founded partly on the idea of the aware citizen. When are we victims of disinformation? When we decide to believe something that we know little about. It's easy: we all need a representation of the world. If all we are given are fabrications, we will never make it out of the cave. The idea is at least as old as Plato or the first democracy.
Helping those in need overcome their difficulties and become ready to learn is a part of accessibility to Education. It's a part of offering equal opportunity to all.
If I tell a child who knows squirrels are usually white, brown, grey or black, and say "hey look! A purple squirrel!", chances are the child will think I'm fooling around. If I say the same thing to a child who has never seen a squirrel, he's more likely to turn his head without doubting my words.
Is knowing the possible colors of squirrel fur an innate trait, or is it something that is learned?
I agree, critical thinking is difficult to teach directly. I can't tell the child-- or an adult for that matter-- to foretell something he doesn't know. The focus of Education is knowledge in various fields like politics, history, physics, mathematics, linguistics, etc.
I was an academic as well. Some classes were certainly funded, maintained and encouraged because of ignorance or political reasons. The entire educational system were I live was reformed based on political reasons. The pilot study in numerous schools failed miserably 20 years ago. The results were never shared with the public before its nation wide implementation. The reform is still in place today. The only copy of the evaluation I know of is a university library and was printed by the professor who was its director and who was subsequently demoted. This happened in a G8 country. Universities are far from immune from selfish or poor decision making.
Try telling the 100000+ homeless students in NY that ignorance is a deliberate choice. Maybe it is a deliberate choice for those in power to dictate others' ignorance. It's also tough being a good learner when you're both a full time worker and student.
When I was a student, I remember not being particularly interested in listening to TA drones regurgitate empty words either, especially when I was sleepy.
The patch to gullibility is critical thinking. Rudimentary critical thinking in any field requires general knowledge of it. Citizens of democracies need to think critically on many topics, hence they need to know a lot in many fields, and to learn ongoingly throughout their lives. Education becomes important. But Education costs a lot...
Maybe the solution is to gradually make learning as accessible, inexpensive and beneficial as possible.
If memory serves, the policy mandating the removal of the appendix before travel to Antarctica was born after the sole physician living there had no other choice than to perform an appendectomy on himself.
Wikipedia: The operation started at 02:00 local time on 1 May with the help of a driver and meteorologist, who provided instruments and held a mirror so Rogozov could observe areas not directly visible. Rogozov lay in a semi-reclining position, half-turned to his left side. A solution of 0.5% novocaine was used for local anesthesia of the abdominal wall. Rogozov made a 10–12 cm incision of the abdominal wall, but while opening the peritoneum he accidentally cut the cecum and had to suture it. Then he exposed the appendix. According to his report, the appendix was found to have a dark stain at its base, and Rogozov estimated it would have burst within a day. The appendix was resected and antibiotics were applied directly into the peritoneal cavity. General weakness and nausea developed about 30–40 minutes after the start of the operation so that short pauses for rest were repeatedly needed after that. By about 04:00 the operation was complete.
Similarly, the despair and agony is really what hit me most. Last autumn, my father began experiencing occasional cramps in one leg after a regular 75k bike ride. During the following month, the pain gradually spread throughout his body and increased in frequency, seemingly for no apparent reason, based on medical tests and scans. He slowly stopped eating as his body was being consumed day and night: he lost healthy weight at a rate of one pound per day. As muscle weakness spread and as he lost his faculty to walk, he grew steadily delirious with pain and lack of sleep. By the 1st of December, he was in hospital full time undergoing a barrage of tests to no avail; a diagnosis of ALS was given mid-month. During the following week, he spoke his last words. In the throes of his body collapsing, he would tear out IV and catheter. At the rate at which his situation was deteriorating, feeding tube and intubation coupled with restraints appeared cruel. He passed before the end of the year.