Hi Don,

a very clearly set out, enjoyable read. Sensible suggestions though I wonder about whether all unemployed would want more education. There may well be school drop outs and those that did badly in the education system. The type of schooling would have to be very different.I'm not sure the Apple model could be scaled up.Though it sounds very good. There really has to be motivation to learn and minimum wage jobs still need doing.Also more education does not necessarily create more suitable jobs and then there are graduates who can't find suitable work and end up unemployed or in minimum wage jobs anyway. The advantage of your proposition is that they don't also have a large debt to repay from receiving a student loan.

Good luck,Georgina

    I've been having the same problem: I can't rate essays using Firefox or Internet Explorer, but when I use Google Chrome, somehow it works... Is it something wrong with my computer, or with the FQXi website?

    I've been having the same problem: I can't rate essays using Firefox or Internet Explorer, but when I use Google Chrome, somehow it works... Is it something wrong with my computer, or with the FQXi website?

    Hi Don, Hi Edwin,

    I agree with you both that education is key if we want humanity to successfully steer the future. You have focused on the accessibility of education, and on strategies to make people invest in their education. In my essay, I suggested that countries that have community service or military service could have their citizens replace this service by going to school (which could be done virtually by using MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)).

    I also believe that, to optimize the impact of education in steering the future, we should refocus the curriculum on issues that are the most important for the future of humanity... what I call the "Futurocentric Curriculum". If you have the time to check out my essay, rate it and comment on it, I would greatly appreciate it... In particular, I am interested in finding out the opinion of others concerning which topics should be part of a futurocentric curriculum...

    Marc

    Hi Don,

    Excellent as usual. I fully support free-education for life for everyone. The idea that citizens are not only to have free-education but they would be paid to be educated and trained to give them the tools to realize their dreams and aspirations. Yes, there is no but but and but, but yes for yes, yes and yes. Many times, "but" means lack of imagination, being simply lazy or being simply defender of interested groups or simply afraid of new and untested ideas. I rated a ten for this brave idea that I also supported and proposed through what I called the Scientific Outlook Free-Lunch Economic System.

    I wish you doing well.

    Best,

    Leo KoGuan

      I envision a trend that has been getting more and more popular with young and rebellious folks, of creating open-ended work~play~education spaces that welcome all ages, types, and interests of humans (and others!). Everything from free-schools, to unschooling programs, to hacker spaces, even to very traditional libraries and museums are creating a sort of bottom-up educational system where everyone is encouraged to explore life, the universe, and everything in all its diversity, from multiple perspectives, and use what folks find in solving our shared problems. In other words, I think we're evolving a healthy, natural, emergent way of discovering and sharing information that will surpass the more rigid, artificial, and top-down approaches of mainstream schools.

      I'm currently looking to create one of these kinds of spaces. And I see others creating them as well (some of which I've participated in) which gives me much hope, since a well informed public is truly the best solution to our challenges as a species and planet.

        Dear Mr. Limuti,

        Your abstractions filled essay was the most entertaining one so far published, and I do hope that it does well in the competition. I do have one minor quibble about it that I hope you do not mind me mentioning.

        Reality is unique, once. Reality is not taught in any school in the world. Every school only teaches erroneous abstractions such as mathematics and physics theories. As you will learn if you read my essay REALITY, ONCE, Bertrand Russell thought up a perfect abstraction 1+1=2, but reality ain't perfect and his abstract assertion was pragmatically incorrect. As you will learn if you read my Theory of Inert Light that I have posted in the comment box of the Peter Jackson essay, Albert Einstein was wrong about the speed of light, and he was even more incorrect when he falsely stated that imaginary observers had the ability to see.

        Why would I give up my monthly Social Security check to spend my time attempting to swallow lying propaganda in a school just because I will be paid for doing so? Do you think I have no morals Mr. Limuti?

        Regards,

        Joe Fisher

          Don,

          You've surpassed you usual high standard, and you subject is close to my heart and I think far more important than we assume. I'm pleased you do it justice. I also think we use the on board quantum computers we've evolved very poorly and a root and branch change to teach us how to take proper advantage is long overdue. The question of when to rely on instant front cerebral cortex response and when to use out lobes it critical. Ensuring our left/right sides work in unison also takes training.

          I see the issues in practice. My own essay derives 'quantum' predictions with a classical mechanism (geometrical) and represents a self apparent major leap forward towards unification, with wide ramifications. However most are 'scared' of QM as it seems acausal, and those who've leant it are thoroughly indoctrinated that it IS acausal, so reject logic! Such is the human condition. I think it's worth top marks for identifying what's probably the most important plan of action for human advancement. My own is written for the average SciAm reader to understand, subliminally suggests the power of non Earthcentric thinking, and even has a touch of romance! I'm sure you'll like and understand it, but please confirm and flag up any tricky bits.

          Very best of luck in the results.

          Peter

            Hi Chidi,

            Glad you are in the contest, and thanks for visiting.

            I do not think the scheme I presented is very open to corruption.

            If education subsumes social security, welfare, and unemployment

            there is a lot less bureaucracy to become corrupt.

            Don L.

            Hi Joe,

            Thanks for commenting on my essay. I always enjoy your essays and this one is no exception.

            I even believe that you were real once......just long enough to sign up for social security.

            All the best,

            Don Limuti,

            Dear Author Don Limuti

            Very practical - Education are always and forever remained the most important issues for the future - the result of it is the principal interest when we retired .

            Therefore, in my opinion, if minimizing the training fee, we will gain maximum profit in the future - because : if a person have to invest too large for learning then will always try to take back when mature, and certainly will not be generous in the future.

            10 points for education goals of your - Hải.CaoHoàng

              Looks like there has been a breakdown in the assessment grading so I can not give point for you ?

              Hoang,

              I had a message from Brendan this morning confirming it's been fixed. It's worked for me, though I haven't tried on this one yet yet. If your's doesn't, contact Brendan on the essay competition blog or direct.

              Peter

              Dear Don,

              Speaking of education as a way to steer humanity aright, this piece is worth far more than a 3.4 score. So here I go for practicals.

              Chidi

              The premise of this essay is presented in admirably concise form: "what creates! the best capital? Answer: An educated populace."

              The supporting evidence, however, strikes me as somewhat lacking:

              1) A web page listing seven reasons why education is supposed to be important. The first four reasons given are backed up by correlations, not causations: the positive outcomes could easily have other causes which happen to correlate with education, e.g. family wealth leading to better education (rather than the other way around). The next two are not backed up by anything, they are just claims offered without evidence. The last one simply states the funding needed to achieve "EFA goals" and does not even pretend to belong in the list.

              2) Another web page invoked to show that "education generates the innovation (physical and social) that creates an abundant future for everyone." On inspection, the page in question turns out to be about the benefits of entrepreneurship and, consequently, of entrepreneurship education. To the extent that any relationship to general education can be inferred from that page, it runs in reverse: entrepreneurship education is noted to improve academic performance and interest in attending college.

              3) Yet another web page listing factoids which either prove nothing either way (e.g. "about 61 million primary school aged children are out of school") or make claims of causation while only offering correlations as "proof" (see above).

              I think it's possible to do a little better than this. The question how education increases human capital has been the subject of serious studies. Here are a few well known examples:

              - In Where has all the education gone?, Lant Pritchett found that "the association of educational capital growth with conventional measures of total factor production is large, strongly statistically significant, and negative".

              - In Does Education Matter? Myths about Education and Economic Growth, Alison Wolf found that higher public expenditure on education reduces economic growth.

              - In Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much, Richard Vedder showed that the economies of US states which spent less on their universities grew faster than the economies of those which spent more.

              Many others have repeatedly pointed out that the economy is not exactly screaming for more graduates. So how exactly would it be helped by having even more?

                Judy,

                A brave subject to broach. I wonder if the most important question you pose is who decides in you abstract: the criteria, the goals, and termination, for example. Eugenics, I see as only one consideration in steering the future. The big considerations, I see, are how we determine who steers, what the goal is and how we get there.

                My essay has solutions but not necessarily how to get there.

                Jim

                Don,

                For most part I agree with you. The best educated populace is certainly the answer to many failings of our system. Better educated citizens vote intelligently and don't allow opportunistic slugs to lead us and don't allow the economic system to award personhood to the most powerful corporations, thus assuring the majority is trumped in all decisionmaking. The educated can provide an informed consensus in guiding our future and can build scientific solutions to do it greener.

                My only disagreement is that teaching methods, technologies should not be market driven, but do agree that commitment and monetary support of education needs to be removed from the "invisible hand." I not sure what you mean by the former but you probably see that the latter has been driven by sterile investors who want to make money by privatizing education. It has been a failure.

                Like you, I see education as a vital investment in people, who are the lifeblood of our future.

                Jim

                  Don,

                  I have now rated your essay! Good luck!

                  As I mentioned in my earlier post, I think it is important to motivate people to invest time in their education, and I like your proposal to pay students. You write

                  The recipient need not sign up for classes, but must be enrolled in a school to get a check.

                  You take a "no pressure" approach, but can it be effective? Would most people just enroll with no real intention to actually learn anything in the process?

                  Marc

                    Hi Judy,

                    Thanks for your support. This was a much tougher essay than the others. I could not put concepts into mathematical form, and say see, see my concept is true. A recent book I read "How the Scotts Invented the Modern World" pointed out how the Scotts were ahead of other nations in literacy, and how this powered a tiny nation to lead the world to higher levels of prosperity. However, the Scotts who were very influential to the forming of the USA did not make education "fundamental" and lost their edge in the 20th century.

                    I look forward to reading your essay,

                    Don Limuti