figushki

People in computer programming professions should extend the same courtesy to the social sciences we expect from Hollywood. There's no reason for Hollywood to care that they're making stuff up, but they have enough shame to care that their imaginary worlds pass the sniff test. Our pronouncements on education, politics, and economics should require us to do the same.

I read his article dedicated to architecture on his blog, and it was equally ill-informed. Of course buildings built in the 1880s didn't require architects with a college degree. They didn't require that you know CAD, either.

What appeals to people about this type of article? The author doesn't bring any experience with education policy or teaching. He doesn't back his assertions with research, primary sources, or even secondary sources. He doesn't bother interviewing anyone with experience with the problem or who has thought about it.

And, his reasoning is fairly shoddy. Much of what he's arguing for already exists in parallel with formal education. Nothing stopped me in the past from supplementing my learning on Coursera or hiring a programmer without a degree in computer science. A good friend of mine dropped out of high school, got his GED, and went back to college. Nothing is stopping anyone, you just limit your opportunities.

Even if formal education was abolished or fully privatized, businesses would find a similar, expensive process for screening applicants. The government is rarely requiring this. It's usually industry associations.

I read this article because I'm curious about this sort of thinking. Why do we not only have a desire for simple solutions but a need for radical ones from people with no experience in the field they're discussing? Why is this appealing?

If you're curious about radical approaches to education and the deschooling movement, read Ivan Illich or research the free schools movement. I read Illich before sending my daughters to public school. I didn't think Illich had any answers, and much of what he advocated wasn't precluded by formal education. School doesn't take that much time. My kids thrived in public school, and one of them wants to be a teacher.

My +1 was gentrified out of Crown Heights about 3 years ago and moved to Brownsville. Brownsville is where a lot of the crime in East New York is concentrated.

It's a rough place, but the article was completely sensationalistic. I'm not going to sugar-coat East New York, but take his description of Jamaica Bay:

"On its southern border is polluted Jamaica Bay, and a 6,000-acre 26th Ward Waste Water Treatment Plant (broken — under emergency federal funding and undergoing a $407 million upgrade)."

This is the Jamaica Bay I know:

http://www.nyharborparks.org/visit/jaba.html

It needs substantial environmental remediation, but it serves as a tranquil wildlife refuge. I've been there a couple times and enjoyed it.

I've spent on average three days a week in the southern part of Brownsville over the last two years. My non-representative, privileged experience as a white, middle-aged, male financial programmer visiting the neighborhood has been surprisingly positive. I expected the worst, and I have had nothing happen to me. I've had people welcome me.

I have taken the train rides in the article at all hours of the day and night. I've hopped off the 3 train alone at Junius coming home from work in a suit at 12a and walked 5 blocks alone through the neighborhood multiple times without incident. At least once a month on the weekend I've been on the L between 2a and 6a. I shop regularly at the Food Bazaar, the corner bodega, and the liquor store, all of which are across the street from the projects. I've had my motorcycle parked in front of my +1's place for two years, and it's fared better than it did on the streets of Park Slope (also mentioned in the article, by contrast). I also take the bus to the neighborhood down Church to the end of the line, usually late at night. I signed up for Brownsville Recreation Center, and only stopped going because my hours at work made it impossible.

When Renewlots was open, I went there for dinner every night I was in the neighborhood. The food, art, and performances were great. There's also an ambitious community garden down the street from the L stop. I went to the massive Brownsville Old-Timers Block Party last summer.

Brownsville is the most troubled neighborhood in the city, but the city has changed a lot. The author is disingenuous to use scare stats from the early 2000s. It's not so much that Brownsville is a war zone, it's that the rest of the city stopped being one and the contrast is now striking. Unlike the author, I won't whitemansplain the reasons the neighborhood has suffered, but it's not an island in the city beyond redemption. Even the projects are likely to have less impact on the surrounding neighborhoods over time, in the same way that the Gowanus Houses (which I lived next to for two years) and the RedHook Houses no longer define their neighborhoods.

Hipster kids are now switching between the J and L at Broadway Junction in the middle of the night to get between East Bushwick party destinations. North Brownsville will probably be the next destination for street cred and cheap warehouses.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/9/14/gentrifying-...

Unfortunately, the people who suffered while the neighborhood struggled, like my +1, will probably be displaced as soon as the neighborhood picks up.

Finally, whoever wrote the stuff above about Stuytown has no idea what they're talking about. If I could get into Stuy/Peter Cooper for under $3,500/month, I'd jump on it. The only legit complaint about them (other than the price) is that they're far from the train. I spent a lot of time there, and I have a friend who lives there. The common corridors are dingy, but his place is beautiful.