Fuck Your Miracle Year • Hacker News Board

Re: Fuck Your Miracle Year

#21

Post by nerdponx » Sun, Apr 17, 2022, 2:59 PM UTC

spir wrote: post #10

spir wrote: post #6

> Because now people have to spend their 20s learning about the discoveries that others made during their miracle years (the so-called “burden of knowledge”). Maybe now people have to spend their 20s learning about the discoveries because our modern pre-post-secondary education has become so watered down and unambitious. Personally, I get the sense that could have learned 5x to 20x as much in my teenage years if I ha…

I remember how slowly high school math moved. How uninspired English class was. The poor curriculum and tools in programming class. imo, there is definitely a primary and secondary education problem vs. the early-life academic environments that helped to produce yesteryear's great thinkers. https://erikhoel.substack.com/p/why-we-stopped-making-einste...

I have become convinced that inadequate public schooling is the reason why America has come to rely so much on college to make people "ready for society".

Teachers are criminally underpaid, unsupported, and overworked, while parents are not engaged with their children's learning. It's a bad mix. Not to mention the politicization of teacher unions.

Re: Fuck Your Miracle Year

#22

Post by jeanlucas » Sun, Apr 17, 2022, 2:59 PM UTC

burlesona wrote: post #12

Not sure why someone’s self-described envious rant after a peer got a bunch of attention deserves a spot at the top of HN.

You need to account that it's Sunday, takes less votes to get a top post.

Also rants trigger reactions easily.

Re: Fuck Your Miracle Year

#23

Post by ineedasername » Sun, Apr 17, 2022, 3:00 PM UTC

burlesona wrote: post #12

Not sure why someone’s self-described envious rant after a peer got a bunch of attention deserves a spot at the top of HN.

Because sometimes angry, bitter, jealous people also say something true as they demonstrate their own hypocrisy.

Re: Fuck Your Miracle Year

#24

Post by Barrin92 » Sun, Apr 17, 2022, 3:01 PM UTC

Lots of true stuff in this. Most important point is that this historical idea of individual genius is outdated in a world where scientific progress gets harder. If I know nothing about the world and I want to invent physics any model is better than the status quo. As we come up with better systems that explain more of what we see, improvement is harder, an entire new paradigm shift even more so.

Potential for genuine innovation seems to be in improving collective intelligence. Coordination between institutions, disciplines, communication, and so forth. There's not a day that passes without complaints about how academia, the private sector, the economy and the government don't get along. Fix that and you'll improve innovations.

This Randian hero worship of the VC industry is masturbation and I don't mind the tone of the article because I don't think the message is understood if you'd say it in any other way.

Re: Fuck Your Miracle Year

#25

Post by ianai » Sun, Apr 17, 2022, 3:04 PM UTC

jriot wrote: post #17

DubiousPusher wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Republic for Which It Stands - The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 by Richard White

Have you read the entire Oxford US History series? I have the entire series up to 1945, minus 1896-1929 as that hasn't been published yet. we homeschool our children and my plan is to read those over the next two years to base my teaching of US History to our children when they enter high school. Yes, I'm aware that only provides a one author perspective; multiple authors as each book has a different one. Though at 1…

What years does it cover?

Edit-looks like 1763 onward. Very much left out there.

Re: Fuck Your Miracle Year

#26

Post by hodgesrm » Sun, Apr 17, 2022, 3:05 PM UTC

DubiousPusher wrote: post #7

michaelcampbell wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> mega-tome about the guilded age What's the title? Sounds interesting.

The Republic for Which It Stands - The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 by Richard White

When I saw your initial comment I figured this was the tome. It's outstanding. I got onto it after hearing an interview with Richard White. He's opinionated and some of the opinions are very insightful.

In the interview he said that there's no such thing as cycles in history (pace Spengler). Instead there are unresolved issues that keep bubbling up over generations. That completely describes America's problems with racism, starting with the original sin of slavery. States rights is another example. The gilded age illustrates many others.

I was sold on the book based on that 30 seconds of the interview alone.

Re: Fuck Your Miracle Year

#27

Post by low_tech_love » Sun, Apr 17, 2022, 3:05 PM UTC

spir wrote: post #6

> Because now people have to spend their 20s learning about the discoveries that others made during their miracle years (the so-called “burden of knowledge”). Maybe now people have to spend their 20s learning about the discoveries because our modern pre-post-secondary education has become so watered down and unambitious. Personally, I get the sense that could have learned 5x to 20x as much in my teenage years if I ha…

One thing that the current education system has not managed to grasp yet is the paradigm shift in its role: until recently (maybe 15-20 years ago) the role of the school was to give you as much information as possible; now, it is exactly the opposite: to filter away the noise as much as possible and help you focus on what matters the most for you. But we are still information hoarders and it will take a while for this shift to sink in.

Re: Fuck Your Miracle Year

#28

Post by ineedasername » Sun, Apr 17, 2022, 3:06 PM UTC

jhartwig wrote: post #5

I read that as fuck your Miracle Ear.

Rule 34 likely applies. I'm not going to google it to confirm though.

Re: Fuck Your Miracle Year

#29

Post by paulryanrogers » Sun, Apr 17, 2022, 3:06 PM UTC

jotm wrote: post #18

spir wrote: post #6

> Because now people have to spend their 20s learning about the discoveries that others made during their miracle years (the so-called “burden of knowledge”). Maybe now people have to spend their 20s learning about the discoveries because our modern pre-post-secondary education has become so watered down and unambitious. Personally, I get the sense that could have learned 5x to 20x as much in my teenage years if I ha…

I learned most of it in libraries and later the Internet. Car repairs (to work in an auto service), audio technology (for building custom speakers and amps), computer hardware (for myself), programming (still shit at it), marketing (was fun), psychology (was kinda useless), English (very useful), lots of stuff. So kids these days have it easy :D I probably could've specialized better if I had done that in school, but…

Public education is a baseline. Literacy, civics, a bit of math and biology are things that can help no matter what vocation people end up with.

Without it folks might end up pigeonholed into whatever their family does or a narrow selection of trades within the local community.

Re: Fuck Your Miracle Year

#30

Post by mkl95 » Sun, Apr 17, 2022, 3:07 PM UTC

My miracle year was when I was 18 or 19 and I wrote my first large piece of software by myself. I'm approaching my late 20s now and I haven't had as much sustained fun ever since. Being a wage slave sucks.