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Posts: 307 | Thanked: 157 times | Joined on Jul 2009 @ Illinois, USA
#31
Originally Posted by Texrat View Post
mmurfin87, not every person is above average intelligence. Not every person has a good grasp of abstract thinking. Etc etc. I'd like to think education is the solution, too, but it isn't for everyone. Some people will just not get the concepts we're discussing. Even the simple ones. And I know too many, personally...
True, there are people out there who really are mentally challenged and will unfortunately probably never be able to complete high school. Its a sad but true fact.

That said, the VAST majority of people are capable of doing great things. They're just not prompted to do it for various reasons.

I almost believe a college education should be a requirement for citizenship. I'm not talking just for immigration, I'm talking for EVERYONE. Born here or not, if you're not educated you shouldn't vote.
 
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#32
Originally Posted by mmurfin87 View Post
I almost believe a college education should be a requirement for citizenship. I'm not talking just for immigration, I'm talking for EVERYONE. Born here or not, if you're not educated you shouldn't vote.
Now that's just insane. You'd bankrupt the country and set up a very nice system for future brainwashing attempts.

But going back to what I said earlier, it's not just about intelligence. You need to be intelligent enough to understand the issues, yes, but you don't want to have to check the internet for corporate abuse every time you buy a coffee maker or a new brand of vegetables. (And who's going to enforce trademark law anyway?)

Today people don't even take the time to research complex products, such as computers, and that's something we might be able to work on in the education system.

Last edited by jnwi; 2010-07-07 at 06:05.
 
Posts: 176 | Thanked: 149 times | Joined on Dec 2009
#33
As opposed to free speech today? Look up "The Love Police" on youtube.
 
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#34
no, there was no opposition implied by the title.
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Posts: 307 | Thanked: 157 times | Joined on Jul 2009 @ Illinois, USA
#35
I like your rebuttals so please dont take my brevity now as an insult. im just tired and busy so Im going to be short.

Originally Posted by jnwi View Post
Now that's just insane. You'd bankrupt the country and set up a very nice system for future brainwashing attempts.
I dont understand how you think the country would go bankrupt. I'm not saying the government should finance it all. Although it would be a good investment for any government. The more its citizens know, the more money they can make, the more taxes the gov't can collect. I think there are plenty of ways to reform/partially-privatize education that will simultaneously improve it and make it more efficient.

Originally Posted by jnwi View Post
But going back to what I said earlier, it's not just about intelligence. You need to be intelligent enough to understand the issues, yes, but you don't want to have to check the internet for corporate abuse every time you buy a coffee maker or a new brand of vegetables. (And who's going to enforce trademark law anyway?)

Today people don't even take the time to research complex products, such as computers, and that's something we might be able to work on in the education system.
Barcode Scanning Corporate Research App. Done. Scan the barcode of the product you want to buy and pull down ready information telling ypu everything you need to know. I already use my n900 to browse NewEgg and Amazon prices/reviews when I'm at Best Buy.

The point is that a well educated population will be less likely to do stupid things at all levels. Consumers will be less likely to do blatantly stupid things, corporate executives will be less likey to stupid greedy moves (because they really are stupid and will lose money more than they make it), and gov't officials will be less likely to engage in stupid attempts at brainwashing.
 
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#36
Originally Posted by mmurfin87 View Post
I like your rebuttals so please dont take my brevity now as an insult. im just tired and busy so Im going to be short.
Short is good

Originally Posted by mmurfin87 View Post
I dont understand how you think the country would go bankrupt. I'm not saying the government should finance it all. Although it would be a good investment for any government. The more its citizens know, the more money they can make, the more taxes the gov't can collect.
But this is limited. You need the lower levels of workers too or the higher levels can't function.

Even if the government didn't finance it, that would remove 4 years of working life from everyone, regardless of whether their preferred work needed the degree. That's an unsustainable cost to the economy.


Originally Posted by mmurfin87 View Post
The point is that a well educated population will be less likely to do stupid things at all levels. Consumers will be less likely to do blatantly stupid things, corporate executives will be less likey to stupid greedy moves (because they really are stupid and will lose money more than they make it), and gov't officials will be less likely to engage in stupid attempts at brainwashing.
This is certainly true. I just wouldn't go too far.
 
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#37
Originally Posted by mmurfin87 View Post
True, there are people out there who really are mentally challenged and will unfortunately probably never be able to complete high school. Its a sad but true fact.

That said, the VAST majority of people are capable of doing great things. They're just not prompted to do it for various reasons.

I almost believe a college education should be a requirement for citizenship. I'm not talking just for immigration, I'm talking for EVERYONE. Born here or not, if you're not educated you shouldn't vote.
Absolutely not. Taking away a mans voice leaves him with no other choice but to become violent.
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#38
Originally Posted by Texrat View Post
mmurfin87, not every person is above average intelligence. Not every person has a good grasp of abstract thinking. Etc etc. I'd like to think education is the solution, too, but it isn't for everyone. Some people will just not get the concepts we're discussing. Even the simple ones. And I know too many, personally...
Education and intelligence are two different things... AFAIK, there's evidence that education makes people more intelligent (while most of us think that you need to be intelligent to receive proper education.)

I'm with mmurfin87 on this. Things don't work without education. Politics, economy, social life... it all gets out of hand if people aren't able to make sound decisions based on facts and reason.
 
Posts: 307 | Thanked: 157 times | Joined on Jul 2009 @ Illinois, USA
#39
Originally Posted by Laughingstok View Post
Taking away a mans voice leaves him with no other choice but to become violent.
Agreed.

I did say I "almost" believed it. It sounds good to say that stupid people shouldn't vote (until they "earned" it by getting "educated"), but there are so many caveats that its an untenable idea.
 
Posts: 5,795 | Thanked: 3,151 times | Joined on Feb 2007 @ Agoura Hills Calif
#40
Several points:

1. "and if I really say it, the radio won't play it, so I'll just have to lay it
between the lines" Old Peter Paul and Mary hit, "I dig rock n roll music"

2. "AFAIK, there's evidence that education makes people more intelligent "

This is an interesting issue in itself. Intelligence is SUPPOSED to be this inherent thing detected by IQ tests. Someone made it up as a concept, then found evidence for its existence.

However, the fact that various exercises CAN change your intelligence as measured, proves to me that the original concept was false. So there really is no such thing as intelligence in general as a static thing.

3. I have realized more and more that companies have no interest in freedom. It became really clear to me the first time I took a drug test. This was for a job in which it was very important that I not run people over or otherwise endanger their safety. Right, I was applying for a job as an editor, and you can imagine what I might do to people if I had once smoked marijuana! I might mess up subject-verb agreement!

4. I have often suspected that companies search sites like this for information about job candidates. Then, when someone is being considered for a job, these companies go to the hiring agency and say, "we have information about your candidates that you can't get anywhere else!" For a small fee they provide information about the "character" of the job candidates by grabbing their old Internet messages.

I've helped hire many people, and I was never approached by such a service, but I don' t think technology had gotten that far yet. I wonder if it has now?
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