I concur, while on deployment in Kuwait before OIF, I had unlimited, high speed internet access. However, during OIF (in Baghdad anyway) military provided bandwidth was monitored by Websense. Anonymous proxies were an easy solution to circumvent Websense. Eventually, local provided satellite internet cafes sprung up on nearly every camp which offered unhindered access for a small price.
This post brings back a memory of the most ignorant statement I've ever heard a college professor make. The professor asked the question of the class (a history class), "Have humans undergone evolution?" He answered his own question, "No". I was completely dumbfounded and sat with my mouth agape trying to comprehend what just happened. Not one person in the class even batted an eyelash to this statement. I was in too much shock to start a debate. Bringing this post on-topic, I think about what selective pressures have been influencing the human species. First off, some assumptions:
Evolution may be defined as a change in the frequency and types of genes in the human population through natural selection.
The human races (caucasian, austronesian, khoisan, pygmy, black) have genetic diversity both between races and within races.*
Ok, based on the above assumptions here are some thoughts:
Races developed genetic differences over time due to populations adapting to the resources and their endemic environment.
Genocide: cutting out a large chunk of a population (may be based on race) in a short time, i.e. U.S. genocide of native americans.
Disease: Social virii such as AIDS, that some portion of a population may have genetic resistance to. Or proximity to herds of domesticated animals, exposing populations to mutated animal diseases, eventually developing treatment or possibly genetic resistance, e.g. europeans infecting native american populations with diseases the europeans developed treatment for.
These seem to be macro or large scale pressures, what about some minor, subtle selective pressures? BTW, IANASD (I am not a Social Darwinist). It may not be PC these days to talk about genetic differences between races, realistically, there are differences, and it's ok to want to know what brought about those differences, from a scientific point of view.
The whole idea behind public school uniforms, IMO, is to nullify social class structuring. Like it or not, people are judged by their appearance. Those who have little money to purchase new school clothes may immediately be at a disadvantage because of their clothing. I would like to see everyone judged based on their performance and not their social class. It's by no means a complete solution...
You are correct, we don't live in an ideal world, class plays a roll in the education you receive. In my post I was being idealistic, where class and money didn't matter. I was speaking only of improving the public education system for everyone. Public education just isn't a priority from any but a minority's perspective.
Funding for scholastic sports should be lessened, while at the same time physical fitness for a healthy life should be emphasized.
Teacher salaries need to be increased in order to make teaching a more attractive profession.
Improve student/ teacher ratios.
Group students based on academic performance or learning style. Different people learn differently and at different rates.
School uniforms, worry less about how everyone looks compared to others.
Most importantly, the citizens of this country need to make education a priority and stop settling for the bullshit that comes from the mouths of politicians and spews from the tv.
In the corporate climate, the ability to sling some jargon is perceived by some as intelligent and/ or powerful. From a wider perspective, It's been argued any group develops a common discourse. There are
numerous reasons:
us vs. them (developing a subculture)
control (doctors sell the idea of control through their discourse)
power (sounding like an "expert")
dominance (intimidating through fine use of the jargon)
The entire way a doctor approaches a patient is designed to give the patient the idea the doctor is in control of the situation. Not being in the medical profession, I've always wondered how they
teach doctor patient interaction and if they actually touch on these control issues?
Anyway, it's the same in any group, even slashdot has its own discourse, (e.g. troll, trolling, flamebait, karma) and demonstrating control of the language of slashdot can be perceived as intelligent or desirable among the slashdot crowd.
Slashdot Mirror
I concur, while on deployment in Kuwait before OIF, I had unlimited, high speed internet access. However, during OIF (in Baghdad anyway) military provided bandwidth was monitored by Websense. Anonymous proxies were an easy solution to circumvent Websense. Eventually, local provided satellite internet cafes sprung up on nearly every camp which offered unhindered access for a small price.
Ok, based on the above assumptions here are some thoughts:
These seem to be macro or large scale pressures, what about some minor, subtle selective pressures? BTW, IANASD (I am not a Social Darwinist). It may not be PC these days to talk about genetic differences between races, realistically, there are differences, and it's ok to want to know what brought about those differences, from a scientific point of view.
*Human races taken from Guns, Germs, and Steel
The whole idea behind public school uniforms, IMO, is to nullify social class structuring. Like it or not, people are judged by their appearance. Those who have little money to purchase new school clothes may immediately be at a disadvantage because of their clothing. I would like to see everyone judged based on their performance and not their social class. It's by no means a complete solution...
You are correct, we don't live in an ideal world, class plays a roll in the education you receive. In my post I was being idealistic, where class and money didn't matter. I was speaking only of improving the public education system for everyone. Public education just isn't a priority from any but a minority's perspective.
A few additonal points:
Most importantly, the citizens of this country need to make education a priority and stop settling for the bullshit that comes from the mouths of politicians and spews from the tv.
- us vs. them (developing a subculture)
- control (doctors sell the idea of control through their discourse)
- power (sounding like an "expert")
- dominance (intimidating through fine use of the jargon)
The entire way a doctor approaches a patient is designed to give the patient the idea the doctor is in control of the situation. Not being in the medical profession, I've always wondered how they teach doctor patient interaction and if they actually touch on these control issues? Anyway, it's the same in any group, even slashdot has its own discourse, (e.g. troll, trolling, flamebait, karma) and demonstrating control of the language of slashdot can be perceived as intelligent or desirable among the slashdot crowd.Scott