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I was gonna call it a day on talking about magical powers but I feel like this is a sign to talk more about magical powers https://t.co/Zlxg3Pis5f
Ok so first up when I say magical powers I mean it in a rather colloquial, casual sense. I don’t mean *literal* supernatural powers like X-Men. I’m talking about skills that, hypothetically, anybody should be able to develop, but in practice, seem rare https://t.co/QbyYDMpBlb
In fact I think a degree from an accredited institution may actually limit your “magical powers” if you’re not careful, because you’re being schooled by a syllabus that’s quite possibly obsolete the moment it’s written down https://t.co/4OCabbPbBD https://t.co/02goodxXQy
Sometimes you get 1 or 2 of those qualities - eg some thinkbois re-evaluate their whole existence every week but don’t persist at anything beyond that Some hustlebois cargo-cult persistence without reevaluating anything - end up spending decades pushing at doors marked Pull
I’m surprised I haven’t seen made like an app or guide or online course or something to help people really internalize this WaitButWhy blogpost, it’s very well done IMO https://t.co/4OCabbPbBD https://t.co/MoaRuknq8k
And do you know who are all of those things!!!! Children!!! And do you know what we do to them!!!! Beat it out of them!!!! https://t.co/CpBcyMBO8y
I made myself sad again https://t.co/0rmIbpvE0c
To me, school today is like medicine before people learned about germ theory and hand-washing. Creative souls die every day and most people shrug the way they must’ve when women and children used to die in childbirth. Leaves from the vine... https://t.co/EnrzXNXgt1
it can seem like magic https://t.co/hORAmOWwtb
What I have taught myself to do, as a nerdy marketing guy who is philosophy-curious, is to invent status and social capital out of seemingly thin air. It can look like magic, but it’s just dumpster diving, like selling bargain-bin clothes at a markup on eBay, Girlboss style https://t.co/LQ3np6j11I
kinda wish I could do threads like this https://t.co/xZXkb74hHC
@visakanv I am adamantly against school for a myriad of reasons and it's deeply intertwined in one of my core ethos on learning and education.But you know what's funny? I suspect the idea that it beats creativity out of children is an artifact of hindsight bias and survivor bias.
@visakanv Tho I also do not go on to consider it an innate trait either as I know fully well it's a muscle that I have exercised.I believe there is something we are missing that can be used to rekindle that magic, creativity and agency in people that our dislike of education is missing.
@visakanv This space seems more complex than more common narratives about schools being a soul suck lets on.I haven't been able to articulate it.My sense is that school may be driving more creative rebellion in some cases, squashing it in others.https://t.co/ryEEia3VgZ
@visakanv I feel like all the takes we have about this space are about the individual expereinces. Even this blog post ist about personal goals agency. https://t.co/j1TW8oudikBut I know you see how it is also social structure and ideas between mutual that drive this space forward.
@visakanv So I suspect a part of this is a lack of freedom to self-select. Being forced to interact with classmates that drive subtle antagonistic behaviors and other such phenomena where children create hierarchical power structures amongst themselves to cope.
@visakanv One of the most freeing and intellectually rewarding things I've been able to do outside of school is to choose my friends and work on choosing my own peers who are a better fit for my interests.What would a school look like that did this?
@visakanv I'm trying to rethink this space.https://t.co/SVHGoqHh1g
@visakanv Why do some children survive with these intact and not others? It's clearly possible.Do all children really start out this way? Is it really only school that reinforces the decline here?I don't think this is the complete picture of what is going on.https://t.co/c7I9iaeJBf
@visakanv Certainly being thrown in child prison isn't helping. But if we are to undo the damage, I feel like we must look outside of the tunnel vision we've got from the trauma there and see this creativity and agency more holistically.
@visakanv Tho I'm leaning toward a model where schools are a cargo cult. If so, can we upgrade it?https://t.co/qBlM8zABQL
@visakanv "How to make the [magic] flow again? The [parents] had observed that, just before [magic] arrived, the [magi] performed elaborate rituals involving inscrutable [educational] paraphernalia. Clearly, these summoned the [teachings] that brought [magic]."https://t.co/kchL32s2Ao
@visakanv I really only have one thought that I apply over and over again to everything, but it's a really powerful question.What if its actually a problem of gut bacteria? But we blame the stress we feel on the things in the environment we react to.https://t.co/05ZDGYqYdw
@eigenrobot Lots of stuff from before 2019 highlights increased rates in school https://t.co/bG5Q0IRybpWhich coincides with loss of recess time. Apparently we need studies https://t.co/560bCRGe6O and laws https://t.co/zoduiqzlzh to tell us to give kids time outside in fresh air.
@visakanv It highlights a kind of prevalent misthinking in this space. We see a child not liking school and we conclude it must be some kind of psychological disorder.https://t.co/LCItFRQP27
@visakanv The anger I felt toward teachers over the bathroom were from having an over active bladder that they thought was me trying to ditch class. I just thought they were being too strict.The underlying cause was beyond me. I only saw it from a lens of oppression.
@visakanv But I didn't know about CO2 concentrations being absolutely insane in the lunchroom at my school. I just felt dread and frustration. The loss of agency was what I railed against.https://t.co/iM2x2dxp4K
@visakanv The "vomiting from stress" that I was having at home? No that wasn't from the social anxiety, I was literally experiencing crohns. But it was overlooked because it correlated with changing from gradeschool to middle school. https://t.co/DxMRoBn6Zz
@visakanv What if we're wrong?https://t.co/FGCWDv0kUZ
@visakanv I agree! Everytime I recommend it to someone they don't read it because it's long. But it's gold! I'm gonna have a think about what I can do about this. I've summarised a couple of his posts on my blog before. Maybe that'll be a start.