Last month the New Republic ran a piece where the author basically said that the best way to punish the GOP for what they've done is to pack the supreme court by expanding the numbers.
That should give a lot of people cause for pause. As much as President Trump isn't my cup of tea, sometimes it's permissible to hold hands with the devil. If Democrats really take such an approach -- and we'll have a pretty good idea of just how vindictive they will be if they take the House in the midterms, then Republicans like myself just won't feel comfortable jumping ship except under the most extreme of circumstances.
Is that really the sort of incentive the Democrats want to create? There's a good chance we'll find out.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
The Gardener and the Carpenter: Explore/Exploit
According to economists, life is full of trade offs. One of those trade offs is between exploring and exploiting. Exploring things allows you to discover new ideas, to acquire knowledge, to get your hands messy. Exploiting knowledge lets you pay the bills.
Childhood is an opportunity for children to engage in protracted exploration without worrying about paying the bills.
This links in with the idea of evolv-ability. Certain species have evolved in such a way as to increase variability. Humans are one such species. Epigenetics plays an important role in how each child develops. Inputs from the environment determine which genes are expressed. Furthermore, some research suggests that some individuals are more sensitive to their environment than others.
There are daffodils and orchids Daffodils flourish in most environments. Orchids only flourish in particular environments.
Finally, brain plasticity. The brain is more plastic in the younger years, allowing children to adapt to new needs and environments. To slowly remake society to meet the needs of a coming age. As we age, plasticity decreases as we shift from exploring to exploiting.
At Reggio, instead of speaking about special needs, they speak of special rights. Simply put, we're not equal. If education is about allowing children to flourish, that means providing for those students that need more support -- both support those with learning disabilities and those that are gifted.
Children are not blank slates. They come with the same default settings. Our education system needs to stop treating them as if they do.
Finally, as a society, we have shifted away from exploration to exploitation. Just look at the budget. The vast chunk of our spending is non-discretionary. In the past, government spending was high in war years and lean in peace time. That is no longer the case. Has there been a side effect? Has our rate of technological innovation changed? Probably not. Indeed, if anything, people probably assume that the rate of technological innovation has increased by a lot.
However, there was an EconTalk a while back that said the something like general utility innovations come around once every 100 or so. Something to look up in the future/
Note to readers: this blog is going to be taking one more and more of a common book feel. I want to record readings and sources for future use. I want to also use it as an exercise in recall. This will mean more content, but that content will probably be less interesting or polished. Anyways, that's where things are heading here. You've been warned.
Childhood is an opportunity for children to engage in protracted exploration without worrying about paying the bills.
This links in with the idea of evolv-ability. Certain species have evolved in such a way as to increase variability. Humans are one such species. Epigenetics plays an important role in how each child develops. Inputs from the environment determine which genes are expressed. Furthermore, some research suggests that some individuals are more sensitive to their environment than others.
There are daffodils and orchids Daffodils flourish in most environments. Orchids only flourish in particular environments.
Finally, brain plasticity. The brain is more plastic in the younger years, allowing children to adapt to new needs and environments. To slowly remake society to meet the needs of a coming age. As we age, plasticity decreases as we shift from exploring to exploiting.
At Reggio, instead of speaking about special needs, they speak of special rights. Simply put, we're not equal. If education is about allowing children to flourish, that means providing for those students that need more support -- both support those with learning disabilities and those that are gifted.
Children are not blank slates. They come with the same default settings. Our education system needs to stop treating them as if they do.
Finally, as a society, we have shifted away from exploration to exploitation. Just look at the budget. The vast chunk of our spending is non-discretionary. In the past, government spending was high in war years and lean in peace time. That is no longer the case. Has there been a side effect? Has our rate of technological innovation changed? Probably not. Indeed, if anything, people probably assume that the rate of technological innovation has increased by a lot.
However, there was an EconTalk a while back that said the something like general utility innovations come around once every 100 or so. Something to look up in the future/
Note to readers: this blog is going to be taking one more and more of a common book feel. I want to record readings and sources for future use. I want to also use it as an exercise in recall. This will mean more content, but that content will probably be less interesting or polished. Anyways, that's where things are heading here. You've been warned.
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
The Walls of Israel
This morning, on the commute in to work, I dipped into The Walls of Israel. I picked the book not so much for the topic but because of the author. It might not be particularly P.C. but growing up my mother inculcated in me the idea that France and French values were a force for good in the world. And Indochine alway held a particular fascination for her.
Of course, as a child of the 60s, and as someone who identified primarily as an American, her defense of French values wasn't without some ambivalence. Still, while some American boys grew up on the Alamo, for me nothing could quite compare to Dien Bien Phu.
The Walls of Israel is a heartfelt portrait of the Israeli Army, back when it was still undefeated. Reading about the Israeli insistence on the importance of the human element it warfare, one can't help but wonder if America has made a horrible mistake. In a desperate effort to control spending, the military services have prioritized weapons over people.
When I first came to China, flying into Beijing from Inchon, I thought war was impossible but China was the only game in town. The world is now, I genuinely believe, more dangerous than it was a decade ago. A war is, I think, inevitable. The only question is where. Reading The Walls of Israel makes me wonder about the price we'll end up paying when the war finally comes.
Of course, as a child of the 60s, and as someone who identified primarily as an American, her defense of French values wasn't without some ambivalence. Still, while some American boys grew up on the Alamo, for me nothing could quite compare to Dien Bien Phu.
The Walls of Israel is a heartfelt portrait of the Israeli Army, back when it was still undefeated. Reading about the Israeli insistence on the importance of the human element it warfare, one can't help but wonder if America has made a horrible mistake. In a desperate effort to control spending, the military services have prioritized weapons over people.
When I first came to China, flying into Beijing from Inchon, I thought war was impossible but China was the only game in town. The world is now, I genuinely believe, more dangerous than it was a decade ago. A war is, I think, inevitable. The only question is where. Reading The Walls of Israel makes me wonder about the price we'll end up paying when the war finally comes.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Reading The Gardener and the Carpenter by Alison Gopnik
I'm reading Alison Gopnik's latest, The Gardener and the Carpenter, which is an interesting look at "parenting" and its supposed experts. Unlike many Americans, I have a lot of experience working with children, I've been doing it for eight years. In the course of that work, I've come across other teacher that consider themselves experts. And I've come across teachers that make no claim at expertize, but instead depend on experience.
Gopnik rightly takes aim at the so-called experts. As a psychologist and philosopher, she knows more about the science of child development than most. Even then, she's no font of divine wisdom. Her own pet theory, theory theory, is hardly settled.
In any case, Gopnik suggests we allow two metaphors guide our thinking about parenting: the Gardener and the Carpenter. The carpenter doesn't like mess or unpredictability. He measures everything twice, works to a plan, builds with a particular function in mind. Indeed, Gopnik doesn't say this, but the carpenter is more like an engineer. He factors in a large factor of ignorance. Both arts and math. Not just one. Books and sports. Ballet and lacrosse. Why by bilingual when you can be trilingual?
I confess. I sympathize with such parents. Take languages for instance. If my wife and I are fortunate enough to have children, I'd like them to be at least semi-confident heritage speakers in all the languages their grandparents speak. That means four different dialects of Chinese--which are better thought of as separate languages, English, and French. Plus, I'd like them to know Latin.
We want to preserve our traditions. This urge is one of the things that make us human. But it's a tall order.
Gardeners, on the other hand, might lay out their garden with a certain plan in mind, but they leave a lot of room for chance and randomness. They know sometimes nature has a way of producing the best effects. Indeed, some gardeners claim to just broadcast their seeds and see what happens.
Gopnik doesn't want us to take such an extreme laissez-faire approach, but she certainly leans on the side of gardeners, not carpenters, which is a position I sympathize with.
I look forward to reading the rest of the book.
Gopnik rightly takes aim at the so-called experts. As a psychologist and philosopher, she knows more about the science of child development than most. Even then, she's no font of divine wisdom. Her own pet theory, theory theory, is hardly settled.
In any case, Gopnik suggests we allow two metaphors guide our thinking about parenting: the Gardener and the Carpenter. The carpenter doesn't like mess or unpredictability. He measures everything twice, works to a plan, builds with a particular function in mind. Indeed, Gopnik doesn't say this, but the carpenter is more like an engineer. He factors in a large factor of ignorance. Both arts and math. Not just one. Books and sports. Ballet and lacrosse. Why by bilingual when you can be trilingual?
I confess. I sympathize with such parents. Take languages for instance. If my wife and I are fortunate enough to have children, I'd like them to be at least semi-confident heritage speakers in all the languages their grandparents speak. That means four different dialects of Chinese--which are better thought of as separate languages, English, and French. Plus, I'd like them to know Latin.
We want to preserve our traditions. This urge is one of the things that make us human. But it's a tall order.
Gardeners, on the other hand, might lay out their garden with a certain plan in mind, but they leave a lot of room for chance and randomness. They know sometimes nature has a way of producing the best effects. Indeed, some gardeners claim to just broadcast their seeds and see what happens.
Gopnik doesn't want us to take such an extreme laissez-faire approach, but she certainly leans on the side of gardeners, not carpenters, which is a position I sympathize with.
I look forward to reading the rest of the book.
Friday, March 23, 2018
Newspapers vs. Magazines
Maybe things are usually hectic under President Trump. Truth be told, they probably are, but I can't be sure. People often chide their fellow citizens for not reading newspapers often enough. Other people say that newspapers stay afloat by peddling nonevents.
I more sympathetic to the second school of thought; I think newspapers pad. Instead of writing one article on the trade tariffs, they write four. Cable news is guilty of the same thing. Hour after hour of shows, all covering the same events, with only slightly different viewpoints.
Why am I ranting about newspapers? Well, I recently took out a trial subscription to the New York Times. I wish I hadn't. Frankly, it sucks away a lot of time from reading more interesting things, books and magazines.
Generally, I find, that I like weekly magazines the most. If I was pressed to name a magazine I truly enjoyed, I'd name The Spectator. I always -- well, almost always -- enjoy reading Taki in High Life. Sometimes he does make you wonder, but I think that's a good think; at least he's being genuine.
David Brooks had a column in the New York Times, talking about how columns used to be the works of individuals, with their idiosyncrasies. Now columnists have become party representatives. If Taki represents any party other than himself -- and maybe Steve Bannon -- I'm not sure what it is. The Same goes for the writers of Low Life and Real Life.
I've been trying out different magazines now for the last month or so. I've yet to find one half as amusing as The Spectator. Columnists that write as individuals make all the difference.
I more sympathetic to the second school of thought; I think newspapers pad. Instead of writing one article on the trade tariffs, they write four. Cable news is guilty of the same thing. Hour after hour of shows, all covering the same events, with only slightly different viewpoints.
Why am I ranting about newspapers? Well, I recently took out a trial subscription to the New York Times. I wish I hadn't. Frankly, it sucks away a lot of time from reading more interesting things, books and magazines.
Generally, I find, that I like weekly magazines the most. If I was pressed to name a magazine I truly enjoyed, I'd name The Spectator. I always -- well, almost always -- enjoy reading Taki in High Life. Sometimes he does make you wonder, but I think that's a good think; at least he's being genuine.
David Brooks had a column in the New York Times, talking about how columns used to be the works of individuals, with their idiosyncrasies. Now columnists have become party representatives. If Taki represents any party other than himself -- and maybe Steve Bannon -- I'm not sure what it is. The Same goes for the writers of Low Life and Real Life.
I've been trying out different magazines now for the last month or so. I've yet to find one half as amusing as The Spectator. Columnists that write as individuals make all the difference.
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Morning Browse: Congestion Charges
New York is looking at introducing a congestion charge for part of the city. London and Stockholm already use congestion charges to decrease traffic in certain areas, but New York would be the first city to introduce such a system in the United States.
The U.S. does use congestion charges on its toll roads. The purpose is to keep the traffic on toll road flowing at a certain minimum rate. To roads in Northern Virginia aim for an average speed of 65 m.p.h..
The proposals have been attacked by some, saying that congestion charges and toll roads create a separate infrastructure for the haves and leaves the have-nots in traffic. This objection, however, misses the point. The fees raised from congestion charges are used to maintain all infrastructure, not just toll roads.
It reminds me of the economics of airplane tickets. Simply put, if it were few a few people flying in first class, airlines wouldn't be making money on a lot of flights. First class makes transatlantic flights economically feasible.
China also makes extensive use of toll roads for highways. One of the nice perks of a holiday is that sometimes the government does a deal and reduces the tolls, which sort of defeats the purpose. Anyways, thanks for reading.
Recently, things have been busy at work, so I'll be putting out just one or two posts a day.
The U.S. does use congestion charges on its toll roads. The purpose is to keep the traffic on toll road flowing at a certain minimum rate. To roads in Northern Virginia aim for an average speed of 65 m.p.h..
The proposals have been attacked by some, saying that congestion charges and toll roads create a separate infrastructure for the haves and leaves the have-nots in traffic. This objection, however, misses the point. The fees raised from congestion charges are used to maintain all infrastructure, not just toll roads.
It reminds me of the economics of airplane tickets. Simply put, if it were few a few people flying in first class, airlines wouldn't be making money on a lot of flights. First class makes transatlantic flights economically feasible.
China also makes extensive use of toll roads for highways. One of the nice perks of a holiday is that sometimes the government does a deal and reduces the tolls, which sort of defeats the purpose. Anyways, thanks for reading.
Recently, things have been busy at work, so I'll be putting out just one or two posts a day.
Evening Browse: Monks, Christian Zionists, and Sarkozy
The New York Times did a piece on a Trappist monastery in South Carolina. If memory serves, at its height it had fifty brothers. Today it has around 10. To try and bolster its numbers, it is introducing month long and year long "vows", even allowing nonreligious individuals to take part in the program. The program sort of reminds me of Neal Stephenson's book Anathem, where people take vows for 1 year, ten years one-hundred years or even longer. It is an interesting read.
Abbeys are close to my heart. I did my undergraduate degree at a Benedictine abbey. It was an interesting experience. That said, I do wish I'd taken part more in the monastic side of things. I've been meaning to read the Benedict Option for a while now. One way to save communities like this Trappist monastery is making them more family friendly -- like a Christian kibbutz.
Sarkozy has been charged. He was picked up for questioning yesterday. He's accused of accepting 50 million Euro's worth of campaign money from Libya. If you want to get an idea for how the French legal system operates, I suggest Engrenages. It is sort of like a French version of The Wire.
Abbeys are close to my heart. I did my undergraduate degree at a Benedictine abbey. It was an interesting experience. That said, I do wish I'd taken part more in the monastic side of things. I've been meaning to read the Benedict Option for a while now. One way to save communities like this Trappist monastery is making them more family friendly -- like a Christian kibbutz.
Sarkozy has been charged. He was picked up for questioning yesterday. He's accused of accepting 50 million Euro's worth of campaign money from Libya. If you want to get an idea for how the French legal system operates, I suggest Engrenages. It is sort of like a French version of The Wire.
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