interiors

A response to  Don't learn to code. Learn to think. : Below is is my usual response when I see an article stating that everyone should learn to code:  Rather than programming, it is more important to impart the thinking of computer science (CS) than a specific implementation. Programming can be an end point for some students, but it is likely that programming itself will be increasingly automated, so that one needs more the general concepts common in CS. Even then, programming itself is to some degree a grunt task that one progresses beyond:  The following are typical components of a CS degree: algorithms & flowcharting systems thinking logical systems and set theory object-orientation & patterns probability, statistics, mathematics All of the above can be useful in an increasingly automated and data-driven world.

Not a criticism of Ravitch's article, but a response to a response of mine: Guilt? Rather than blaming [put pet peeve here] it would be productive to focus on ways of improving educational outcomes. Blaming [put pet peeve here] will not change anything, unless the precedents for [put pet peeve here] are changed for the better. Yes, I think that the issue is sociocultural and that there are an array of contributors to educational outcomes, but the problem is larger than individuals, i.e., single-mothers, and requires some system-level changes:  America the anti-intellectual... Sports defining the school experience Teacher education and selection Resource allocation (inequality, taxation, etc) Social welfare focused on the underprivileged

In an article,  The Right to Write - NYTimes.com , I commented on the right to write, since writers are sometimes questioned on the validity of their writing, e.g., Harriet Beecher Stowe with Uncle Tom's Cabin: One, people always have the right to write, but readers concurrently have the right to reject said writing. Much personal criticism of depictions from writers is whether the depiction seems valid or plausible, but even that is an exercise in empathy, since it requires one to experience that depiction ideationally.  Two, there is a streak in Americans, and maybe anyone, that states that you cannot understand 'my pain', usually the death of a child or some horrific personal lose. Over a longer term I have sensed that people most easily accept empathy if it is expressed by someone with similar experiences, an aspect I believe is part of human nature. I find both irksome, since they deny empathy.

A response to Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives: The first problem I ran into with this is that it is binary; it says nothing about the middle ground. Since some research has shown a fairly high correlation in the heritability of personality and intelligence, and other studies point to the value of belief in the ability to learn and change, one needs to meld the two.  One view might be the need to recognize one's fixed abilities, while also expounding the value of developing those abilities. A second view might explore the need to find one's unexplored abilities, as well as developing them. Obviously there are other aspects to explore, but a one-or-the-other view, while useful as an intellectual exercise, is limiting.

A response to Freakonomics » How to Control Runaway Entitlement Spending : These are ideas, or just the same hack replies by conservatives? Instead of reducing health care to needy people, why not implement a single-payer system? How about restraining corruption of the medical system by device makers, pharmaceuticals, and insurance companies? Why does reform by conservatives always mean harming the needy, rather than restraining the powerful?

A response to  Bloomberg, Champion of the Poor - NYTimes.com ...but pushing the same ideas as always, that the poor are poor because they behave in flawed ways. Poverty is not necessarily an outgrowth of bad behavior, but is a result of how society directs its resources. It is not surprising that the program is generally worthless, since it is simply a better marketed, upscale version of welfare reform. Reducing inequality, thereby improving the welfare of most American, especially the poor, requires increases taxes on the wealthy, and actually to very high levels. That combined with programs like these will raise the quality of life for all Americans.

A response to  Outsource Your Way to Success : I used to think my time had value, but it is worthless as is most people's time, simply trading one non-economic activity for another. Most people are not trading drudgery for productive endeavors.  My spouse and I do outsource some items, mainly services and expertise:  Services - The wash actually is done more cheaply by the services, and that also has the benefit of relieving us of the drudgery. Outsourcing housecleaning is for our piece of mind and relaxation, since we do not exchange housework and cleaning for economic activities, but like most people, exchange it for leisure. The only concern is the piddling amounts of money service workers are paid, and the typical economic argument would be that they get what they are worth; outsourcing activities can often be unfair and degrading. Expertise/skill - We hire for construction and home-modelling activities, and although obvious, medical care.  On the other h...