Starts here: we want to get better at teaching/educating, so want to measure performance. To do that, we standardise tests, trying to make them objective. Thus, we teach people that a given question has 1 Right answer & that they need to receive it from who already knows it. 2/n
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Replying to @GraziosiSergio @IrisVanRooij
This is catastrophically wrong: (1) People should learn *how* to figure out things. (2) That there always are multiple ways to figure out something. (3) That most of the questions worth asking are worth asking *because* they don't (yet?) admit a single right answer. 3/n
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Replying to @GraziosiSergio @IrisVanRooij
(4) That pre-existing "knowledge" is both important (if it's there, it has passed the test of time, to some extent, must be good for something) and (5) Dangerous: its existence makes it harder to figure when change is needed and harder to make change happen when needed. 4/n
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Replying to @GraziosiSergio @IrisVanRooij
The education system actively selects for whoever is able to better internalise and act on those wrong principles, and propels them into decision making positions. Positive feedback: they reinforce the system. Concurrently, education provides no effective tools to fight BS. 5/n
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Replying to @GraziosiSergio @IrisVanRooij
Which is lots of things, including (starting from?) the exploratory curiosity and the awareness that, no matter how clever you are, you WILL get stuff wrong and WILL need people to help you identifying your own mistakes. 6/n
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Replying to @GraziosiSergio @IrisVanRooij
Instead, we celebrate those who: 1. show off their certainties. 2. are able to quickly memorise given truths. The effect is that only rare exceptions get to pass through school/uni while retaining the essential skills required to detect BS. 7/n
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Replying to @GraziosiSergio @IrisVanRooij
But when BS is allowed to roam free and unchallenged, pretty much everyone ignores the root cause (we teach "truths", encouraging everyone to expect "truths" to already exist, but not teach how to build/reach and recognise useful insights). 8/n
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Replying to @GraziosiSergio @IrisVanRooij
So yes. Transparency won't help, not unless we stop filling our heads with precisely the wrong expectations. Rant (almost) over (with apologies). 9/n
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Replying to @GraziosiSergio @IrisVanRooij
Aside #1:
@theblub re teaching people to recognise fascism (and why they should crush it), ICYMI, I tried my best here: https://sergiograziosi.wordpress.com/2016/11/13/fascism-for-dummies/ … 10/n1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes -
Aside #2:
@o_guest &@IrisVanRooij, apologies for the rant. I get your points (also about context), but I could not help myself. Root causes need to be challenged, and I do think I won't get a "meh" reply for anyone in this thread (the opposite, in fact). I'm just venting.. 11/111 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
Have you read Lockhart's Lament? https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf … It's probably the best thing I can think of on some of these issues!
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Oh ho. No I haven't, didn't know what it was / that it existed. [I'd be surprised if there aren't many, many other people moaning about this, BTW.] Thanks for adding to my to-read list (?!), will prioritise it (as it might make me feel a little better!).
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It's a short read and enjoyable.
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End of conversation
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