Jesus this is grim for me, I hope this degree I’m getting will be worth more than a pitcher of warm piss when I’m done. Especially as I very consciously suffer though actually learning shit instead of using the AI.
I read everything I was told to read. It didn't matter to my GPA; the bulk of the reading was not tested. I'm glad I did all that 'extra' or 'untested' reading. Grab every iota of knowledge you can get. It may not get you a job but it will enrich you and make life better in ways you will not be able to predict. Become the scholar you set out to become, and damn the job markets and shitty universities.
This is basically the correct attitude, yes: enjoy it for its own sake. Though my own strategy has usually been to read all the things I'm not supposed to read.
Thank you. They didn’t seem to notice me much at all. I was never encouraged to go into grad skool. I could sense then I was unwelcome; I hold views they consider passe and distasteful.
For the stuff that matters absolutely, for the required indoctrination classes I’m a barely passing slacker. My time is too valuable to waste on that shit.
Good luck, man. It's possible I'm a bit pessimistic with the timeline, it might take a bit longer to work its way through the culture. But I don't see this going any other way...
I've found throughout life, and I always was a devourer of books, that there's no book or text that doesn't have some value, at some point. Example:
When I was 19, I was doing all the dirty and heavy chores at a local combined printer's, framer's and gallerist studio-shop-store. This was pre-internet and when a car-phone meant the phone was part of the car. When we had down-time, all I could do to while away the hours was read the books our head of sales had in his bookshelf. I probably chewed through 2 000+ pages of the stuff, leaning stuff that I would recognise a decade and half later when at uni and having to take behavioural psychology.
I was like "Hey! H-e-y-y-y! I know this stuff already, it was just phrased differently! Yay! I am so smart! S-M-R-T!".
So nil desperandum! Heck, I've made good use of having read lots of comics and Jackie Collins' novels too, while I was still teaching.
Yay Comics! And a shout out to an old favorite, Magnus Robot Fighter! JC's piece made me recall the basic premise of MRF: a society so thoroughly propped up by robots that humans had succumbed to sloth, growing fat and lazy, fed by robots, bathed by robots... Yes, I know, ChatGPT cannot sponge my back... not yet.
Along comes A1A, the original robot, who knows where things are headed; the demise of humans as robots realize they are not necessary. A1A trains Magnus to fight back, on behalf of the humans, some of whom at least are not given over to sloth.
Yay comics, absolutely! Hmm, robots/AI in comics... from 2000AD alone we have:
Sam Slade, RoboHunter, super-funny take on the robots/humans-issues. If you know your 1980s Britain, so much the better because it's full of then-obvious in-jokes and references.
13th floor, about a robotised/AI-run building. Who loves its tenants to death.
ABC Warriors: Spread the Word - Increase the Peace!
Judge Dredd: The Robot War episodes obviously, but also the entire comic.
Abelard Snazz (an Alan Moore-character) who creates Bobby-bots to combat crime, only they do it so well he then has to create crime-droids and victim-robots too, leading to all humans evacuating a planet gone mad.
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Books, I think Sam J Lundwall wrote some books where literally everything is an AI. Can't recall a title but I remember a scene where the main character is having an agrument with a door, a mailbox and himself whether or not the door should open.
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Star Wars comics and the old WEG D6-RPG, lots and lots of stuff about droids.
Too many underground comics to mention. One I recall was robots gathering from all over the Milky Way to witness the death (natural) of the last human. As the omic closes, the boss-bots decide to try and create human life from scratch...
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Death's Head, the cybernetic freelane peacekeeping agent, from Marvel when they didn't suck. Also, Machine Man - some real good 80s stories with that character.
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And of course all the hundreds of not thousand of robot/AI-stories in Metal Hurlant/Heavy Metal Magazine! Too many to mention!
True. I was a zerox lady at a university while working through school. So I got to read all the professors' papers, like stochastic modelling and some lighter stuff. Because of the massive amout of printing, the machine needed frequent maintenance. I learned from the zerox man how to fix some issues. Both helped me in later jobs.
Psychiatrist is always great, and forgive me that I assumed this, but I figured that anyone who is reading John Carter and is in college in this day and age is getting a degree that is actually worth something. My concern is that when I graduate in a few years the engineering degree I’ve been getting will either be a worthless investment or a literal black mark on my resume.
Engineering degree won't be a black mark, I wouldn't worry about that; and as I said in another reply, the DEI stuff will probably be over. What you will have to worry about, potentially, is AI doing a lot of the engineering work. But that's something everyone will have to worry about, and at the very least engineering teaches you how to think properly about technological design, meaning you're set up to use AI better than others.
I think you will be in demand. A large number of (classical) engineers have or will soon retire, and the classic model (doing all the work) will phase out, but there is a need for real engineers to actually plan, design, and oversee or build stuff - and teach the "robots" how to build/maintain the stuff. I expect verification and validation will continue to require human engineering oversight. You could move into risk management (primarily technical as opposed to financial) as you get more experience. Risk management addresses basically everything that could go wrong with engineering projects and programs.
Meh. If you can make things happen, people will care.
Cracked.com also had an article on college debt, that I just can't find now. It basically said "study STEM or GTFO". It was also published in 2012, about. But I can't find it now. Nevertheless, here's this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl7R8xIxzKI It was that documentary, concretely, that made me change careers. I have no formal education in the new one. The one I spent half a decade educating myself for - lays forgotten. I don't think about it at all.
When did you learn of The Last Psychiatrist, BTW? That's a bit of a specific piece of knowledge.
Look man trades are great for some, but telling smart young guys to become a plumber is retarded. The people who read a blog like this are generally extremely intelligent and sending them into the trades is doing them a disservice; moreover, it is doing the left a very great service, because it means that the left will occupy all of the actual levers of power in society.
Its not retarded. You can become a plumber, then upgrade. Its basically just a math refresher and then some calculus or whatever (as the most difficult obstacle). Life doesn't end at 30. This is a somewhat unorthodox career route, but fully viable. You'd be a better-rounded person and professional for it. Internal promotion in a lot of companies doesn't totally rely on credential, either. But many compoanies will help you to upgrade your training if you give them a few years of work and get along with the managers. I l know that "get a trade" is hackneyed, but its exactly the kind of real life experience that benefits mostly deskbound millennials etc. Having a decade or so in the trades is by no means a disservice, it will actually most likely make your actualy degree program seem easy by comparison, and you might just kill it in your field.
You’re right, it’s hackneyed. Conservatives are constantly telling young guys ‘don’t learn a profession, go to trade school’. Which is terrible advice given that the only young guys who are going to read it are precisely the ones who should not be going to trade school, but should be aiming themselves in directions in which they can gain power and influence, because they are the kinds of young guys who read things, take an interest in ideas and politics, and are therefore probably intelligent enough to make a difference. Such advice sabotages them, and the rest us, because the left for sure is not telling them to learn a trade, it’s telling them to go grab control of the culture and the organs of government.
AH, you're in engineering ... this is a better case than most other fields. Actually I expect the STEM departments to hang on much longer than most, as the knowledge and skills they teach are much harder to fake.
Just my two cents: Don't be a desktop engineer. If you really love the field, you should enjoy the hands-on aspects as well. So learn them. The best automotive engineers love working on their own car projects. The best electrical engineers play with sound systems or other electronics. I have an engineering Ph.D. but I learned machining. Why? I certainly didn't need it. We had had a shop full of expert machinists and machine tools. All I had to do was submit drawing. But learning machining gave me a better understanding of what I was actually designing, plus additional skills.
You can be cancelled for wrongthink and passed over for DEI stuff in a STEM profession. Generally, in the trades, its between you and another man, and the tougher/better guy wins, stays and ghets promoted., Its extremely meritocratic. Also, I didn't see that mentioned your fancy degree in STEM in your comment. Maybe learn a few sharper English skills and communicate better. Im not a fucking mind reader.
Ehh I’ll take my chances, I doubt the wrong think will continue as shit keeps breaking. If I’m wrong I’ve never been too proud to work hard if that’s what the Lord ordains.
Perfect attitude. I've had to use the hybrid approach myself. A straight line career in one field can be stultifying. My straight Corpin' it friends are like robots compared to the men and women they were in their youth.
Of the 3 different STEM jobs in my professional career; a basic bio-medical researcher, programmer, and R&D Electrical-Magnetic Engineer I was not Immune to the horror of AA, DEI, Diversity, and White Christian-raised man hating Synagogue of Satan Witches and co-workers - mostly vile twisted meritless FemNazies.
Your entire University student class may not be poisoned by them much, but the real world is Sick with them, festering vileness that only a mile high wave of Burning Sulfur to circumventing entire world can cleanse.
This is absolutely true, yes. Only problem with home-schooling - though less of one now that it's so popular - is that it's much harder for kids to spend time with their friends. The ideal, I think, is to move towards a model in which individualized instruction is provided via AI for a few hours a day, with the rest of the day being available for the kids to play with their friends.
I agree with this, although I would say from experience that learning directly from an AI alone is not necessarily very efficient or desirable.
Younger kids especially learn in a very multi-faceted way. Everything, from tone of voice to physical touch, to pacing (e.g. being able to intersperse or even combine intellectual learning with movement) can make a huge difference. As I'm homeschooling, I find AI is a great teacher's assistant: you get an instant, perfectly customizable reference/textbook, or tools and games to reinforce knowledge. At the same time, you as a teacher can model interacting with AI for kids so they hopefully feel some sense of agency and control.
But human teachers or caregivers are necessary to educate at a deeper level than AI: stability, safety, confidence, curiosity, etc. And this emotional component reinforces the intellectual one.
I guess I would say that AI is useful to feed the frontal cortex, while human teachers nurture the limbic system, and it helps if they occur in a blended way.
When I'm Pope-King of world, God willing, we all will Exorcise the devouring fatherhood childhood Satanic mind-soul crippling mothers and devouring retarding mind-raping societies demon-possessions.
Men and Fathers will educate and protect the students from the Demonic-Witches and delusional psycho mothers from K-8th grade, and those children unable to keep pace will go to a non-academic education track to be the best critical thinker and problem solver that mechanics or plumbers ever saw.
Entire HS basic subjects and critical-thinking fit in k-8th grade because men teachers will not be psychologically abusing and crippling them, the students will have the best opportunity to have a successful adult life and healthy family or best service to God and Man, to truth, to Justice, to Right-Order, to Prudence, to honor, to ...
Latin and perhaps Greek learned world-wide by every educated person so they have access to older original records, and international Univeral communications.
End of 8th grade will have tests and the top 15% will enter University if desired, and rest to trades so the men may be fully employed by 20 years-old and start a family with 15 yo old woman or older. No more Sick mind-raping putrid endless forced childhood by our F-ing baby-murdering insane psychopathic womanhood and their Witches.
Men and fathers will return to right-ordered duties, and women will F-ing stop destroying Love, Life, Joy, Hope, .. and be more valuable then the 2-week old putrid poison most have become. You are not children and you will suffer or celebrate from your choices.
School and trades all sex-segregated. Dress-code and women will be expected to work and learn as hard as men, no tits-out disOrdering use and abuse of sexuality. Shut-the-F-up and get to work or leave.
I used AI to define acceptable HS level of subjects and focus on important useful information and adult skills to be done by 8th grade and ready for start of adulthood and greatness.
Example education lay-out;
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Grade K
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Recognize and name letters and sounds
- Listen to and repeat simple words and stories
- Introduce basic storytelling and picture discussion
Quarter 2:
- Develop basic phonics skills with word families
- Practice simple sight words
- Begin speaking in complete sentences during read-aloud sessions
Quarter 3:
- Explore short, simple stories; ask and answer questions
Dude, I applaud your enthusiasm, but I must ask you to keep your comments somewhat shorter. This is not the place to spam your master plan to redesign the curriculum or whatever it is that you're saying (too long, didn't read). Please also try to be relevant to people you're responding to. This is the first and final warning.
Since you did not bother to realize it is an example of AI and redefining education, how K-12 can and should be reduced to K-8th by using Men teachers that aren't mind-raping Witch minions. Trades or university and employed by 18 years old and married with start of family by 20, not castrated mind-raped infantile breast-feeding [adult] child at 30, like we have today.
You understand what 'Devouring Mother' is?
We have Feminized this level of hell and so 'Devouring Society', but you're too busy to bother, but have time to disrespect and threaten and forget that we all adults that are not so retarded that we cannot skip most unless interested in AI and better Education. But not relevant? Only vomit?
I really like your articles and too poor to contribute money, so I try to add value, but I understand that pissing on my efforts can be fun also. Let it flow!! And I'll Stop trying so hard for my free kick to my testicles.
It's going to perpetuate the System to save us from the System!
(I can't say "He", because that's no man a proper Aryan would recognize.)
I saw another such example elsewhere today of Male Fetish Cult belief.
I said it was anti-life; they seem to feel they are here to do battle with the organic, as if they are spirits from a higher plane trapped in the muck.
I call that the Platonic mistake, that there is a more perfect ethereal Form, rather than the rarified shadow that the "higher" world is.
"Colleges will return to their original function as communities of scholars, which is to say: places of leisure devoted to the life of the mind. The entire point will be to spend time in conversation with other interesting, intelligent, knowledgeable, curious people, not so much with any final goal in mind, not to ‘pass a test’ or ‘get a good grade’ or ‘submit a paper to a peer-reviewed journal’, but simply because it is fun."
I want this to be social media so badly, but it continually fails to be so.
I am going to add a personal grievance I have with the university/college system. I currently work in the banking sector, but I have had broad intellectual taste. I particularly have had a habit of looking up legal terms (especially if they are historic) on wikipedia. I wonder if I should study law. I did not choose the path to become a lawyer, because I was gifted in other areas, and there are negative stereotypes of lawyers. Lawschools are stereotyped as being incredibly demanding, long, and expensive, so I chose finance because I thought it would be easier. As someone who is more introverted, the idea of public speaking in general used to be somewhat uncomfortable, but trying to persuade a judge to agree with me was extremely intimidating (unthinkable) to my teenage self. Plus, lawyers have to defend hardened criminals, and I am not sure my conscience could take that. Add in other stereotypes about lawyers. So, I chose finance. I went to college in the honors program; the first semester my grades did good and in the second semester I collapsed from the pressure. Perhaps 12-15 credit hours in the honor program was too much for me to handle. So, I somewhat was a wash-up. I then worked thru various online and community college classes part-time (with part-time jobs) in order to complete my associate's in finance in a four-year timespan (along with 20k of debt). After finally getting my degree I got a job full-time job, got fired from that job, had a seasonal job, and then got a part-time that turned into a full-time job, where I am at now. All this time, my appetite for legal terminology did not cease, despite my best efforts.
I like working at the branch and I like most of my co-workers (especially my boss). I can't just leave; I am not going to leave suddenly based on a whim aping after something that might not be real. I am a conservative, not a liberal art student, I'm not going to financially ruin myself chasing a non-viable fancy. But I'm still interested. So I thought to myself, I can still work my current job and just take a part-time class in law. A single clas. Perhaps my work will even pay for it under one of their benefits. A utility I seek is also to see for myself what law is actually like. There are the negative stereotypes from second and third hand sources, and wikipedia is not necessarily real life (especially since I most read about legal history, not how the law currently is); so there is confusion on my part, and I want to know the real thing. Would I actually be good at it? Or am I mistaken like the American Idol auditioner who is awful at singing and should really be doing something else?
So, I try to find the one class that I can take at the community college near me. I can't attend a college very far from where I live, because that would be tantamount to quitting my job that I have now (not an option). Much to my dismay, the college wants me to commit to a DEGREE. No, I can't commit to a degree, the whole point of me taking the class is to decide whether or not I even want to pursue a degree. Faculty is also difficult to talk to, especially since I have a full-time job on my end.
Anyways, your leisure schools for amateurs at the end would be a dream come true for me in a lot of ways. I hope I didn't share too much personal info.
Of course they want you to commit to a degree. That way they get to extract as much revenue from you as possible.
I’ve heard similar stories to this. For instance, a computer programmer who’d been in the field since the 70s or 80s, and thought it might be worth his while to actually get a degree. However, the first three years of the computer science degree were all covering materials and concepts he knew like the back of his hand. Naturally, the admin refused to just let him test out of those, insisting he start at the beginning with everyone else, and waste three years of his life and tens of thousands of dollars learning material he’d mastered long before. Naturally, he didn’t bother.
That is funny, because I found myself listening to SCOTUS Oral Arguments, and sometimes losing myself in recursively researching terms and other referenced court rulings.
This Sickness has been on-off since beginning of this year. Sounds like a got a little of the bug that invaded you! I'm over 60-yo and like this strangeness, I'm still learning who I am.
True, I am afflicted with the same taste, tho I find cases written in the 1790s to be much more eloquent and pleasant than most things written nowadays.
You sound like a classicist. Very important to enjoy other classical tastes, such as classical music or art or architecture - just for the enjoyment. Keep your life simple and your expenses contained. You never know when you might get the opportunity to change fields to something else intriguing, and you don't want to be held back by unnecessary debt.
I've worked as a paralegal without training, then later taken community college law classes, which were quite good. I have lots of high-level legal connections, they either don't practice, or would do something else if they could.
Don't go for a law degree unless you can get in to a top-ten law school. Even if you do get into a top school, it's almost always a soul-killing job to actually work on cases, whether as lawyer, paralegal or even judge. If you're interested in law for its own sake, I'd recommend finding rhe textbooks that were most popular for paralegal courses in your state a few years ago and buy them used. (State law is 95% of everything, and 99% of that is not appellate, mostly administrative law. Law school doesn't much teach how to do what lawyers really do.) Actually study them and you'll be ahead of most lawyers, even from top schools. Most of the useful stuff is business law, most of the rest is real estate law. Other areas are worth studying to learn why you don't want anything to do with them.
If you cant't avoid legal proceedings:
*use forms such as from Nolo Press, adapt and remix, also plagiarize from similar filings in local court (records are generally open)
*always include an pre-written, properly-formatted order with every motion, and make ~every motion a separate document. Judges are lazy and do not read throuroughly, or sometimes at all.
*judges do as they please, neither statute nor precedent has any bearing for ALJs/magistrates/district/circuit/trial court judges. They don't like being lectured on the law, they make decisions mostly based on habit and which party they think has higher status. If you can't make them want to rule in your favor and you have the resources for an appeal, then arguing the law makes sense.
This is one of the reasons why I was cautious with law and avoided it. I also prefer older laws from like the 1790s or earlier. I suspect that modern laws might drive me insane.
Google nearly rendered the old university libraries irrelevant with their massive scanning of books. But with AI slop filling the Internet and techlords engaging in gaslighting, those physical books may become invaluable again.
Another lifeline for the universities is the aging population. That means medical careers will remain plentiful and good paying.
Google books getting locked down by the copyright trolls is one of the greatest intellectual crimes in history, in my opinion. A tool that should have been of incalculable value to humanity was rendered useless so publishing houses could squat on copyrights of books they largely refuse to actually print.
Perhaps, though worth keeping in mind that you could probably save all of Google books (about 40M volumes) as text files, which would require only 25 TB of storage, which can be stored in a very small volume. Hence the sum total of humanity's knowledge can be stored in a great many locations - every house, potentially - making it effectively impossible to destroy.
Of all people, you'd think they'd be the opposite. But I guess the right to assume control of information and the power of being a gatekeeper is too much a seduction to pass up. This seems to be a prevalent drug.
They really should be, if they were true to the idea of letting people think for themselves.
But instead, the attitude is one of "I know what's good/bad for you" (i.e. Malus Mater-syndrome as I call it; the evil domineering mother infantilising her offspring to control them) combined with a superiority-complex where they thinkfeel that your or I could be unduly influenced unless someone gatekeeps and censors our information, for our own good.
I've even been told it to my face by a junior female colleague, who wondered why I read Proletären online (Swedish communist paper):
"What if reading that affects you somehow?"
If that doesn't tell it all about the problem, I don't know what does.
She didn't understand my reply, instead she seemed fearful:
"If I don't read what they put out, how am I to know who they are and what they want, or how they think and reason?"
"It's for your own good" has been used down the centuries. Especially so during the plandemic years. It fits neatly into "We're all in it together", the piper tune of the deceivers.
Vaults with physical copies of how-to books (engraved metal pages or scrolls as in "The Shadow Out of Time" perhaps?) is something governments ought to be interested in, but aren't for a variety of reasons.
Nice people too. When a large group with teenagers shows up at a campground, I am please let it be Mormons
Out west it usually is. When school is out, all the Mormons go camping . You also get big groups of Mennonites who are equally polite but more obvious because of the way they dress.
Our deepening reliance on aye-eye and the digital world in general, especially finance and payments, is essentially vulnerable. No power, no go. Whether that's accidental, on purpose or accidentally on purpose, it renders it all nonfunctional in a split second. So physical copies of anything of value, personally or collectively, are necessary. Maybe those DUMBs and billionaire bunkers are secret repositories already. It wouldn't surprise me.
And then, of course, there's the lack of people to access or read them - by infertility, increased sickness, disability and sudden death syndrome, just to name a few. John's point of AI dependency leading to the lazy, lardy and fatty is a factor in this. Over the years, this shortened lifespan has already become a fashion statement.
Speaking as a homeschooling parent, what society needs to replace/reimagine is not the academic aspect of schools, which was already widely recognized as mediocre or even highly damaging before AI even showed up, but rather the infrastructure for gathering as a community and for physical activity. Academic education is trivial in comparison with the wealth of online resources and educational services available today.
In my experience, the main things most homeschooled kids miss about schools are playground/gym time, organized sports, or even just group "play" more generally. And for parents, schools can provide an easily-accessible, organic, locally-based community.
Finding alternatives to those things is one of the biggest challenges in living an intellectually independent life with children.
You are absolutely correct, and I touched on this in the article. With personalized instruction in academics - which can be done entirely at home, at whatever rate and in whatever order a child's own abilities and talents take him - "school" can be turned into a purely social environment devoted to athletics and creative projects.
"In my experience, the main things most homeschooled kids miss about schools are playground/gym time, organized sports, or even just group "play" more generally. And for parents, schools can provide an easily-accessible, organic, locally-based community."
Excellent point, one often forgotten in home-schooling debates (I've never really considered it, and I'm a retired teacher).
Good post. What comes next after the existing system collapses is a good question. Employers should and will demand some way to determine qualification for first time and young employees. In the past they used vocational testing, which worked well. By the 1970s that became unlawful because such tests consistently channelled Black applicants toward lower prestige jobs. So the college BA became a crude default method for determining entry level qualification. That became a gigantic example of Goodhart's Law, the entire system became a credential factory and its original purpose was lost. Half a century of that is enough. The current factory model is a failure. But a renewed model, assisted by AI, could work well. Universities can and should be places where people with genuine interest and aptitude are instructed by truly knowledgeable people. I do not believe the existing universities and colleges can adapt, but perhaps some of the names will continue, with their brand value being assets sold in the bankruptcy proceedings. I also disagree somewhat with the idea that liberal arts colleges will all go out of business. They have the capacity to reinvent themselves. People who outsource all of their intellectual life to AI will be useless. Being able to read, write, argue, think, analyze, all these fundamental human skills have been degraded and can be and should be revived. I will not quibble with some factual disagreements about the destruction of the monasteries by Henry VIII. We can agree that the eradication of the current "monastery" system will be a good thing, that is inevitable, and that better things are possible.
I'll admit to being very far from an expert on the monasteries; I was merely presenting them as a historical analogy (and hopefully not in such a way that it was too inaccurate).
The main problem the LACs face is that most of them have very shallow endowments, meaning they have very little financial cushion to absorb an enrolment shock. Hence why I think many of them are doomed. Virtually all of them are also fully captured ideologically, making it impossible to reform them in the necessary way to adapt to the new conditions.
Most of these LACs will, and should, go away, for the reasons you state. However, the idea of a liberal arts college is a good one, in fact, better than ever. But entirely new institutions will be needed to restore life to the concept.
What about High School? Most of the students are there because they are forced to be there, not out of a keen desire to learn. Elementary school appears to still provide useful skill development, from what I can tell, but past grade eight (maybe earlier?)... why not let the kids learn on their own or take apprenticeships or something else.
Instead of colleges, bring back the Guilds. They are more likely to make sure the apprentice actually learn something. Then, he can plug into his master’s network while learning on the job.
Guilds are great for professional skill training, but largely useless for intellectual life and the dissemination of information, both due to their practical focus, and the incentivization towards professional secrecy.
The first universities WERE guilds, the guild of students who hire and fire the professors. Very different from what we have today. More akin to the working men’s lecturing society that were all the rage in the 19th century.
One thing that I expect AI to really improve is corporate customer service. From useless chat bots, to off-shored Indian garbage, to the fact that most just tell you whatever they can to get you off the phone, it has become almost useless, and endlessly frustrating. The endlessly patient and very well-versed AI will be very efficient and helpful by contrast.
And, perhaps, if a few of the smaller colleges want to retool themselves, they. Might become what a finishing school was - a place to warehouse girls until they can be married off.
Your perception of the value of a college education and the importance of your GPA is wrong, at least in my own field of chemical engineering. I'm sure the same is true in other STEM fields. To practice chemical engineering you need to have mastered material in mathematics, chemistry, physics, thermodynamics, control theory, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and mass transfer. You must also have a good grasp of the theory and operation of common processing equipment like heat exchangers, pumps, turbines, chemical reactors, and distillation columns. Employers expect you to have a good grounding in all of these, and we definitely look at your GPA as evidence of your degree of mastery and your learning ability.
I suppose you could get someone to give you a copy of the chemical engineering degree plan from a decent university, and maybe you could look up the syllabus for each course and even buy the exact same textbooks the students must buy. Good luck being able to understand it all without someone to ask questions of and to check your homework for errors. But maybe you're brilliant and you figure it all out on your own. You'll still miss out on the labs and the projects, where you have a chance to see whether you understand the material enough to apply it successfully and learn to work collaboratively.
By all reports getting an engineering degree is still a pretty hard slog and not simply fluff and political indoctrination. I don't mean to say that STEM fields are not being affected by the deleterious trends you describe, but I don't think it's anywhere close to being hollowed out like some nontechnical fields.
I'm sure they are, especially in the core classes that all students must take. But, at least in some areas, I don't think AI is ready to take over yet. Instead of having an AI check your answers for correctness you need to check its answers. That requires an understanding of the subject. I think this is what people are doing today who are successfully using AI for real work. I wouldn't drive over a bridge that an AI had designed. Not yet, anyway.
You say this, but in the link to the New York Magazine piece a comp sci student was quite open about just submitting whatever code ChatGPT spat out at him, without bothering to even check. Would it compile? Probably not but if it's correct enough to get a D- that was good enough for him.
Add DEI on top, in which retention is very important and professors are under intense pressure not to enforce standards too strictly, which drags standards down for everyone...
I'm sure that's true. However, software development is one field where credentials are much less important than they used to be. The field moves so fast that being credentialed in 5 year old technology is often not very valuable. It is also a creative endeavor. I'm most interested in seeing the independent projects you have done. What you did on your own time for fun tells me more about what kind of developer you will be than a B.S. in Computer Science.
“Martian Luther”
This is not a typo. This is a prophecy of the world to come! 😁
Personally, I would like to make guitars on Mars. Then I would be the
…
Martian Luthier.
LOL
This may be the finest thing that the internet has ever produced. A true, shining gem of sparkling wit.
Thank you ever so much! 👍🙂
Laugh, groan, shake your head slowly with a grimace — my work here is done.
Side note: this text editor does not know the word “grimace”. Looks in mirror for example.
hand in hand with Catherine of Aragorn.
Hahaha
Barsoom friend of his.
This is the kind of deep lore I wish there was more of.
There are a couple of typos in this. Shaftesbury, for example. Time to run this through the old fashioned spell check then give it to Grok.
Strangers from Strange Lands. AKA, Michael Lives!
Thou art Scholar!
I see what you did there, JC.
Jesus this is grim for me, I hope this degree I’m getting will be worth more than a pitcher of warm piss when I’m done. Especially as I very consciously suffer though actually learning shit instead of using the AI.
I read everything I was told to read. It didn't matter to my GPA; the bulk of the reading was not tested. I'm glad I did all that 'extra' or 'untested' reading. Grab every iota of knowledge you can get. It may not get you a job but it will enrich you and make life better in ways you will not be able to predict. Become the scholar you set out to become, and damn the job markets and shitty universities.
This is basically the correct attitude, yes: enjoy it for its own sake. Though my own strategy has usually been to read all the things I'm not supposed to read.
You are the type of learner that every authentic educator loves to come across during a teaching career.
Thank you. They didn’t seem to notice me much at all. I was never encouraged to go into grad skool. I could sense then I was unwelcome; I hold views they consider passe and distasteful.
For the stuff that matters absolutely, for the required indoctrination classes I’m a barely passing slacker. My time is too valuable to waste on that shit.
You should be CheatGPTing your way through the indoc classes absolutely shamelessly.
I suppose I can take comfort in the fact I learned to do trig in my head though, world always needs more artillery officers.
Nothing you learn is ever wasted.
Good luck, man. It's possible I'm a bit pessimistic with the timeline, it might take a bit longer to work its way through the culture. But I don't see this going any other way...
I've found throughout life, and I always was a devourer of books, that there's no book or text that doesn't have some value, at some point. Example:
When I was 19, I was doing all the dirty and heavy chores at a local combined printer's, framer's and gallerist studio-shop-store. This was pre-internet and when a car-phone meant the phone was part of the car. When we had down-time, all I could do to while away the hours was read the books our head of sales had in his bookshelf. I probably chewed through 2 000+ pages of the stuff, leaning stuff that I would recognise a decade and half later when at uni and having to take behavioural psychology.
I was like "Hey! H-e-y-y-y! I know this stuff already, it was just phrased differently! Yay! I am so smart! S-M-R-T!".
So nil desperandum! Heck, I've made good use of having read lots of comics and Jackie Collins' novels too, while I was still teaching.
Absolutely. Nothing learned is ever wasted, even if the place you end up applying it is somewhere completely unexpected.
Yay Comics! And a shout out to an old favorite, Magnus Robot Fighter! JC's piece made me recall the basic premise of MRF: a society so thoroughly propped up by robots that humans had succumbed to sloth, growing fat and lazy, fed by robots, bathed by robots... Yes, I know, ChatGPT cannot sponge my back... not yet.
Along comes A1A, the original robot, who knows where things are headed; the demise of humans as robots realize they are not necessary. A1A trains Magnus to fight back, on behalf of the humans, some of whom at least are not given over to sloth.
Sort of Idiocracy, but without Brawndo.
Yay comics, absolutely! Hmm, robots/AI in comics... from 2000AD alone we have:
Sam Slade, RoboHunter, super-funny take on the robots/humans-issues. If you know your 1980s Britain, so much the better because it's full of then-obvious in-jokes and references.
13th floor, about a robotised/AI-run building. Who loves its tenants to death.
ABC Warriors: Spread the Word - Increase the Peace!
Judge Dredd: The Robot War episodes obviously, but also the entire comic.
Abelard Snazz (an Alan Moore-character) who creates Bobby-bots to combat crime, only they do it so well he then has to create crime-droids and victim-robots too, leading to all humans evacuating a planet gone mad.
---
Books, I think Sam J Lundwall wrote some books where literally everything is an AI. Can't recall a title but I remember a scene where the main character is having an agrument with a door, a mailbox and himself whether or not the door should open.
---
Star Wars comics and the old WEG D6-RPG, lots and lots of stuff about droids.
Too many underground comics to mention. One I recall was robots gathering from all over the Milky Way to witness the death (natural) of the last human. As the omic closes, the boss-bots decide to try and create human life from scratch...
---
Death's Head, the cybernetic freelane peacekeeping agent, from Marvel when they didn't suck. Also, Machine Man - some real good 80s stories with that character.
---
And of course all the hundreds of not thousand of robot/AI-stories in Metal Hurlant/Heavy Metal Magazine! Too many to mention!
Yay comics!
Yay comics! I loved 2000AD! Somewhere I know I have some sad old yellowed out copies of the newsprint version... good times.
True. I was a zerox lady at a university while working through school. So I got to read all the professors' papers, like stochastic modelling and some lighter stuff. Because of the massive amout of printing, the machine needed frequent maintenance. I learned from the zerox man how to fix some issues. Both helped me in later jobs.
Sit down, so you don't hurt yourself when you faint.
https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-harsh-truths-that-will-make-you-better-person
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elrnAl6ygeM
https://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/11/hipsters_on_food_stamps.html
https://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/11/hipsters_on_food_stamps_part_2.html
https://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/12/product_review_panasonic_pt_ax.html
Psychiatrist is always great, and forgive me that I assumed this, but I figured that anyone who is reading John Carter and is in college in this day and age is getting a degree that is actually worth something. My concern is that when I graduate in a few years the engineering degree I’ve been getting will either be a worthless investment or a literal black mark on my resume.
Engineering degree won't be a black mark, I wouldn't worry about that; and as I said in another reply, the DEI stuff will probably be over. What you will have to worry about, potentially, is AI doing a lot of the engineering work. But that's something everyone will have to worry about, and at the very least engineering teaches you how to think properly about technological design, meaning you're set up to use AI better than others.
I think you will be in demand. A large number of (classical) engineers have or will soon retire, and the classic model (doing all the work) will phase out, but there is a need for real engineers to actually plan, design, and oversee or build stuff - and teach the "robots" how to build/maintain the stuff. I expect verification and validation will continue to require human engineering oversight. You could move into risk management (primarily technical as opposed to financial) as you get more experience. Risk management addresses basically everything that could go wrong with engineering projects and programs.
Meh. If you can make things happen, people will care.
Cracked.com also had an article on college debt, that I just can't find now. It basically said "study STEM or GTFO". It was also published in 2012, about. But I can't find it now. Nevertheless, here's this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl7R8xIxzKI It was that documentary, concretely, that made me change careers. I have no formal education in the new one. The one I spent half a decade educating myself for - lays forgotten. I don't think about it at all.
When did you learn of The Last Psychiatrist, BTW? That's a bit of a specific piece of knowledge.
Bro I was down the rabbit hole in middle school, I think it got linked on some blog I was reading in 2015-17 and I was hooked.
Yeah, I scraped that entire blog, in case it ever goes offline.
Get a trade.
This again.
Look man trades are great for some, but telling smart young guys to become a plumber is retarded. The people who read a blog like this are generally extremely intelligent and sending them into the trades is doing them a disservice; moreover, it is doing the left a very great service, because it means that the left will occupy all of the actual levers of power in society.
Its not retarded. You can become a plumber, then upgrade. Its basically just a math refresher and then some calculus or whatever (as the most difficult obstacle). Life doesn't end at 30. This is a somewhat unorthodox career route, but fully viable. You'd be a better-rounded person and professional for it. Internal promotion in a lot of companies doesn't totally rely on credential, either. But many compoanies will help you to upgrade your training if you give them a few years of work and get along with the managers. I l know that "get a trade" is hackneyed, but its exactly the kind of real life experience that benefits mostly deskbound millennials etc. Having a decade or so in the trades is by no means a disservice, it will actually most likely make your actualy degree program seem easy by comparison, and you might just kill it in your field.
You’re right, it’s hackneyed. Conservatives are constantly telling young guys ‘don’t learn a profession, go to trade school’. Which is terrible advice given that the only young guys who are going to read it are precisely the ones who should not be going to trade school, but should be aiming themselves in directions in which they can gain power and influence, because they are the kinds of young guys who read things, take an interest in ideas and politics, and are therefore probably intelligent enough to make a difference. Such advice sabotages them, and the rest us, because the left for sure is not telling them to learn a trade, it’s telling them to go grab control of the culture and the organs of government.
I don't think that anyone has ever said that better!
Why do you think I’m getting a degree in a rather difficult STEM field? An engineer is as much a tradesman as an electrician just a different trade.
AH, you're in engineering ... this is a better case than most other fields. Actually I expect the STEM departments to hang on much longer than most, as the knowledge and skills they teach are much harder to fake.
Just my two cents: Don't be a desktop engineer. If you really love the field, you should enjoy the hands-on aspects as well. So learn them. The best automotive engineers love working on their own car projects. The best electrical engineers play with sound systems or other electronics. I have an engineering Ph.D. but I learned machining. Why? I certainly didn't need it. We had had a shop full of expert machinists and machine tools. All I had to do was submit drawing. But learning machining gave me a better understanding of what I was actually designing, plus additional skills.
You can be cancelled for wrongthink and passed over for DEI stuff in a STEM profession. Generally, in the trades, its between you and another man, and the tougher/better guy wins, stays and ghets promoted., Its extremely meritocratic. Also, I didn't see that mentioned your fancy degree in STEM in your comment. Maybe learn a few sharper English skills and communicate better. Im not a fucking mind reader.
Keep it civil, man.
Ehh I’ll take my chances, I doubt the wrong think will continue as shit keeps breaking. If I’m wrong I’ve never been too proud to work hard if that’s what the Lord ordains.
This is actually one thing in your favour, yes. The woke fever is breaking fast. DEI will probably not be a factor when you graduate.
Perfect attitude. I've had to use the hybrid approach myself. A straight line career in one field can be stultifying. My straight Corpin' it friends are like robots compared to the men and women they were in their youth.
About STEM,
Of the 3 different STEM jobs in my professional career; a basic bio-medical researcher, programmer, and R&D Electrical-Magnetic Engineer I was not Immune to the horror of AA, DEI, Diversity, and White Christian-raised man hating Synagogue of Satan Witches and co-workers - mostly vile twisted meritless FemNazies.
Your entire University student class may not be poisoned by them much, but the real world is Sick with them, festering vileness that only a mile high wave of Burning Sulfur to circumventing entire world can cleanse.
The hands-on, manual labour aspect sort of gives the electrician an edge, I think. Exercise is good.
What you gonna do with the warm piss?
Depends on the degree. Though many corporations stopped looking at degrees long ago, preferring experience or other proof of SKA.
Bingo, and that's going to become the dominant means of evaluating potential hires everywhere.
It was a great article. I suspect apprenticeships will be coming back for some.
FWIW, most homeschoolers already know that two hours a day is plenty enough time to cover what takes a gov't school two weeks to teach...
This is absolutely true, yes. Only problem with home-schooling - though less of one now that it's so popular - is that it's much harder for kids to spend time with their friends. The ideal, I think, is to move towards a model in which individualized instruction is provided via AI for a few hours a day, with the rest of the day being available for the kids to play with their friends.
I agree with this, although I would say from experience that learning directly from an AI alone is not necessarily very efficient or desirable.
Younger kids especially learn in a very multi-faceted way. Everything, from tone of voice to physical touch, to pacing (e.g. being able to intersperse or even combine intellectual learning with movement) can make a huge difference. As I'm homeschooling, I find AI is a great teacher's assistant: you get an instant, perfectly customizable reference/textbook, or tools and games to reinforce knowledge. At the same time, you as a teacher can model interacting with AI for kids so they hopefully feel some sense of agency and control.
But human teachers or caregivers are necessary to educate at a deeper level than AI: stability, safety, confidence, curiosity, etc. And this emotional component reinforces the intellectual one.
I guess I would say that AI is useful to feed the frontal cortex, while human teachers nurture the limbic system, and it helps if they occur in a blended way.
Yes, I think this is true. Actually existing human teachers, however, are mostly terrible.
When I'm Pope-King of world, God willing, we all will Exorcise the devouring fatherhood childhood Satanic mind-soul crippling mothers and devouring retarding mind-raping societies demon-possessions.
Men and Fathers will educate and protect the students from the Demonic-Witches and delusional psycho mothers from K-8th grade, and those children unable to keep pace will go to a non-academic education track to be the best critical thinker and problem solver that mechanics or plumbers ever saw.
Entire HS basic subjects and critical-thinking fit in k-8th grade because men teachers will not be psychologically abusing and crippling them, the students will have the best opportunity to have a successful adult life and healthy family or best service to God and Man, to truth, to Justice, to Right-Order, to Prudence, to honor, to ...
Latin and perhaps Greek learned world-wide by every educated person so they have access to older original records, and international Univeral communications.
End of 8th grade will have tests and the top 15% will enter University if desired, and rest to trades so the men may be fully employed by 20 years-old and start a family with 15 yo old woman or older. No more Sick mind-raping putrid endless forced childhood by our F-ing baby-murdering insane psychopathic womanhood and their Witches.
Men and fathers will return to right-ordered duties, and women will F-ing stop destroying Love, Life, Joy, Hope, .. and be more valuable then the 2-week old putrid poison most have become. You are not children and you will suffer or celebrate from your choices.
School and trades all sex-segregated. Dress-code and women will be expected to work and learn as hard as men, no tits-out disOrdering use and abuse of sexuality. Shut-the-F-up and get to work or leave.
I used AI to define acceptable HS level of subjects and focus on important useful information and adult skills to be done by 8th grade and ready for start of adulthood and greatness.
Example education lay-out;
--
Grade K
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Recognize and name letters and sounds
- Listen to and repeat simple words and stories
- Introduce basic storytelling and picture discussion
Quarter 2:
- Develop basic phonics skills with word families
- Practice simple sight words
- Begin speaking in complete sentences during read-aloud sessions
Quarter 3:
- Explore short, simple stories; ask and answer questions
- Introduce basic sequencing (beginning, middle, end)
- Share ideas in small groups
Quarter 4:
- Build simple writing skills (tracing letters, forming simple words)
- Retell familiar stories in own words
- Introduce listening for key details and practicing careful observation
Mathematics
Quarter 1:
- Count numbers up to 20; recognize shapes
- Understand basic patterns and sorting
Quarter 2:
- Learn simple addition using concrete objects
- Compare sizes (big, small, more, less)
Quarter 3:
- Extend counting to 50; introduce number order
- Explore basic measurement (length using non-standard units)
Quarter 4:
- Recognize simple patterns and relationships
- Introduce problem-solving with everyday examples
Science
Quarter 1:
- Explore senses and the environment (what can be seen, heard, touched)
- Simple observation of weather changes
Quarter 2:
- Study plants and animals (basic needs and habitats)
- Introduce basic questions about nature
Quarter 3:
- Learn about the five senses in more detail
- Discuss seasons and simple weather patterns
Quarter 4:
- Explore simple experiments (e.g., mixing colors, water properties)
- Encourage curiosity through asking “why” and “how”
Social Studies
Quarter 1:
- Introduce the concept of community (family, school, neighborhood)
- Identify common roles (teacher, parent, helper)
Quarter 2:
- Learn about rules, routines, and basic responsibilities
- Explore cultural celebrations and simple traditions
Quarter 3:
- Discuss maps and simple directions (home, school, park)
- Introduce basic history of their immediate community
Quarter 4:
- Explore diversity in the community and respect for differences
- Introduce the idea of symbols (flags, logos) and simple national identity
Media and Critical Thinking
Quarter 1:
- Recognize pictures and sounds in media (stories read aloud, cartoons)
- Identify basic emotions in images
Quarter 2:
- Discuss the difference between real and pretend in stories and images
- Begin to ask simple “why” questions about media content
Quarter 3:
- Practice listening and asking questions about a story’s message
- Identify trustworthy characters in simple media (e.g., story heroes)
Quarter 4:
- Introduce basic digital literacy (under supervision, look at simple educational videos)
- Discuss safe and positive media use
Grade 1
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Build letter-sound associations; begin reading simple words
- Practice reading aloud with fluency
Quarter 2:
- Develop basic reading comprehension with short texts
- Introduce writing simple sentences
Quarter 3:
- Expand vocabulary using picture books and simple stories
- Begin to write short paragraphs (using a drawing with a sentence)
Quarter 4:
- Focus on narrative structure (start, middle, end)
- Introduce simple opinion writing with supportive ideas
Mathematics
Quarter 1:
- Master counting to 100 and basic number recognition
- Practice simple addition using objects
Quarter 2:
- Explore subtraction through counting back
- Identify and create simple patterns
Quarter 3:
- Introduce basic word problems using everyday scenarios
- Begin measuring with non-standard units (paperclips, blocks)
Quarter 4:
- Review addition and subtraction; introduce simple comparisons
- Use games to encourage logical thinking and number sense
Science
Quarter 1:
- Learn about living and non-living things
- Observe plants and animals in school or nearby environment
Quarter 2:
- Discuss weather and seasons with daily observations
- Introduce simple life cycles (plant growth, animal life)
Quarter 3:
- Explore the five senses with guided experiments
- Introduce the idea of scientific inquiry: asking questions and making predictions
Quarter 4:
- Conduct simple experiments and record observations
- Discuss basic safety in experiments and everyday life
Social Studies
Quarter 1:
- Understand personal identity and family heritage
- Learn about the roles of community helpers
Quarter 2:
- Explore local community: school, neighborhood, town
- Introduce basic maps and directional language
Quarter 3:
- Discuss simple historical events in the local area
- Introduce symbols and national holidays
Quarter 4:
- Compare and contrast different communities
- Discuss simple rules and why they are important
Media and Critical Thinking
Quarter 1:
- Identify various forms of media (books, cartoons, simple videos)
- Learn to listen and respond to questions about a media piece
Quarter 2:
- Discuss differences between fiction and nonfiction
- Practice asking questions about what they see or hear
Quarter 3:
- Introduce simple guidelines for safe media use
- Identify feelings and messages in media content
Quarter 4:
- Use group discussions to critique simple media messages
- Encourage expressing one’s own ideas about a story or video
Grade 2
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Enhance reading fluency with leveled texts
- Build a personal vocabulary list from readings
Quarter 2:
- Practice comprehension through retelling stories
- Introduce basic research skills with library time
Quarter 3:
- Develop writing skills: crafting short narratives and descriptive paragraphs
- Practice editing for clarity and detail
Quarter 4:
- Learn to differentiate between fact and opinion in texts
- Introduce simple persuasive writing
Mathematics
Quarter 1:
- Review addition and subtraction facts
- Begin simple multiplication concepts using groups
Quarter 2:
- Explore word problems that integrate addition, subtraction, and basic multiplication
- Introduce simple graphs and data representation
Quarter 3:
- Develop understanding of place value (tens and ones)
- Solve multi-step problems using mental math strategies
Quarter 4:
- Introduce basic fractions as parts of a whole
- Practice comparing numbers and solving puzzles
Science
Quarter 1:
- Explore plant and animal habitats
- Discuss the needs of living things
Quarter 2:
- Introduce simple experiments related to water, air, and light
- Learn about weather patterns through daily observations
Quarter 3:
- Study simple earth science concepts (rocks, soil, weather changes)
- Begin recording observations in a science journal
Quarter 4:
- Develop inquiry skills: ask questions and test ideas with guided experiments
- Discuss environmental responsibility
Social Studies
Quarter 1:
- Learn about community roles and responsibilities
- Explore local geography with maps and simple globes
Quarter 2:
- Introduce historical figures in the local context
- Discuss traditions and cultural celebrations
Quarter 3:
- Compare different types of communities (urban, suburban, rural)
- Introduce basic civic concepts (rights, responsibilities)
Quarter 4:
- Discuss simple economic ideas like trade and currency
- Examine family heritage and local history
Media and Critical Thinking
Quarter 1:
- Identify media sources: books, radio, TV, internet (with guidance)
- Begin simple evaluation: what is the main idea of a video or story?
Quarter 2:
- Introduce critical questions: Who created this? Why?
- Practice comparing different media messages on the same topic
Quarter 3:
- Develop guidelines for respectful and safe online behavior
- Discuss how images and headlines can influence opinions
Quarter 4:
- Engage in group activities analyzing a simple news clip or social media post
- Practice forming and expressing one’s own view with supporting reasons
(Continue in replay ..)
Dude, I applaud your enthusiasm, but I must ask you to keep your comments somewhat shorter. This is not the place to spam your master plan to redesign the curriculum or whatever it is that you're saying (too long, didn't read). Please also try to be relevant to people you're responding to. This is the first and final warning.
Sure John,
Since you did not bother to realize it is an example of AI and redefining education, how K-12 can and should be reduced to K-8th by using Men teachers that aren't mind-raping Witch minions. Trades or university and employed by 18 years old and married with start of family by 20, not castrated mind-raped infantile breast-feeding [adult] child at 30, like we have today.
You understand what 'Devouring Mother' is?
We have Feminized this level of hell and so 'Devouring Society', but you're too busy to bother, but have time to disrespect and threaten and forget that we all adults that are not so retarded that we cannot skip most unless interested in AI and better Education. But not relevant? Only vomit?
I really like your articles and too poor to contribute money, so I try to add value, but I understand that pissing on my efforts can be fun also. Let it flow!! And I'll Stop trying so hard for my free kick to my testicles.
God Bless, Steve
Did you mark it as AI output? Because that wasn’t really obvious, nor was the relevance to the commenter you were responding to…
(last continuation ..)
Grade 6
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Read and analyze a variety of literary genres
- Focus on identifying themes and central ideas
Quarter 2:
- Develop narrative and expository writing skills with longer assignments
- Practice integrating research into writing projects
Quarter 3:
- Engage in critical discussions about literature and its context
- Practice writing essays that analyze text structures and arguments
Quarter 4:
- Explore persuasive and argumentative writing techniques
- Critically evaluate media sources and news reports in written reflections
Mathematics
Quarter 1:
- Review and deepen understanding of fractions, decimals, and percentages
- Solve multi-step problems in real-life contexts
Quarter 2:
- Introduce basic concepts of ratios, proportions, and introductory algebra
- Use data interpretation skills with graphs and charts
Quarter 3:
- Explore geometry: area, perimeter, and volume of various shapes
- Solve problems using measurement and estimation
Quarter 4:
- Apply mathematical reasoning to solve word problems and puzzles
- Engage in group projects that involve planning and budgeting
Science
Quarter 1:
- Study cells and simple biological processes
- Introduce the concept of scientific inquiry and controlled experiments
Quarter 2:
- Explore Earth science topics such as rock formations, weather, and natural resources
- Conduct field observations and record findings
Quarter 3:
- Investigate physical science topics: energy, forces, and simple machines
- Learn to design experiments and interpret results
Quarter 4:
- Study ecosystems and human impact on the environment
- Reflect on sustainable practices and environmental stewardship
Social Studies
Quarter 1:
- Study ancient civilizations and their impact on modern society
- Analyze primary and secondary sources for historical context
Quarter 2:
- Explore the development of classical civilizations and world religions
- Discuss cultural achievements and historical innovations
Quarter 3:
- Examine medieval and early modern history with a focus on social change
- Analyze the evolution of political and economic systems
Quarter 4:
- Focus on modern history, globalization, and current events
- Evaluate how historical trends influence contemporary society
Media and Critical Thinking
Quarter 1:
- Develop skills in evaluating digital content and online information
- Practice identifying bias and distinguishing opinion from fact
Quarter 2:
- Discuss the influence of social media on identity and society
- Learn to use fact-checking strategies and credible sources
Quarter 3:
- Engage in debates and discussions about current events from multiple viewpoints
- Practice constructing well-supported arguments using digital resources
Quarter 4:
- Create multimedia projects that require critical analysis of diverse media
- Reflect on personal media consumption and strategies for responsible use
Grade 7
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Analyze complex texts, focusing on character development and theme
- Practice summarizing and questioning strategies
Quarter 2:
- Develop longer narrative and expository writing assignments
- Introduce literary analysis techniques and textual evidence
Quarter 3:
- Engage in comparative literature studies and group discussions
- Explore research projects that require evaluating multiple sources
Quarter 4:
- Refine persuasive writing and public speaking skills
- Critically evaluate media representations in literature and news
Mathematics
Quarter 1:
- Build on pre-algebra concepts, including variables and expressions
- Solve problems using basic equations and inequalities
Quarter 2:
- Explore proportional reasoning, ratios, and rates
- Use data analysis to solve real-world problems
Quarter 3:
- Introduce more formal algebraic thinking and problem solving
- Engage in projects that incorporate geometry and measurement
Quarter 4:
- Apply algebra and geometry concepts to multi-step word problems
- Develop strategies for logical reasoning and mathematical proofs
Science
Quarter 1:
- Study genetics and the basics of heredity
- Learn about ecosystems and interactions among organisms
Quarter 2:
- Explore forces, energy, and motion in physical science
- Conduct experiments to test hypotheses and record data
Quarter 3:
- Investigate matter and its properties (atoms, molecules, mixtures)
- Analyze scientific phenomena with a focus on evidence-based reasoning
Quarter 4:
- Study environmental science and human impact on ecosystems
- Develop projects that propose solutions for sustainability
Social Studies
Quarter 1:
- Study national history with focus on formative events and key figures
- Analyze primary documents and historical narratives
Quarter 2:
- Examine the evolution of political systems and government structures
- Discuss civil rights, social justice, and citizen responsibilities
Quarter 3:
- Explore economic systems, trade, and global interdependence
- Analyze data and case studies on social change
Quarter 4:
- Investigate modern political issues and media influence on public opinion
- Engage in projects that require critical analysis of current events
Media and Critical Thinking
Quarter 1:
- Develop advanced digital literacy skills; analyze complex media texts
- Evaluate multiple perspectives on online news and social media trends
Quarter 2:
- Practice critical analysis of advertisements and digital marketing
- Explore ethical issues in digital content creation and sharing
Quarter 3:
- Participate in structured debates on media influence and bias
- Develop projects that require independent research and digital presentation
Quarter 4:
- Reflect on personal media use and develop strategies for informed consumption
- Create written and digital content that synthesizes diverse sources
Grade 8
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Analyze a variety of texts including novels, essays, and poetry
- Identify and interpret themes, symbolism, and figurative language
Quarter 2:
- Develop advanced narrative and expository writing skills
- Conduct research projects with emphasis on source evaluation and synthesis
Quarter 3:
- Engage in literary debates and critical discussions
- Write analytical essays that explore complex ideas and societal issues
Quarter 4:
- Refine persuasive writing and oral presentation skills
- Critically assess media and literature for bias, purpose, and context
Mathematics
Quarter 1:
- Review and extend pre-algebra concepts; solve multi-step equations
- Introduce concepts of functions and relationships between variables
Quarter 2:
- Explore advanced topics in geometry and data analysis
- Develop problem-solving strategies for real-world applications
Quarter 3:
- Introduce introductory algebra and coordinate graphing
- Practice logical reasoning and use of mathematical proofs
Quarter 4:
- Apply mathematical reasoning to complex, multi-part word problems
- Engage in projects that integrate algebra, geometry, and data analysis
Science
Quarter 1:
- Study advanced topics in biology (ecosystems, adaptation, and evolution)
- Conduct experiments and interpret scientific data with precision
Quarter 2:
- Explore chemistry concepts (elements, compounds, reactions) with lab work
- Develop critical thinking skills through experimental design
Quarter 3:
- Investigate physics topics including energy, waves, and electromagnetism
- Apply quantitative reasoning to analyze physical phenomena
Quarter 4:
- Study environmental science with focus on human impact and sustainable solutions
- Conduct research projects and present findings using scientific methods
Social Studies
Quarter 1:
- Analyze national and world history using primary and secondary sources
- Examine causes and effects of major historical events
Quarter 2:
- Study government structures, constitutional principles, and civic engagement
- Evaluate the role of media in shaping political discourse
Quarter 3:
- Explore global economic systems, trade, and the impacts of globalization
- Analyze data and trends to understand societal change
Quarter 4:
- Critically assess contemporary social issues through research and debate
- Engage in projects that require synthesis of historical, political, and economic perspectives
Media and Critical Thinking
Quarter 1:
- Develop a deep understanding of digital literacy and evaluate diverse media sources
- Practice discerning reliable information from misinformation online
Quarter 2:
- Analyze the influence of social media on public opinion and individual behavior
- Engage in discussions on ethical digital practices and privacy issues
Quarter 3:
- Participate in group projects that critique media messages and propose alternative narratives
- Develop independent research projects utilizing digital tools and multiple sources
Quarter 4:
- Synthesize learning from previous quarters to create comprehensive digital presentations
- Reflect critically on personal media consumption and its impact on decision making
--end--
(continued after last reply .. )
Grade 4
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Strengthen reading fluency and comprehension with chapter books
- Begin identifying themes and main ideas in texts
Quarter 2:
- Expand narrative writing skills with detailed descriptions and dialogue
- Practice structured writing with clear introductions, bodies, and conclusions
Quarter 3:
- Explore expository and informational writing
- Use research skills to gather and present information on a topic
Quarter 4:
- Analyze different genres of literature
- Practice critical discussions about texts, including themes and characters
Mathematics
Quarter 1:
- Master multiplication and division facts
- Solve word problems involving multiplication
Quarter 2:
- Introduce fractions as part of a whole, including basic operations
- Develop number sense with decimals in context
Quarter 3:
- Explore geometry basics: shapes, symmetry, and area
- Solve multi-step word problems incorporating fractions and decimals
Quarter 4:
- Introduce basic data interpretation with graphs and charts
- Encourage problem solving through real-life scenarios
Science
Quarter 1:
- Study the human body systems and simple functions
- Use diagrams and models to learn about organs and systems
Quarter 2:
- Explore matter and energy through hands-on experiments
- Introduce simple physical science concepts (force, motion)
Quarter 3:
- Study ecosystems, habitats, and the interdependence of living things
- Analyze how environmental changes affect local ecosystems
Quarter 4:
- Investigate simple Earth science topics such as rocks, soil, and weather
- Discuss responsible stewardship of natural resources
Social Studies
Quarter 1:
- Review local and state history with projects and presentations
- Use maps and timelines to place events in order
Quarter 2:
- Introduce national government structure and basic civic responsibilities
- Discuss foundational documents and their meanings
Quarter 3:
- Explore basic economic concepts: goods, services, and trade
- Analyze how local communities are built and function
Quarter 4:
- Compare cultures and discuss the diversity within the nation
- Engage in discussions on how history shapes current society
Media and Critical Thinking
Quarter 1:
- Develop skills in identifying reliable and biased sources
- Practice summarizing key messages from age-appropriate news articles
Quarter 2:
- Discuss the impact of social media on public opinion and personal identity
- Begin to analyze advertisements and persuasive media
Quarter 3:
- Work in groups to evaluate digital content and create media critiques
- Practice making evidence-based arguments about media messages
Quarter 4:
- Create projects that involve digital research and presentation
- Reflect on how media can both inform and influence decision making
Grade 5
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Enhance comprehension of more complex texts
- Identify literary elements such as plot, setting, and character
Quarter 2:
- Practice writing analytical essays and creative stories
- Introduce research writing with proper citation of sources
Quarter 3:
- Analyze nonfiction texts and compare them to fictional narratives
- Develop critical discussion skills through group reading sessions
Quarter 4:
- Focus on persuasive writing and debate techniques
- Reflect on author’s purpose and message in media texts
Mathematics
Quarter 1:
- Master multi-digit addition, subtraction, and multiplication
- Introduce division with remainders using real-life examples
Quarter 2:
- Explore fractions and decimals in more depth
- Solve problems involving percentages in everyday contexts
Quarter 3:
- Introduce basic concepts of algebra (patterns, simple equations)
- Use graphs and charts to analyze data
Quarter 4:
- Apply geometry concepts to real-world problems
- Practice problem solving using a variety of mathematical strategies
Science
Quarter 1:
- Explore the scientific method in more depth with student-led experiments
- Study ecosystems and biodiversity
Quarter 2:
- Introduce basic chemistry concepts (elements, mixtures, solutions)
- Discuss the role of energy in natural processes
Quarter 3:
- Investigate physical science concepts, including force and motion
- Conduct experiments and document results using scientific journals
Quarter 4:
- Study Earth science topics such as weather patterns and renewable energy
- Reflect on human impact on the environment and sustainable practices
Social Studies
Quarter 1:
- Study early civilizations and their contributions to modern society
- Analyze primary sources from different historical periods
Quarter 2:
- Explore U.S. history from colonization through the Revolutionary era
- Discuss the development of government institutions and civic rights
Quarter 3:
- Examine the industrial revolution and its economic and social impact
- Analyze the growth of communities and urbanization
Quarter 4:
- Discuss modern U.S. history and global interdependence
- Evaluate how historical events shape current social and political structures
Media and Critical Thinking
Quarter 1:
- Analyze various media forms and discuss their purposes
- Practice critical reading of news stories and advertisements
Quarter 2:
- Discuss ethical issues related to media consumption and online behavior
- Evaluate the influence of social media on public discourse
Quarter 3:
- Work in teams to create presentations critiquing media messages
- Practice evidence-based reasoning when discussing current events
Quarter 4:
- Develop digital literacy projects that involve researching multiple sources
- Reflect on strategies to verify information in an online world
(continue next reply ..)
(Continues from above ..)
Grade 3
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Increase reading comprehension with chapter books
- Introduce character analysis and setting description
Quarter 2:
- Develop narrative writing by planning and drafting short stories
- Practice revising and editing written work
Quarter 3:
- Introduce informational texts and report writing
- Compare different text types and identify key details
Quarter 4:
- Explore poetry and figurative language
- Begin basic research projects with guidance
Mathematics
Quarter 1:
- Master addition and subtraction within larger numbers
- Introduce basic multiplication tables
Quarter 2:
- Solve multi-digit addition and subtraction problems
- Use visual aids to understand multiplication concepts
Quarter 3:
- Introduce division as sharing or grouping
- Practice solving word problems that include all four operations
Quarter 4:
- Explore measurement (length, weight, volume) using standard units
- Introduce time and money calculations
Science
Quarter 1:
- Study life cycles of plants and animals in more detail
- Record observations in a science journal
Quarter 2:
- Explore simple weather experiments and data collection
- Discuss the water cycle and its importance
Quarter 3:
- Introduce the basics of energy (light, sound, motion)
- Conduct experiments to test simple scientific hypotheses
Quarter 4:
- Learn about ecosystems and how living things interact
- Discuss human impact on the environment and sustainability
Social Studies
Quarter 1:
- Study local history and significant community events
- Use maps to identify local landmarks
Quarter 2:
- Explore state history and important historical figures
- Discuss symbols and traditions at the state level
Quarter 3:
- Introduce national history and foundational documents
- Learn basic timelines and sequencing of events
Quarter 4:
- Compare different cultures and communities
- Discuss how local, state, and national identities interrelate
Media and Critical Thinking
Quarter 1:
- Learn to identify bias in simple media messages
- Practice distinguishing between facts and opinions in texts
Quarter 2:
- Introduce guided discussions on social media’s role in sharing news
- Develop questions to evaluate the reliability of information
Quarter 3:
- Engage in small-group discussions analyzing age-appropriate digital content
- Practice recognizing persuasive techniques in media
Quarter 4:
- Create simple presentations on topics of interest using digital tools
- Reflect on how media influences personal opinions and decisions
Grade 4
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Strengthen reading fluency and comprehension with chapter books
- Begin identifying themes and main ideas in texts
Quarter 2:
- Expand narrative writing skills with detailed descriptions and dialogue
- Practice structured writing with clear introductions, bodies, and conclusions
Quarter 3:
- Explore expository and informational writing
- Use research skills to gather and present information on a topic
Quarter 4:
- Analyze different genres of literature
- Practice critical discussions about texts, including themes and characters
Mathematics
Quarter 1:
- Master multiplication and division facts
- Solve word problems involving multiplication
Quarter 2:
- Introduce fractions as part of a whole, including basic operations
- Develop number sense with decimals in context
Quarter 3:
- Explore geometry basics: shapes, symmetry, and area
- Solve multi-step word problems incorporating fractions and decimals
Quarter 4:
- Introduce basic data interpretation with graphs and charts
- Encourage problem solving through real-life scenarios
Science
Quarter 1:
- Study the human body systems and simple functions
- Use diagrams and models to learn about organs and systems
Quarter 2:
- Explore matter and energy through hands-on experiments
- Introduce simple physical science concepts (force, motion)
Quarter 3:
- Study ecosystems, habitats, and the interdependence of living things
- Analyze how environmental changes affect local ecosystems
Quarter 4:
- Investigate simple Earth science topics such as rocks, soil, and weather
- Discuss responsible stewardship of natural resources
Social Studies
Quarter 1:
- Review local and state history with projects and presentations
- Use maps and timelines to place events in order
Quarter 2:
- Introduce national government structure and basic civic responsibilities
- Discuss foundational documents and their meanings
Quarter 3:
- Explore basic economic concepts: goods, services, and trade
- Analyze how local communities are built and function
Quarter 4:
- Compare cultures and discuss the diversity within the nation
- Engage in discussions on how history shapes current society
Media and Critical Thinking
Quarter 1:
- Develop skills in identifying reliable and biased sources
- Practice summarizing key messages from age-appropriate news articles
Quarter 2:
- Discuss the impact of social media on public opinion and personal identity
- Begin to analyze advertisements and persuasive media
Quarter 3:
- Work in groups to evaluate digital content and create media critiques
- Practice making evidence-based arguments about media messages
Quarter 4:
- Create projects that involve digital research and presentation
- Reflect on how media can both inform and influence decision making
Grade 5
English Language Arts
Quarter 1:
- Enhance comprehension of more complex texts
- Identify literary elements such as plot, setting, and character
Quarter 2:
- Practice writing analytical essays and creative stories
- Introduce research writing with proper citation of sources
Quarter 3:
- Analyze nonfiction texts and compare them to fictional narratives
- Develop critical discussion skills through group reading sessions
Quarter 4:
- Focus on persuasive writing and debate techniques
- Reflect on author’s purpose and message in media texts
Mathematics
Quarter 1:
- Master multi-digit addition, subtraction, and multiplication
- Introduce division with remainders using real-life examples
Quarter 2:
- Explore fractions and decimals in more depth
- Solve problems involving percentages in everyday contexts
Quarter 3:
- Introduce basic concepts of algebra (patterns, simple equations)
- Use graphs and charts to analyze data
Quarter 4:
- Apply geometry concepts to real-world problems
- Practice problem solving using a variety of mathematical strategies
Science
Quarter 1:
- Explore the scientific method in more depth with student-led experiments
- Study ecosystems and biodiversity
Quarter 2:
- Introduce basic chemistry concepts (elements, mixtures, solutions)
- Discuss the role of energy in natural processes
Quarter 3:
- Investigate physical science concepts, including force and motion
- Conduct experiments and document results using scientific journals
Quarter 4:
- Study Earth science topics such as weather patterns and renewable energy
- Reflect on human impact on the environment and sustainable practices
Social Studies
Quarter 1:
- Study early civilizations and their contributions to modern society
- Analyze primary sources from different historical periods
Quarter 2:
- Explore U.S. history from colonization through the Revolutionary era
- Discuss the development of government institutions and civic rights
Quarter 3:
- Examine the industrial revolution and its economic and social impact
- Analyze the growth of communities and urbanization
Quarter 4:
- Discuss modern U.S. history and global interdependence
- Evaluate how historical events shape current social and political structures
Media and Critical Thinking
Quarter 1:
- Analyze various media forms and discuss their purposes
- Practice critical reading of news stories and advertisements
Quarter 2:
- Discuss ethical issues related to media consumption and online behavior
- Evaluate the influence of social media on public discourse
Quarter 3:
- Work in teams to create presentations critiquing media messages
- Practice evidence-based reasoning when discussing current events
Quarter 4:
- Develop digital literacy projects that involve researching multiple sources
- Reflect on strategies to verify information in an online world
(continues in next reply ..)
And now I remember why I quit commenting on Substack posts. Thanks for the reminder.
Your comment was great. Sorry about the schizo.
My sympathies. Your original comment was just fine. Please don't quit.
It's going to perpetuate the System to save us from the System!
(I can't say "He", because that's no man a proper Aryan would recognize.)
I saw another such example elsewhere today of Male Fetish Cult belief.
I said it was anti-life; they seem to feel they are here to do battle with the organic, as if they are spirits from a higher plane trapped in the muck.
I call that the Platonic mistake, that there is a more perfect ethereal Form, rather than the rarified shadow that the "higher" world is.
They've gotten all of it backwards. All of it.
"Colleges will return to their original function as communities of scholars, which is to say: places of leisure devoted to the life of the mind. The entire point will be to spend time in conversation with other interesting, intelligent, knowledgeable, curious people, not so much with any final goal in mind, not to ‘pass a test’ or ‘get a good grade’ or ‘submit a paper to a peer-reviewed journal’, but simply because it is fun."
I want this to be social media so badly, but it continually fails to be so.
There are corners of X that are like this actually.
Could AI have written this superb essay?Not a chance. So for now at least, I remain hopeful.
The writing quality of AI is generally not great, and there's always a feeling to it. You can just sort of tell.
“One does not simply walk out of a marriage with Catherine of Aragorn”
I believe the two typos in this piece may be my best yet.
You have certainly set a very high bar now! 😁
Haha
And neither an annual one. Did you catch that typo as well?
I had fun considering that! Thanks
I am going to add a personal grievance I have with the university/college system. I currently work in the banking sector, but I have had broad intellectual taste. I particularly have had a habit of looking up legal terms (especially if they are historic) on wikipedia. I wonder if I should study law. I did not choose the path to become a lawyer, because I was gifted in other areas, and there are negative stereotypes of lawyers. Lawschools are stereotyped as being incredibly demanding, long, and expensive, so I chose finance because I thought it would be easier. As someone who is more introverted, the idea of public speaking in general used to be somewhat uncomfortable, but trying to persuade a judge to agree with me was extremely intimidating (unthinkable) to my teenage self. Plus, lawyers have to defend hardened criminals, and I am not sure my conscience could take that. Add in other stereotypes about lawyers. So, I chose finance. I went to college in the honors program; the first semester my grades did good and in the second semester I collapsed from the pressure. Perhaps 12-15 credit hours in the honor program was too much for me to handle. So, I somewhat was a wash-up. I then worked thru various online and community college classes part-time (with part-time jobs) in order to complete my associate's in finance in a four-year timespan (along with 20k of debt). After finally getting my degree I got a job full-time job, got fired from that job, had a seasonal job, and then got a part-time that turned into a full-time job, where I am at now. All this time, my appetite for legal terminology did not cease, despite my best efforts.
I like working at the branch and I like most of my co-workers (especially my boss). I can't just leave; I am not going to leave suddenly based on a whim aping after something that might not be real. I am a conservative, not a liberal art student, I'm not going to financially ruin myself chasing a non-viable fancy. But I'm still interested. So I thought to myself, I can still work my current job and just take a part-time class in law. A single clas. Perhaps my work will even pay for it under one of their benefits. A utility I seek is also to see for myself what law is actually like. There are the negative stereotypes from second and third hand sources, and wikipedia is not necessarily real life (especially since I most read about legal history, not how the law currently is); so there is confusion on my part, and I want to know the real thing. Would I actually be good at it? Or am I mistaken like the American Idol auditioner who is awful at singing and should really be doing something else?
So, I try to find the one class that I can take at the community college near me. I can't attend a college very far from where I live, because that would be tantamount to quitting my job that I have now (not an option). Much to my dismay, the college wants me to commit to a DEGREE. No, I can't commit to a degree, the whole point of me taking the class is to decide whether or not I even want to pursue a degree. Faculty is also difficult to talk to, especially since I have a full-time job on my end.
Anyways, your leisure schools for amateurs at the end would be a dream come true for me in a lot of ways. I hope I didn't share too much personal info.
Of course they want you to commit to a degree. That way they get to extract as much revenue from you as possible.
I’ve heard similar stories to this. For instance, a computer programmer who’d been in the field since the 70s or 80s, and thought it might be worth his while to actually get a degree. However, the first three years of the computer science degree were all covering materials and concepts he knew like the back of his hand. Naturally, the admin refused to just let him test out of those, insisting he start at the beginning with everyone else, and waste three years of his life and tens of thousands of dollars learning material he’d mastered long before. Naturally, he didn’t bother.
True, I'm suffering from the same dilemma as your friend.
That is funny, because I found myself listening to SCOTUS Oral Arguments, and sometimes losing myself in recursively researching terms and other referenced court rulings.
This Sickness has been on-off since beginning of this year. Sounds like a got a little of the bug that invaded you! I'm over 60-yo and like this strangeness, I'm still learning who I am.
True, I am afflicted with the same taste, tho I find cases written in the 1790s to be much more eloquent and pleasant than most things written nowadays.
You sound like a classicist. Very important to enjoy other classical tastes, such as classical music or art or architecture - just for the enjoyment. Keep your life simple and your expenses contained. You never know when you might get the opportunity to change fields to something else intriguing, and you don't want to be held back by unnecessary debt.
I've worked as a paralegal without training, then later taken community college law classes, which were quite good. I have lots of high-level legal connections, they either don't practice, or would do something else if they could.
Don't go for a law degree unless you can get in to a top-ten law school. Even if you do get into a top school, it's almost always a soul-killing job to actually work on cases, whether as lawyer, paralegal or even judge. If you're interested in law for its own sake, I'd recommend finding rhe textbooks that were most popular for paralegal courses in your state a few years ago and buy them used. (State law is 95% of everything, and 99% of that is not appellate, mostly administrative law. Law school doesn't much teach how to do what lawyers really do.) Actually study them and you'll be ahead of most lawyers, even from top schools. Most of the useful stuff is business law, most of the rest is real estate law. Other areas are worth studying to learn why you don't want anything to do with them.
If you cant't avoid legal proceedings:
*use forms such as from Nolo Press, adapt and remix, also plagiarize from similar filings in local court (records are generally open)
*always include an pre-written, properly-formatted order with every motion, and make ~every motion a separate document. Judges are lazy and do not read throuroughly, or sometimes at all.
*judges do as they please, neither statute nor precedent has any bearing for ALJs/magistrates/district/circuit/trial court judges. They don't like being lectured on the law, they make decisions mostly based on habit and which party they think has higher status. If you can't make them want to rule in your favor and you have the resources for an appeal, then arguing the law makes sense.
This is one of the reasons why I was cautious with law and avoided it. I also prefer older laws from like the 1790s or earlier. I suspect that modern laws might drive me insane.
Google nearly rendered the old university libraries irrelevant with their massive scanning of books. But with AI slop filling the Internet and techlords engaging in gaslighting, those physical books may become invaluable again.
Another lifeline for the universities is the aging population. That means medical careers will remain plentiful and good paying.
Yes those physical books are essential.
Google books getting locked down by the copyright trolls is one of the greatest intellectual crimes in history, in my opinion. A tool that should have been of incalculable value to humanity was rendered useless so publishing houses could squat on copyrights of books they largely refuse to actually print.
I fully expect we'll see a push for somehow making people give up their books, no matter what kind they are.
For climate, to fight hate-crimes, for equality, et cetera.
I feel that way because here, one of the groups that are most voiceiferous in favour of state censorship?
The librarians, and the female academics in the humanities, educations, social sciences and the arts.
Perhaps, though worth keeping in mind that you could probably save all of Google books (about 40M volumes) as text files, which would require only 25 TB of storage, which can be stored in a very small volume. Hence the sum total of humanity's knowledge can be stored in a great many locations - every house, potentially - making it effectively impossible to destroy.
Of all people, you'd think they'd be the opposite. But I guess the right to assume control of information and the power of being a gatekeeper is too much a seduction to pass up. This seems to be a prevalent drug.
They really should be, if they were true to the idea of letting people think for themselves.
But instead, the attitude is one of "I know what's good/bad for you" (i.e. Malus Mater-syndrome as I call it; the evil domineering mother infantilising her offspring to control them) combined with a superiority-complex where they thinkfeel that your or I could be unduly influenced unless someone gatekeeps and censors our information, for our own good.
I've even been told it to my face by a junior female colleague, who wondered why I read Proletären online (Swedish communist paper):
"What if reading that affects you somehow?"
If that doesn't tell it all about the problem, I don't know what does.
She didn't understand my reply, instead she seemed fearful:
"If I don't read what they put out, how am I to know who they are and what they want, or how they think and reason?"
But they will learn their folly the hard way.
"It's for your own good" has been used down the centuries. Especially so during the plandemic years. It fits neatly into "We're all in it together", the piper tune of the deceivers.
A grim possibility!
Not to mention an EMP
Good point.
Vaults with physical copies of how-to books (engraved metal pages or scrolls as in "The Shadow Out of Time" perhaps?) is something governments ought to be interested in, but aren't for a variety of reasons.
We have a seed vault and the Mormon genealogy records are deep under SLC
That prepper and heritage mentality is something I really admire about the Mormons.
Nice people too. When a large group with teenagers shows up at a campground, I am please let it be Mormons
Out west it usually is. When school is out, all the Mormons go camping . You also get big groups of Mennonites who are equally polite but more obvious because of the way they dress.
Our deepening reliance on aye-eye and the digital world in general, especially finance and payments, is essentially vulnerable. No power, no go. Whether that's accidental, on purpose or accidentally on purpose, it renders it all nonfunctional in a split second. So physical copies of anything of value, personally or collectively, are necessary. Maybe those DUMBs and billionaire bunkers are secret repositories already. It wouldn't surprise me.
And then, of course, there's the lack of people to access or read them - by infertility, increased sickness, disability and sudden death syndrome, just to name a few. John's point of AI dependency leading to the lazy, lardy and fatty is a factor in this. Over the years, this shortened lifespan has already become a fashion statement.
We passed the point of irreversible dependence on technology a long, long time ago.
If you have been in a store during a power failure, you gad a foretaste of this. They were completely helpless and unable to imagine a way to function
> That means medical careers will remain plentiful and good paying.
How exactly? Who will pay for them? The old pensioners can't work, and their savings will plummet in price once everyone starts selling.
I believe the plan is to tax the zoomers into the dirt, and to bring in migrants to grow the economy. LOL.
Yeah, okay, I can see that. "After me, the deluge." I almost can't not-see Boomers do that.
Back to plantations (industrial as well as agricultural) and nobility to run them?
Academic Agent collects such books.
Speaking as a homeschooling parent, what society needs to replace/reimagine is not the academic aspect of schools, which was already widely recognized as mediocre or even highly damaging before AI even showed up, but rather the infrastructure for gathering as a community and for physical activity. Academic education is trivial in comparison with the wealth of online resources and educational services available today.
In my experience, the main things most homeschooled kids miss about schools are playground/gym time, organized sports, or even just group "play" more generally. And for parents, schools can provide an easily-accessible, organic, locally-based community.
Finding alternatives to those things is one of the biggest challenges in living an intellectually independent life with children.
You are absolutely correct, and I touched on this in the article. With personalized instruction in academics - which can be done entirely at home, at whatever rate and in whatever order a child's own abilities and talents take him - "school" can be turned into a purely social environment devoted to athletics and creative projects.
"In my experience, the main things most homeschooled kids miss about schools are playground/gym time, organized sports, or even just group "play" more generally. And for parents, schools can provide an easily-accessible, organic, locally-based community."
Excellent point, one often forgotten in home-schooling debates (I've never really considered it, and I'm a retired teacher).
Good post. What comes next after the existing system collapses is a good question. Employers should and will demand some way to determine qualification for first time and young employees. In the past they used vocational testing, which worked well. By the 1970s that became unlawful because such tests consistently channelled Black applicants toward lower prestige jobs. So the college BA became a crude default method for determining entry level qualification. That became a gigantic example of Goodhart's Law, the entire system became a credential factory and its original purpose was lost. Half a century of that is enough. The current factory model is a failure. But a renewed model, assisted by AI, could work well. Universities can and should be places where people with genuine interest and aptitude are instructed by truly knowledgeable people. I do not believe the existing universities and colleges can adapt, but perhaps some of the names will continue, with their brand value being assets sold in the bankruptcy proceedings. I also disagree somewhat with the idea that liberal arts colleges will all go out of business. They have the capacity to reinvent themselves. People who outsource all of their intellectual life to AI will be useless. Being able to read, write, argue, think, analyze, all these fundamental human skills have been degraded and can be and should be revived. I will not quibble with some factual disagreements about the destruction of the monasteries by Henry VIII. We can agree that the eradication of the current "monastery" system will be a good thing, that is inevitable, and that better things are possible.
I'll admit to being very far from an expert on the monasteries; I was merely presenting them as a historical analogy (and hopefully not in such a way that it was too inaccurate).
The main problem the LACs face is that most of them have very shallow endowments, meaning they have very little financial cushion to absorb an enrolment shock. Hence why I think many of them are doomed. Virtually all of them are also fully captured ideologically, making it impossible to reform them in the necessary way to adapt to the new conditions.
Most of these LACs will, and should, go away, for the reasons you state. However, the idea of a liberal arts college is a good one, in fact, better than ever. But entirely new institutions will be needed to restore life to the concept.
Absolutely agree, the idea is entirely sound. A return to the original mission is necessary.
What about High School? Most of the students are there because they are forced to be there, not out of a keen desire to learn. Elementary school appears to still provide useful skill development, from what I can tell, but past grade eight (maybe earlier?)... why not let the kids learn on their own or take apprenticeships or something else.
Instead of colleges, bring back the Guilds. They are more likely to make sure the apprentice actually learn something. Then, he can plug into his master’s network while learning on the job.
Guilds are great for professional skill training, but largely useless for intellectual life and the dissemination of information, both due to their practical focus, and the incentivization towards professional secrecy.
The first universities WERE guilds, the guild of students who hire and fire the professors. Very different from what we have today. More akin to the working men’s lecturing society that were all the rage in the 19th century.
https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=4153
Very interesting. I didn't know that.
I really hope this idea of “leisure study” takes off. I love learning and have been longing for a model like this.
Yes, same. That universities do not really function in this way at all, except incidentally, was always a great disappointment to me.
One thing that I expect AI to really improve is corporate customer service. From useless chat bots, to off-shored Indian garbage, to the fact that most just tell you whatever they can to get you off the phone, it has become almost useless, and endlessly frustrating. The endlessly patient and very well-versed AI will be very efficient and helpful by contrast.
And, perhaps, if a few of the smaller colleges want to retool themselves, they. Might become what a finishing school was - a place to warehouse girls until they can be married off.
Your perception of the value of a college education and the importance of your GPA is wrong, at least in my own field of chemical engineering. I'm sure the same is true in other STEM fields. To practice chemical engineering you need to have mastered material in mathematics, chemistry, physics, thermodynamics, control theory, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and mass transfer. You must also have a good grasp of the theory and operation of common processing equipment like heat exchangers, pumps, turbines, chemical reactors, and distillation columns. Employers expect you to have a good grounding in all of these, and we definitely look at your GPA as evidence of your degree of mastery and your learning ability.
I suppose you could get someone to give you a copy of the chemical engineering degree plan from a decent university, and maybe you could look up the syllabus for each course and even buy the exact same textbooks the students must buy. Good luck being able to understand it all without someone to ask questions of and to check your homework for errors. But maybe you're brilliant and you figure it all out on your own. You'll still miss out on the labs and the projects, where you have a chance to see whether you understand the material enough to apply it successfully and learn to work collaboratively.
By all reports getting an engineering degree is still a pretty hard slog and not simply fluff and political indoctrination. I don't mean to say that STEM fields are not being affected by the deleterious trends you describe, but I don't think it's anywhere close to being hollowed out like some nontechnical fields.
I probably should have been specific that this is more relevant to humanities degrees. Obviously STEM is a distinct thing.
However, I have the strong impression that many STEM students are CheatGPTing as much as possible, too.
I'm sure they are, especially in the core classes that all students must take. But, at least in some areas, I don't think AI is ready to take over yet. Instead of having an AI check your answers for correctness you need to check its answers. That requires an understanding of the subject. I think this is what people are doing today who are successfully using AI for real work. I wouldn't drive over a bridge that an AI had designed. Not yet, anyway.
You say this, but in the link to the New York Magazine piece a comp sci student was quite open about just submitting whatever code ChatGPT spat out at him, without bothering to even check. Would it compile? Probably not but if it's correct enough to get a D- that was good enough for him.
Add DEI on top, in which retention is very important and professors are under intense pressure not to enforce standards too strictly, which drags standards down for everyone...
I'm sure that's true. However, software development is one field where credentials are much less important than they used to be. The field moves so fast that being credentialed in 5 year old technology is often not very valuable. It is also a creative endeavor. I'm most interested in seeing the independent projects you have done. What you did on your own time for fun tells me more about what kind of developer you will be than a B.S. in Computer Science.
Exactly. And this further destroys the value of university credentials, which is the central point.