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Irish Teenager Wins Global Science Award for Removing Microplastics from Water

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131–140 of 141 posts

Re: Irish Teenager Wins Global Science Award for Removing Microplastics from Water

#131
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m sorry. I don’t follow. I was advocating for more funding to public education so that more children have access to more learning experiences. I hope that’s more clear.

Sorry, I was trying to say that that people have been adding more funding for generations and it keeps getting worse. Example: declining student enrollment, increased spending https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/per-student-spending... http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/quickfacts/2016...

It’s not getting worse, though.

Canadian provinces’ public schools are ranking in the top 10 of world countries.

https://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/provincial/education.aspx

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40708421

As an aside, I do not trust the Fraser Institute to be unbiased on the matter of any kind of public spending. Public spending is a essentially against their core values.

Re: Irish Teenager Wins Global Science Award for Removing Microplastics from Water

#132
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Luckily the young dude has no need to prove himself to you, and hopefully he never reads this comment. Being engaged enough as a teenager to win stuff, have a job, become actually fluent at languages (Irish high school does not make you fluent), do your grades in music, and choose then qualify for a university outside Ireland - none of this is easy or the "default" that is expected of children growing up there. The d…

attend one of several major Irish universities free of charge Those days are long gone thanks to the neo-liberals. Impressed by this guy's accomplishments. His parents and environment are doing something right.

In case anyone is confused: although the "fees" are covered under many circumstances you nevertheless need to pay a "student contribution" "service charge" of around 3000 euro at most institutions. So, it ends up being the same as fees were a few decades ago anyway.

A lack of popular support for the truly free education movement (some name like FEIS if I remember correctly) while it looked like the Celtic Tiger was going to provide every Irish(wo)man with a rental property in Bulgaria led us to this pass.

Re: Irish Teenager Wins Global Science Award for Removing Microplastics from Water

#133
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, I was trying to say that that people have been adding more funding for generations and it keeps getting worse. Example: declining student enrollment, increased spending https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/per-student-spending... http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/quickfacts/2016...

It’s not getting worse, though. Canadian provinces’ public schools are ranking in the top 10 of world countries. https://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/provincial/education.aspx https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40708421 As an aside, I do not trust the Fraser Institute to be unbiased on the matter of any kind of public spending. Public spending is a essentially against their core values.

Hey, if you're happy with a "B" grade, that explains a lot about Ontario schools :-)

Re: Irish Teenager Wins Global Science Award for Removing Microplastics from Water

#134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> had a minor planet named after him by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. I could somewhat deal with the rest with a shoulder shrug, but this one is what makes it too hard to swallow :)

https://www.fionnferreira.com/2019/04/a-minor-planet-was-nai... He got that for winning the Google science award in the article. https://www.googlesciencefair.com/projects/2018/2c3f6207b15f...

Yep. Someone from my high school also got a planet named after him, but I think it was from ISEF.

Re: Irish Teenager Wins Global Science Award for Removing Microplastics from Water

#135
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few years ago, we were considering relocating to Toronto. We went to a school and had a meeting with the principal of the local school. This principal said to us in no uncertain terms that if we can afford private school, to not send our children to public school in Toronto. Now, could this be a selfish reason on his part? Sure, but I doubt it. He walked us through why. Toronto is huge. What you see with the teenag…

> What you see with the teenager in question is a small town with decent enough resources Everything bar the geo-specific things (sailing,planeterium) come from the same money pot for every school in Ireland (ROI) and are pretty much the same for most schools countrywide. The more disadvantaged an area your school is in, the more resources(a la funding/support) it gets. This extends outside school to community. The m…

Interesting formula. Still I'm going to bet that this kid is better off than most

Re: Irish Teenager Wins Global Science Award for Removing Microplastics from Water

#136
post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not getting worse, though. Canadian provinces’ public schools are ranking in the top 10 of world countries. https://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/provincial/education.aspx https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40708421 As an aside, I do not trust the Fraser Institute to be unbiased on the matter of any kind of public spending. Public spending is a essentially against their core values.

Hey, if you're happy with a "B" grade, that explains a lot about Ontario schools :-)

That’s a bit of a dishonest interpretation of the rankings, don’t you think?

Re: Irish Teenager Wins Global Science Award for Removing Microplastics from Water

#137
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This reads like a figurative kick in the face to those who argue against free education and social programmes "because the market will solve it and those that work hard enough will make it, so it's fair". The world is deeply unjust economically and the vast majority loses from that, and those, that manage the inquality by using the cheap larbor and forced constraints of the disadvantaged to serve the more fortunate o…

> there should be a big consensus for universal conditionless free education, social security and health insurance backed by the government. You allude to the best argument for these things, something like: "people are born into the world with a set of advantages and disadvantages they neither earned nor deserve, so we should do our best to even the playing field". But you missed the mark in terms of identifying the…

> Which would you rather have? A wealthy society with inequality or a poor society without inequality?

Is a powerful false dichotomy argued by the rich. It is NOT a poor society, but people fear they would be less rich, when 99% of them won't be if you add in the societal benefits.

Just having good education is going to make your country wealthier in a generation.

Re: Irish Teenager Wins Global Science Award for Removing Microplastics from Water

#138
post #79
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depending on circumstances, speaking 3 langs could be completely normal

Yup, in Europe is not uncommon.

In Africa, 3 is pretty much the minimum number anyone can speak

Re: Irish Teenager Wins Global Science Award for Removing Microplastics from Water

#139

"Microplastics or microbeads are mostly used in soaps, shower gels and facial scrubs to exfoliate skin..." So, wait... If we just stopped using microplastics in soaps, shower gels and facial scrubs we'd mostly stop dumping microsplastics in to the environment? But we don't because we'd rather have this totally optional, cosmetic benefit? Humans are so stupid.

Absolutely. I agree with you. The only way to do thing in a good maner is to stop using plastics. We have the technology and the talent enough for find an alternative for every single use.

Re: Irish Teenager Wins Global Science Award for Removing Microplastics from Water

#140
post #120
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And what happens to society as a whole when we abandon a person's right to own the products of their labor? You don't acquire a $100 million fortune by performing 1000x the labor of a person with $100k, you get it by skimming the fruits of a lot of other people's labor.

No, you add value to their labor and in return get to keep some of it. Or you can solve some previously unsolved problems which allow you to produce better products for lower costs than your competitors. This is how Carnegie, Rockefeller, Walton, Bernard Kroger, Aaron Montgomery Ward, Richard Warren Sears, etc. all made their fortunes. Even modern tycoons like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, etc. Can they get too…

> No, you add value to their labor and in return get to keep some of it.

How much value? Who determines how much you get to keep of it? These are highly charged political questions that have driven a lot of economic history!

> But to see a fortune and assume a theft...

I never said theft. I responded directly to the idea that people vast wealth is merely "the fruits of one's labor." And I stand by this statement: it is not, it is the fruit of many people's labor.

> ...is to fundamentally misunderstand economics.

I suppose I should tell my economics professors.

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