COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic


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Reading up on Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Spotify, Joe Rogan. Accusations right and left about misinformation. Knowledge has fallen from grace. It's so sad.

I predict students will start claiming their textbooks are misinformation and although they didn't study they should pass.

Believing what benefits you. Siding with the majority who benefit similarly. Society is doomed.
 
I predict students will start claiming their textbooks are misinformation and although they didn't study they should pass.
Sorry to burst your bubble but whatever you do don't start a career in fortune telling.

That happened long ago. Those students are now teachers, and are busy enough making sure students behave and never disturb anyone with creative thinking.
Current teachers despise textbooks and go to huge lengths to find excuses for their students to pass course. They'll rename exams to whatever trends today to hide their belief than deciding who should or not pass is their privilege and their magnificient mercy ensures only those who aren't nice to them have a chance to fail.

Some years ago I tried to take a master for graduates in any subject who want to teach in high school. I left it after one week. They told me like 5 times that teachers shouldn't convey knowledge. Knowledge is out there somewhere in the net up for grabs and not worth transmitting. Teachers should focus in sculpting attitudes and policing behaviour. The most required skill in a teacher is flexibility. So you may be a Computer Science grad but if you work in a high school asking you to teach economics or history, you should oblige.

The idea was that a teacher should never say: "No Tim, 2+2 is not 5. It is 4. Let's go over it again, ok? Suppose we have 2 apples here and 2 apples there, right, when we put them all together, then..." No. It should go. "Fine Tim, I respect your opinion that 2+2=5. It's so great that you did answer! We love you. Would you like to consider the possibility that it might also maybe be 4 ? How would you feel about that?". That was of course an idealized example. A current young teacher would most likely go: "Fine Tim, I respect your opinion that 2+2=5. It's so great that you did answer! We love you. Would you like to consider the possibility that it might also maybe be 3 ? How would you feel about that?", since they already used the methodology on him at school.
 
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Reading up on Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Spotify, Joe Rogan. Accusations right and left about misinformation. Knowledge has fallen from grace. It's so sad.
Neil Young and Joni Mitchell are songwriters. I don't know about you but I rarely consider they're telling my anything critical to my existence in their song lyrics.
 
The idea was that a teacher should never say: "No Tim, 2+2 is not 5. It is 4. Let's go over it again, ok? Suppose we have 2 apples here and 2 apples there, right, when we put them all together, then..." No. It should go. "Fine Tim, I respect your opinion that 2+2=5. It's so great that you did answer! We love you. Would you like to consider the possibility that it might also maybe be 4 ? How would you feel about that?". That was of course an idealized example. A current young teacher would most likely go: "Fine Tim, I respect your opinion that 2+2=5. It's so great that you did answer! We love you. Would you like to consider the possibility that it might also maybe be 3 ? How would you feel about that?", since they already used the methodology on him at school.
I've heard of kids having difficulty who finally got it with things like "I know the answer so it's OK if you don't get it right", and "do you think it could be 100?"
 
I've heard of kids having difficulty who finally got it with things like "I know the answer so it's OK if you don't get it right", and "do you think it could be 100?"
I'm fine with those sentences, as long as it's not the only input the child gets. The first makes clear the answer was wrong. Making clear that it's not worrisome that someone learning to add still doesn't add right it's ok. Should be obvious, and the learning setting should make it obvious, but anything is worth repeating if it's not clear. The second does not make clear the answer is wrong but it's still a maieutican way to prompt the student to keep thinking and maybe find what's wrong himself (or at least give the teachers hints on how can he help him).

But it cannot be left at that. The teacher should teach how to add, not only that it is 4 (after the student had time to think, without giving away the answer too soon), but also why it is 4 and how can one find the answer in all cases. I've heard from pedagogues the children should not be taught that, they should be motivated to find the answer on their own. I know the learning process is stronger if people discover things themselves, but we don't have time to discover all knowledge the humanity has ammassed across millenia, so the most basic part should be facilitated piecemeal and properly so that modern humans can use what ancestors learnt and don't start from zero. They also say that the teacher should never say the child is wrong. I think it's important to let facts clear. It's not bad to give a wrong answer, but there are right answers and wrong answers, pretending they're all right does not help the student learn, only confuses things further (for both the student that got it wrong and the other student that got it right in his head and now would doubt it).

As a student I like it when the teacher starts by exposing some content in a relatively abstract, descriptive or narrative way, then gives examples of how to apply that content to some cases or solve problems, and then lets me solve similar exercises myself. If it starts the class with the exercise I should solve with something I haven't been taught yet, or simply accepts anything as a solution, or has students, who by definition still don't know the subject, teach each other, or correct each other, then I feel we're wasting our time.

But OK, sorry for ranting. This is not COVID related.
 
But OK, sorry for ranting. This is not COVID related.
Well, Covid-19 is special because it's also being politicized.
We are not only having to deal with a virus, but also with social media storms (that could cost you your job and social life) and the financial impact on the economy.
Our world runs on working people that make physical goods and lately that is being done less; but we expect everything to magically keep moving by itself.

Denmark is sweeping the left-overs of Covid in the bin and hopefully other countries can do the same soon.
Society is doomed.
Well, sometimes people have to learn things for themselves.
If it really goes sour then at least that period could serve as a bad example for future generations.
 
don't start a career in fortune telling
Well I effectively predicted the past give me some credit!
They also say that the teacher should never say the child is wrong.
I had the pleasure of observing my daughter's remote classes during lockdown and I can say she has amazing talented and gifted teachers. I recall specifically one student sincerely asking about a snowman on a desert island, which I found hilarious. The teachers response was enlightened. She treated the 8 year old boy with complete dignity and suggested he think about it more deeply (I don't recall the exact words). So encouraging. No stifling of ideas.

But I'm thinking about lazy university potheads discrediting teaching for personal gain.
 
Reminder: humans are animals too. So most humans have sex with animals.
 
"Fine Tim, I respect your opinion that 2+2=5. It's so great that you did answer! We love you. Would you like to consider the possibility that it might also maybe be 3 ? How would you feel about that?", since they already used the methodology on him at school.
So I got two small apples and two big apples. So together they are 5 apples. Because if 4 apples, then I can give the two small ones to you, and you should not be complaining about unevenly distribution. And they should be equally priced as well... apples in math are flawed. Also, you need an apple-whisperer, because you can't assume the gender of each apple.

As a student I like it when the teacher starts by exposing some content in a relatively abstract, descriptive or narrative way, then gives examples of how to apply that content to some cases or solve problems, and then lets me solve similar exercises myself.
Like my teacher! Example question: x-5=0 solve x. Easy example done in class. Homework: 3x^3+x^2+5=5x solve x
Well, sometimes people have to learn things for themselves.
If it really goes sour then at least that period could serve as a bad example for future generations.
I believe in cycles, like biorhythms. It gets worse and worse, then better and better, repeat.
 
So I got two small apples and two big apples. So together they are 5 apples. Because if 4 apples, then I can give the two small ones to you, and you should not be complaining about unevenly distribution. And they should be equally priced as well... apples in math are flawed.
Which is why apples always used to be sold by weight, and why tills had scales built in so they could measure the weight and charge appropriately. That seems to have changed in the past five to ten years where now it's common to buy them like you do eggs, in batches of six of a similar class. Perhaps that's due to the rise of self service tills where including scales would need to educate users on how to use them properly, and not to lean on them and get charged extra.

But thankfully in the matter of covid-19, a case is a case. Severity may vary, but that's largely out of all our control.
 
So I got two small apples and two big apples. So together they are 5 apples. Because if 4 apples, then I can give the two small ones to you, and you should not be complaining about unevenly distribution. And they should be equally priced as well... apples in math are flawed. Also, you need an apple-whisperer, because you can't assume the gender of each apple.
Apple mathematics is fine. The problem is that you abstracted out the size and then applied your mathematics to a situation where size matters. Normally we do not care about the size, just the amount, so that abstracting out the size is not an issue. 2 big apples + 2 small apples = 4 apples. But of course you must not make that abstraction if you care about size.

Besides, what if the big apples are hollowed out so that they are actually lighter than the small apples? Or what if the big apples are sour but the small apples are sweet? A method of making the apple mathematics more applicable to situations where the properties of the apples matter is by stating the assumption that the apples are fungible.
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But thankfully in the matter of covid-19, a case is a case. Severity may vary, but that's largely out of all our control.
Severity is pretty important, though. I would be pretty angry if I knew that society is being destroyed over a flu that is not even particularly harmful. Especially after all the news stories of covid-19 basically being a dead sentence for whoever is unfortunate enough to get it.
 
I believe in cycles, like biorhythms. It gets worse and worse, then better and better, repeat.
As a species humanity never changes much. Knowledge and culture can change (with knowledge not even increasing per se as knowledge is often forgotten as well) but humanity always keeps the same herd mentality and the same psychological weaknesses. If people were allowed to live for thousands of years so that they could experience the cycles a few times then they would probably wisen up to it, but instead people live their entire lives in only a small part of a cycle, making learning how the cycles work something that is not automatic.
 
But thankfully in the matter of covid-19, a case is a case. Severity may vary, but that's largely out of all our control.
No. This is a phallacy. Covid discriminates and individuals can reduce its impact by being healthy. Covid is not "fair" and targets predominant the elderly.

Lockdowns and all the restrictions should only apply to the elderly, if at all. Of course you can take whatever precautions you want if you feel at risk. I wear a jacket in the winter to avoid catching colds.

During the first lockdown I was out of work so lost tons of money. I got vaccinated then anyway got covid twice and still get hassled massively when I travel.

I know your gonna say I would have died without the vaccine but I doubt it. I am healthy.

Basically we are all treated like old, sick people. One size fits all except it doesn't. Of all the prices I paid covid infection was a walk in the park. I'd gladly accept covid 36 times to get my money back. I am sure many hold similar views.
 
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I wear a jacket in the winter to avoid catching colds.
I think you've made a mistake there. Wearing a jacket doesn't stop you catching a cold, it stops you getting cold but that's a different thing. Now being cold might make you more liable to catch a rhinovirus or a norovirus if exposed, I'm not sure on the research on that, but the important thing is being exposed.
 
No. This is a phallacy. Covid discriminates and individuals can reduce its impact by being healthy. Covid is not "fair" and targets predominant the elderly.
Health is like as described in Matthew 13:12:
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
But yes, literally every disease targets the sick and weak. The common flu has been weeding out sickly and weakened people for decades, and now the covid-19 flu is joining in. That is why it is great whenever people focus on improving their health. Society is is built on the premise that people are supposed to be sick but some individuals are living proof that that premise is wrong.
 
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