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Philosophaster

12 karma · joined July 23, 2008

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Philosophaster··on What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart?
"Teachers maybe still care little bit about there students and think the main difference is that we are expected to learn and know more from the start. I started learning a second language when I was on first grade and third language on fifth grade."

I've heard people speculate that learning more than one language early on encourages a certain "flexibility" of mind that helps with knowledge acquisition in general.

Philosophaster··on Is Philosophy Worthwhile?
Philosophy is good as an exercise in approaching questions systematically, learning to make arguments, and examining foundational assumptions of a discipline or theory. It's also useful to learn about the philosophical background of ideologies, especially political beliefs, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Philosophy as an end in itself, detached from knowledge or consideration of specific empirical facts, is mostly a dead end.

Philosophaster··on Questions you can't ask
That one struck me as well. I don't know anyone who considers that "off-limits."

The eugenics and race ones are the touchiest in my experience.

Philosophaster··on Facebook Takes The Fast Lane To Boring
Facebook started to become annoyingly bloated for me when the news feeds appeared. The apps were the nail in the coffin.
Philosophaster··on Death of the Google Bomb
LOL.

I guess that one got grandfathered in.

Philosophaster··on What explains the growing gap in wages? Computers.
"A high school graduate in the 1960s could earn a middle class income through unskilled labor. This was an historical anomaly, and there's no reason to compare wage data today with that of the past."

Interesting response.

One can also consider the shift toward the "service economy," which in many cases is lower-paying and even easier to outsource than unskilled physical labor like manufacturing and construction.