On Jul 20, 7:29=A0am, "Michael J. Mahon"  wrote:
> Bill Buckels wrote:
> > "Michael J. Mahon"  wrote in message
> >news:gNydnbbdG90UXRzVnZ2dnUVZ_ojinZ2d{at}comcast.com...
> > David Schmenk wrote:
>
> >> I view this essential dysfunction of the educational system in the US =
as
> >> the most fundamental problem facing the country--in the sense that if =
we
> >> don't fix it, nothing else will be fixed.
>
> > You can extend that to the other parts of the world that I have seen la=
tely
> > like Italy and England and of course Canada which is where I am. The US=
 can
> > think that they are insular or can determine their own destiny if they =
like.
> > Unfortunately I fear that world will need to be fixed, and you are only=
 part
> > of that solution and the rest of us are tied to the larger view as you =
are,
> > I think, despite the usually narrow notion that you folks there have al=
ways
> > had.
>
> > What do you think Mike?
>
> I agree that the problem likely extends far beyond the US.
>
> But I have to think that the prominence of US media on the
> planet makes us at least one major source of "attention
> pollution".

It extends at least as far as Australia, where the television is
drenched in banal (mainly US produced) pop media that numbs the brain.

> Perhaps the problem is that we have learned to make devices
> to saturate our senses before learning the discipline not to
> overuse them to the point of desensitization.

Maybe I'm just too cynical, but it seems to me that societies power
brokers have always preferred a quiet, compliant population that
doesn't think too much. From the original broadcast medium of
clergyman on pulpit, through newsprint and to television today, there
has always been a steady supply of mind-numbingly vacuous
'information' for the unwashed masses to consume.

I think you're spot on wrt education though - it's only through the
application of critical thinking that the mind becomes enlightened and
then demands quality. The problem is, how do you get a society to
value something the majority of people simply do not have?

Matt
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