bradley

I had more appreciation for the complexity of the human organism after reading this NYTimes article about our microbiome: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/science/13micro.html?_r=1&...

10 times more microbial than 'human' DNA in our body.

Our K-12 system was modeled on the system the King of Prussia used to produce compliant citizens, efficient workers, and obedient soldiers starting in the late 1700's, using the factory model with children as both raw product and finished material, grading said product as A through F grade, etc.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_education_system)

Can't remove batteries from iPhones. It's part of the conspiracy!

> The question we need to ask about education: > What are we trying to produce?

K-12 education as we know it today was first mandated/implemented by the King of Prussia in the 1860's to jump into the Industrial Revolution. We sent envoys to study and copy his schools. He sought 3 products: Compliant citizens, efficent factory workers, and obedient soldiers. We in the US have added a 4th purpose: free day care so both parents can be productive workers.

Can't separate the tree from the seed. Talk of "reform" needs to remember origins.

Thank you for mentioning Stephenson. I haven't read him other than Snow Crash, and I don't think I finished it.

Googling Anathem brought me to this blog review of it:

http://neopythonic.blogspot.com/2008/10/thoughts-after-readi...

which reminded me of this NIH neuro anatomist who studied her own stroke, including during her multi-year recovery.

Her TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke...

YouTube of same: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU

She sees the right brain hemisphere as being our "consciousness" wetware connecting us to others.

Parts of the video are esoteric, but it's fascinating to hear this first-person account from a brain researcher, especially of the morning of her stroke when her left hemishphere was damaged by a spontaneous brain hemorrhage.

Edit: couple of typos