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A question I'm interested in that is related to this topic: what are the limits to improving conditions through education? For example, if we improve chances fo

A question I'm interested in that is related to this topic: what are the limits to improving conditions through education? For example, if we improve chances for everyone we might end up with thousands more aspiring brain surgeons that will never have the opportunity to pursue their dream, simply because there's a limit to the amount of brain surgeries we will ever need to perform. Isn't improving chances for all going to create misery for those that have their prospects raised, but whose ambition exceeds their talent? I'm reminded of an essay titled The Rise of the Meritocracy in which if I recall correctly a perfect meritocracy is depicted, and one of the problems is that the unsuccessful genuinely have no one to blame but themselves for their status and are even more miserable as a result!

pm90 10y ago
It is an interesting question. Although, you do have to differentiate between learning skills and an actual education, which I take to be an improvement in critical thinking and general overall awareness. I still think there would be interesting problems to solve, even in a perfectly educated society. I don't want to be a brain surgeon, or any surgeon, or anything really in the medical field. There is a theory that some people are "naturally inclined" to certain tasks and maybe we could realize that and have a society that allows everyone to specialize in that...
- jeffdavis 10y ago
  The problem is that natural inclination doesn't always line up with demand. Many people may want to be a professional beer taster, but we don't need very many of them.
replicatorblog 10y ago
That's what we call a high-quality problem. The more pressing challenge is how do you get low performers to the point where they could capably manage an airport Chili's. The reality is that it's difficult for people in many blue collar industries to find workers who will show up to work, take direction, etc. The book Hillbilly Elegy documents this phenomena in the Rust Belt. Not sure how big a part of the problem this is, but I've heard this story dozens of times from family who own contracting businesses, low-skill manufacturing ops, etc.
- heynowletsgo 10y ago
  People only have trouble finding others to honestly help them when they can't honestly share the rewards of the work. Slaves will always rebel in any way possible.

pm90 10y ago

It is an interesting question. Although, you do have to differentiate between learning skills and an actual education, which I take to be an improvement in critical thinking and general overall awareness. I still think there would be interesting problems to solve, even in a perfectly educated society. I don't want to be a brain surgeon, or any surgeon, or anything really in the medical field. There is a theory that some people are "naturally inclined" to certain tasks and maybe we could realize that and have a society that allows everyone to specialize in that...

jeffdavis 10y ago
The problem is that natural inclination doesn't always line up with demand. Many people may want to be a professional beer taster, but we don't need very many of them.

replicatorblog 10y ago

That's what we call a high-quality problem. The more pressing challenge is how do you get low performers to the point where they could capably manage an airport Chili's. The reality is that it's difficult for people in many blue collar industries to find workers who will show up to work, take direction, etc. The book Hillbilly Elegy documents this phenomena in the Rust Belt. Not sure how big a part of the problem this is, but I've heard this story dozens of times from family who own contracting businesses, low-skill manufacturing ops, etc.

heynowletsgo 10y ago
People only have trouble finding others to honestly help them when they can't honestly share the rewards of the work. Slaves will always rebel in any way possible.