4 ms·

> - decline of the British Empire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpohrKaos2o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpohrKaos2o There's a long but very good intervi

> - decline of the British Empire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpohrKaos2o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpohrKaos2o There's a long but very good interview done with the philosopher Bertrand Russell in the 60's, and a point he makes in it was that in the early 1900's the idea that the British empire and specifically their navy would be supreme forever more was widespread. And I suppose pre-WW1 they might have had a point - he said the people at the time didn't view "land powers" like the Prussians as being terribly threatening to their global status. Another takeaway from it, was that he was very particular about how his kids were educated, these days, we mostly give it to abandoning them to cultural groupthink rather than having any critical input into how their taught.

pm215 4y ago
Was being particular about education a widespread thing back at that time, or is it just that Bertrand Russell was a serious philosopher and intellectual and so rather more invested than average in the fine details of his childrens' education ?
WalterBright 4y ago
> the idea that the British empire and specifically their navy would be supreme forever more was widespread People always think the current top dog has an unassailable position and will be there forever. For example, every decade a new crop of businesses rise to the top and everyone thinks they're unstoppable, and yet they're replaced the next decade, and those become the new unstoppable juggernauts. RCA, Sears, Walmart, Kodak, IBM, Lotus, Novell, Netgear, Ford, AT&T, ... Who'd have thunk Apple would become the biggest company in the world?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
mejutoco 4y ago
> we mostly give it to abandoning them to cultural groupthink rather than having any critical input into how their taught. I am curious what you mean by this.
HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
> very particular about how his kids were educated Why do you think this has changed? Many people base where they live, primarily where they buy houses on how good the school district is. Private schools, Montessori, etc., are still very important in many cases.

pm215 4y ago

Was being particular about education a widespread thing back at that time, or is it just that Bertrand Russell was a serious philosopher and intellectual and so rather more invested than average in the fine details of his childrens' education ?

WalterBright 4y ago

> the idea that the British empire and specifically their navy would be supreme forever more was widespread People always think the current top dog has an unassailable position and will be there forever. For example, every decade a new crop of businesses rise to the top and everyone thinks they're unstoppable, and yet they're replaced the next decade, and those become the new unstoppable juggernauts. RCA, Sears, Walmart, Kodak, IBM, Lotus, Novell, Netgear, Ford, AT&T, ... Who'd have thunk Apple would become the biggest company in the world?

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

mejutoco 4y ago

> we mostly give it to abandoning them to cultural groupthink rather than having any critical input into how their taught. I am curious what you mean by this.

HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago

> very particular about how his kids were educated Why do you think this has changed? Many people base where they live, primarily where they buy houses on how good the school district is. Private schools, Montessori, etc., are still very important in many cases.