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I think that's exactly it. People need to be adaptable and it's not about teaching any one particular skillset, but moreso how to become a lifelong learner. The

I think that's exactly it. People need to be adaptable and it's not about teaching any one particular skillset, but moreso how to become a lifelong learner. The era of doing a couple of repeated tasks over and over again is gone, it is a new day where people do not need to perform menial jobs and can be freed for more creative/mindful pursuits. In the short-term this is going to have negative effects of people being displaced, discouraged and lacking purpose. As with a lot of complex problems I think this may be a generational shift in thinking.

philipov 9y ago
"Man, I can't wait for all those useless old day people to die so we can have our utopia." PM me, I have a modest proposal you might be interested in.
- ivl 9y ago
  There have been a multitude of generational shifts over the years. If you think that thinking it is happening (again) and that being hopeful that people move on is a bad thing, I'm sure you think of the shift away from subsistence farming was just as awful.
  - philipov 9y ago
    I think the thing that is awful is the inhuman speed at which those shifts are taking place, and the callousness by those pronouncing the change to the fates of those left behind, because they are sure they won't be. If we are about to put a whole bunch of people out of work for the rest of their lives, we better be damn sure we have a safety net for them. Hope is the greatest of all the evils that escaped from Pandora's box, because it soothes a guilty conscience but does not effect action.
rch 9y ago
It may be a shift in tactics, but definitely not in thinking. It's unsurprising that the corporate sector tends to favor policies that will provide a large population of fungible workers.
sidlls 9y ago
Nothing in the "lifelong learner" paradigm you note precludes employers from investing in facilitating their employees' learning. One of the negative effects you left out is that companies are investing in training less and less and paying (adjusted for inflation) less and less. It isn't all on individuals to adapt to this new paradigm. It isn't sustainable unless the wealth-holders contribute.
bmmayer1 9y ago
+1 Our schools simply do not teach critical thinking. Very few educational systems do worldwide, in fact. Students mostly just learn through repetition and rote memorization, and formulaic creative processes (standard five paragraph essay, multiple choice history tests, spelling bees, etc). In addition, the state of our educational system right now (not just in the US, but worldwide) comes from an industrial tradition, not one in tune with the modern economy. - Students are 'batch processed' in grades based on age regardless of ability - Schools are designed to keep the kids somewhere while the parents work on a set schedule, with all school functions, programs, and systems assuming all parents have the same schedule, jobs, income, and parenting needs - Students are taught the same things at the same rate--attempts to teach kids at their own level (tracking, advanced classes, special ed, etc) are often derided as 'unequal' or elitist. And yet we don't expect all adults to have the same skills or learn at the same rate or have the same talents, so why should we expect such of our kids? - When it comes to higher education, liberal arts does a good job of teaching some degree of critical thinking but do worse at teaching hard skills. Vocational schools have the opposite problem. Either way, students aren't really equipped going into college to know what skills they will or won't need because their training up until then has been so misaligned with whatever path they may end up taking. - Most importantly, students are stripped of their individuality in ways subtle and not-so-subtle. School uniforms, school dieting rules and food restrictions, sports culture, speech codes, pageantry around prom and various 'school spirit' initiatives and interschool rivalries, standardized testing, GPAs and school rankings, college admissions standards... It's no surprise that kids who come out of this system become adults who follow all the processes and rules based on the rulebook rather than common sense (ahem, United), or fail to account for unexpected turns of events (2008 financial crisis), or fail to question authority figures (Bernie Madoff). And it's also not surprising that our graduates lack the sort of long-term strategic thinking and self analysis required to be successful in a changing economy with constantly changing rules. We clearly need some sort of rebuilding of our education system to account for a modern economy where 1) Humans are not machines, 2) Adaptability and learning ability matter more than rote memorization, 3) Creativity is encouraged, and 4) Diversity in background, abilities, talent, and experience are strengths, not weaknesses.
- dano 9y ago

philipov 9y ago

"Man, I can't wait for all those useless old day people to die so we can have our utopia." PM me, I have a modest proposal you might be interested in.

ivl 9y ago
There have been a multitude of generational shifts over the years. If you think that thinking it is happening (again) and that being hopeful that people move on is a bad thing, I'm sure you think of the shift away from subsistence farming was just as awful.
- philipov 9y ago
  I think the thing that is awful is the inhuman speed at which those shifts are taking place, and the callousness by those pronouncing the change to the fates of those left behind, because they are sure they won't be. If we are about to put a whole bunch of people out of work for the rest of their lives, we better be damn sure we have a safety net for them. Hope is the greatest of all the evils that escaped from Pandora's box, because it soothes a guilty conscience but does not effect action.

rch 9y ago

It may be a shift in tactics, but definitely not in thinking. It's unsurprising that the corporate sector tends to favor policies that will provide a large population of fungible workers.

sidlls 9y ago

Nothing in the "lifelong learner" paradigm you note precludes employers from investing in facilitating their employees' learning. One of the negative effects you left out is that companies are investing in training less and less and paying (adjusted for inflation) less and less. It isn't all on individuals to adapt to this new paradigm. It isn't sustainable unless the wealth-holders contribute.

bmmayer1 9y ago

+1 Our schools simply do not teach critical thinking. Very few educational systems do worldwide, in fact. Students mostly just learn through repetition and rote memorization, and formulaic creative processes (standard five paragraph essay, multiple choice history tests, spelling bees, etc). In addition, the state of our educational system right now (not just in the US, but worldwide) comes from an industrial tradition, not one in tune with the modern economy. - Students are 'batch processed' in grades based on age regardless of ability - Schools are designed to keep the kids somewhere while the parents work on a set schedule, with all school functions, programs, and systems assuming all parents have the same schedule, jobs, income, and parenting needs - Students are taught the same things at the same rate--attempts to teach kids at their own level (tracking, advanced classes, special ed, etc) are often derided as 'unequal' or elitist. And yet we don't expect all adults to have the same skills or learn at the same rate or have the same talents, so why should we expect such of our kids? - When it comes to higher education, liberal arts does a good job of teaching some degree of critical thinking but do worse at teaching hard skills. Vocational schools have the opposite problem. Either way, students aren't really equipped going into college to know what skills they will or won't need because their training up until then has been so misaligned with whatever path they may end up taking. - Most importantly, students are stripped of their individuality in ways subtle and not-so-subtle. School uniforms, school dieting rules and food restrictions, sports culture, speech codes, pageantry around prom and various 'school spirit' initiatives and interschool rivalries, standardized testing, GPAs and school rankings, college admissions standards... It's no surprise that kids who come out of this system become adults who follow all the processes and rules based on the rulebook rather than common sense (ahem, United), or fail to account for unexpected turns of events (2008 financial crisis), or fail to question authority figures (Bernie Madoff). And it's also not surprising that our graduates lack the sort of long-term strategic thinking and self analysis required to be successful in a changing economy with constantly changing rules. We clearly need some sort of rebuilding of our education system to account for a modern economy where 1) Humans are not machines, 2) Adaptability and learning ability matter more than rote memorization, 3) Creativity is encouraged, and 4) Diversity in background, abilities, talent, and experience are strengths, not weaknesses.

dano 9y ago