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Not the parent, but I personally would want tech to erode education exactly to the level where students aren't asked any more to spend time on things that machi

Not the parent, but I personally would want tech to erode education exactly to the level where students aren't asked any more to spend time on things that machines can perform trivially for us. Education should prepare us for the real world of today, rather than some make-belief role play version of a bureaucratic office from the late 19th century, where we don't have computers and the only way you have of affecting the world is by writing memos with a pencil.

tgv 2y ago
Education should train your brain, not "prepare for the real world," if only because you can't define how to do that, nor what real world needs are. Is math a real world need? Grammar? Geography? Sports? Biology? With the silly reduction to "things that machines can perform trivially for us" even reading and writing won't be needed. And like that, there's suddenly a great surplus of farm hands, miners, and opioid users.
- falcor84 2y ago
  [dead]
xigoi 2y ago
> where students aren't asked any more to spend time on things that machines can perform trivially for us. Why do people lift weights at the gym if machines can trivially do that?
- falcor84 2y ago
  I'm pretty sure that if those electric muscle stimulation devices actually worked well enough to allow people to build muscles without needing to go to the gym, they'd do that, at least I would.
  - xigoi 2y ago
    Does ChatGPT allow you to learn without studying?
    - falcor84 2y ago
      Yes, in a way. When I want to do something that I've never done before (typically as part of a larger project I'm working on), I often ask ChatGPT/Claude for advice and get really useful just-in-time explanations, as part of a conversation that I often continue throughout my work on that task, getting additional support and guidance. I usually learn a lot from these conversations, such that the next time I approach a similar situation, I can generally do so on my own. I'm not necessarily arguing that there's no more need for any ahead of time "study", but I think that with the equivalent of a personal tutor for everyone, we can achieve a lot more by learning while doing, instead of study being a dedicated activity. I might be a bit sentimental here, but some of these interactions with an LLM bring back memories of me being a kid working on some small project at home on a Saturday, and being able to come to my dad for advice and even hands-on assistance. And on a less sentimental note, I believe that effective use of an LLM while working on a project fits really well with Papert's Constructionism approach to learning.

tgv 2y ago

Education should train your brain, not "prepare for the real world," if only because you can't define how to do that, nor what real world needs are. Is math a real world need? Grammar? Geography? Sports? Biology? With the silly reduction to "things that machines can perform trivially for us" even reading and writing won't be needed. And like that, there's suddenly a great surplus of farm hands, miners, and opioid users.

falcor84 2y ago
[dead]

xigoi 2y ago

> where students aren't asked any more to spend time on things that machines can perform trivially for us. Why do people lift weights at the gym if machines can trivially do that?

falcor84 2y ago
I'm pretty sure that if those electric muscle stimulation devices actually worked well enough to allow people to build muscles without needing to go to the gym, they'd do that, at least I would.
- xigoi 2y ago
  Does ChatGPT allow you to learn without studying?
  - falcor84 2y ago
    Yes, in a way. When I want to do something that I've never done before (typically as part of a larger project I'm working on), I often ask ChatGPT/Claude for advice and get really useful just-in-time explanations, as part of a conversation that I often continue throughout my work on that task, getting additional support and guidance. I usually learn a lot from these conversations, such that the next time I approach a similar situation, I can generally do so on my own. I'm not necessarily arguing that there's no more need for any ahead of time "study", but I think that with the equivalent of a personal tutor for everyone, we can achieve a lot more by learning while doing, instead of study being a dedicated activity. I might be a bit sentimental here, but some of these interactions with an LLM bring back memories of me being a kid working on some small project at home on a Saturday, and being able to come to my dad for advice and even hands-on assistance. And on a less sentimental note, I believe that effective use of an LLM while working on a project fits really well with Papert's Constructionism approach to learning.