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Post by swamprat on May 7, 2016 15:10:16 GMT -6
Do you REALLY want to know why I have turned into a grumpy old man?
Yes, there is political turmoil in the United States; yes, there is the spectre of global terrorism; but THIS, my friends, is probably the biggest concern this country has. It is partially due to the decline of the family unit. It is partially due to the rise of "political correctness". It is partially due to political involvement in the education system. It is partially due to the growth of a sense of entitlement and a decline in personal responsibility.
Please understand, China, India, Russia, Japan are NOT trying to catch up to us; they are in the process of OVERTAKING us. And it is only a matter of time before that includes military capability.
Please listen to the words of theoretical physicist, Dr. Michio Kaku:
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Post by skywalker on May 7, 2016 16:23:33 GMT -6
And I thought you were just born a grumpy old man, swampy.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2016 21:38:41 GMT -6
Yes, there is political turmoil in the United States; yes, there is the spectre of global terrorism; but THIS, my friends, is probably the biggest concern this country has. It is partially due to the decline of the family unit. It is partially due to the rise of "political correctness". It is partially due to political involvement in the education system. It is partially due to the growth of a sense of entitlement and a decline in personal responsibility. Read more: theedgeofreality.proboards.com/thread/6439/biggest-concern#ixzz48DhkndJo********** Swampy, when I listen to this guy, particularly in "bits" like this, his ideas for the future don't look so "bleak". Didn't he just call for more physicists? Do you think that is an "unreal expectation"??
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Post by swamprat on May 10, 2016 8:54:46 GMT -6
JC, I think some things will have to change in order for us to increase the number of physicists. There will always be exceptions, of course, but I feel students today have too many hurdles to overcome. If your dad is in jail and your mom is working 3 jobs to keep you fed, you may not have the most conducive environment for studying. If you are taught no one loses, everyone's a winner, you may not strive extra hard to excel. As long as the big money is in politics, entertainment, and sports, who wants to spend hours on end in a lab?
I spent most of my working life as an engineering manager in the automotive industry. Upon retiring, I spent four years working in a small elementary school. I handled bus routes and meal accounts. It was a real eye opener. The number of students from single parent families and students being raised by non-parents was appalling. Many of these kids had little if any adult supervision. Here and there, you would see a shining light, but they were exceptions, not the rule!
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Post by auntym on May 10, 2016 11:40:19 GMT -6
phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/29/why-we-dont-produce-more-scientists-a-one-word-explanation/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_tw20160510ph-scientists2&utm_campaign=Content&sf25755778=1 Why Aren’t There More Scientists? A One-Word ExplanationPosted Fri, 04/29/2016 by Curiously Krulwich / A Blog by Robert Krulwich “The type of science that I do is sometimes known as ‘curiosity-driven research,’” writes Hope Jahren, who teaches paleobiology at the University of Hawai‘i. “This means that my work will never result in a marketable product, a useful machine, a prescribable pill, a formidable weapon, or any direct gain.” If by some crazy chance she discovers something useful, that will be “figured out at some much later date by someone who is not me,” she writes. So she’s the real deal—a scientist chasing questions, designing experiments, and showing 19, 20, and 21 year olds how to do it. Her lab has produced important papers, mostly about why plants have been so successful on our planet. Giant corporations don’t throw money at her. Venture capitalists don’t take her to lunches, but she is rewarded. The National Science Foundation, a government agency, gives her three-year grants. They are hard to get. Yet once she has the cash—you scientists reading this will yawn, but I was a bit startled—it turns out that taxpayer money has an odd habit of vanishing, even when it’s right there in your hands. Drawing by Robert Krulwich Every year Congress gives the National Science Foundation roughly 7.3 billion dollars. That sum hasn’t changed much (in real terms) for decades. The Defense Department gets $573 billion. But $7.3 billion isn’t bad. “It sounds like a lot of money,” says Jahren, even if it’s spread across biology, geology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, psychology, sociology, and some computer science. In her own little corner of things, paleobiology (dinosaurs! woolly mammoths! evolution! fossils! history of life! history of global warming!), the government funds six million dollars of research. Divided 50 times—assuming one paleobiologist in every state—that works out to $120,000 per grant. In fact, Jahren counted between 30 and 40 grants per year, for an average of $165,000. Assuming some of those scientists hire assistants, she figures there are “about 100 [government] funded paleobiologists in America.” CONTINUE READING: phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/29/why-we-dont-produce-more-scientists-a-one-word-explanation/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_tw20160510ph-scientists2&utm_campaign=Content&sf25755778=1
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Post by swamprat on May 10, 2016 11:51:34 GMT -6
Excellent! Thanks, Auntym! I'm going to send that to my son!
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Post by auntym on May 10, 2016 12:14:45 GMT -6
Excellent! Thanks, Auntym! I'm going to send that to my son! LOL... glad you like it...
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