5 ms·
That sounds like Japan. You could have lads that would have been destined to be astrophysicists or computer architects performing 'working class jobs' like maki
by s_dev 5y ago
That sounds like Japan. You could have lads that would have been destined to be astrophysicists or computer architects performing 'working class jobs' like making chefs knives or growing bonzai trees. Skills that are far more modest than their potential.
They don't seem any worse off because of it.
- quacked 5y agoI have noticed the same thing. I just don't see any reason why, across a span of a 60 year career, you can't do both at the same time- part time astrophysicist, part-time knife maker. I'd repair potholes or monitor an industrial loom for 2 days per week if I could take the rest of the time off.
- missedthecue 5y agohow many japanese do you think are in the business of making chef knives and bonzai trees
- s_dev 5y agoTheres probably more Japanese making knives and growing bonzai trees than there are Japanese astrophysicists or computer architects.
- busterarm 5y agoAlso I think the parent post is ignoring generally accepted realities of the Japanese higher education system. The hardest part of the top tier universities is getting in. Being an actual university student is the time in life when most Japanese slack off, get part time jobs and devote lots of attention to their hobbies. Skipping class is normal in most departments and largely what you get your degree in is meaningless. Japanese university grads merely have to graduate and based on the school they went to will determine which prestigious companies they can successfully apply to. New grads apply to the company, not a specific position and companies allocate their new hires based on what positions they need filled.
- cratermoon 5y ago> Skills that are far more modest than their potential Ever tried making a decent knife? Or keeping a bonsai tree alive? For 100 years?
- s_dev 5y agoI can appreciate there is a huge amount of skill and knowledge making a knife/bonsai but I do believe there is more required of both such attributes to be an astrophysicist.
- cratermoon 5y agoOn what empirical basis do you hold this belief?
- InitialLastName 5y agoI am closer to a computer architect than an astrophysicist in qualifications, but I can confirm from recent experience: I have no ability to keep a Bonsai tree alive.
- Robotbeat 5y agoI think the “primitive” skill closest to the kind of mathematical thinking an astrophysicist (or mathematician) employs would be advanced knotwork. Mental geometric/topological/spatial manipulations are key to clever insights and critical to figuring out knots. (This can be taught to/learned by some chimpanzees, BTW. …but I think there are no such examples in the wild without substantial human contact.)
- cratermoon 5y agoMusic. There was a time when arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music were all considered essential, and most importantly, interrelated, mathematical arts, taught as the Quadrivium. Today we teach arithmetic to first graders, or earlier, start learning basic geometry in grade school and get the full course on geometry around 7th or 8th grade. Music, of course, is not part of "STEM" and is no longer considered a valuable thing to learn, and astronomy, if it's taught at all, tends to be "here is the sun, the moon, and planets. Memorize this mnemonic for the names for the planets: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas. Whoops, I mean Just Served Us Noodles", and most people who go into astronomy don't really get courses on it until they enter college.