tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post10468830600817970..comments2024-02-28T22:03:57.237-05:00Comments on The Automatic Earth: Debt Rattle, June 26 2008: Seriously Souring SentimentsIlargihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09698428009501267664noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-4944445997019421162008-06-26T23:06:00.000-04:002008-06-26T23:06:00.000-04:00Go back centuries and you will find just the conce...Go back centuries and you will find just the concept of zero or naught was revolutionary to most people. Over generalization: unless you have a scientific or mathematical bent, numbers are not so connected to everyday life. Large numbers are innumerate. Financial literacy could have been taught in schools but it would have cut back on sales.Bigelowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16883913065391637120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-63115777346204249052008-06-26T23:03:00.000-04:002008-06-26T23:03:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Bigelowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16883913065391637120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-25032497878063293562008-06-26T20:56:00.000-04:002008-06-26T20:56:00.000-04:00Did you come out a well-rounded person, or a littl...<I>Did you come out a well-rounded person, or a little peg fit for a little hole?</I><BR/><BR/>No ilargi, like you, I luckily came out a gloriously well-twisted one.<BR/><BR/>Ric and all anonymous teachers, my wife had me pay some attention to the TV I was avoiding and told me that the it had said that the average wedding cost is 75,000 per nuptial, Hard to say which generation is dumber than Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-16637413586682493892008-06-26T19:51:00.000-04:002008-06-26T19:51:00.000-04:00Y'allMaybe I should restate that, in the "Rising g...Y'all<BR/><BR/>Maybe I should restate that, in the "Rising gas prices are a joke" part, I started by saying I had read people writing that the financial mayhem was caused by high oil prices. I never addressed the relative importance of the two. <BR/><BR/>Just that, in my little calculation, which as far as I can see is accurate, the housing crisis alone, so without considering all other credit Ilargihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09698428009501267664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-55893756322026670102008-06-26T19:04:00.000-04:002008-06-26T19:04:00.000-04:00Arghh, Ebrown. Thanks for your kind words, but I ...Arghh, Ebrown. Thanks for your kind words, but I struggle like the rest of 'em. Like you, I don't expect public schools to continue much longer as we know them. Perhaps this is for the good--public education is more about socialization than education. I like how Dmitry Orlov describes how to approach education in this <A HREF="http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/OriginalArticles/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-46427277980443560912008-06-26T18:40:00.001-04:002008-06-26T18:40:00.001-04:00Francois, I agree with your take that the financ...Francois,<BR/> I agree with your take that the financial crisis is more immediate and the energy crisis more profound.<BR/> I recently read "Above the Clouds" by Anatoli Boukereev (spelling of last name?). For those unaware of the mountaineering world Boukereev was an incredible alpinist. He died young as many high altitude mountaineers do, and he still holds records for speed ascents. AllEBrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02894676347259218501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-1698660735976919682008-06-26T18:40:00.000-04:002008-06-26T18:40:00.000-04:00On a slightly different tack, does anyone else fee...On a slightly different tack, does anyone else feel like we're at or past peak "higher education" in this country?<BR/><BR/>Enrollments in technical degrees and the hard sciences are way down. These are the types of graduates we need to at least attempt to manage the current crises. The abundance of lawyers and debt pimps in our system are most certainly not up to the task.thethirdcoasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02828310354952426682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-29115771976203773252008-06-26T18:27:00.000-04:002008-06-26T18:27:00.000-04:00Ric, I guess it's people like you that give me h...Ric,<BR/> I guess it's people like you that give me hope about the education system. I've had a number of superb teachers in my life and a number who could charitably be described as mediocre. <BR/><BR/> I don't think the system will continue in its present form for all that much longer - imploding muncipal budgets will force tough decsions on many a school board - but I still have hope EBrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02894676347259218501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-46391215230270589082008-06-26T18:01:00.000-04:002008-06-26T18:01:00.000-04:00Hello All,In response to the discussion on the rel...Hello All,<BR/><BR/>In response to the discussion on the relative weight of the two crises heading our way (finance and energy, leaving the climate aside for now), the credit contraction will certainly wreak havoc, but is that worse than seeing your source of energy dwindle?<BR/><BR/>If we still had abundant supplies of energy, would the financial crisis not be a multi-year problem, but one that Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-27482952258326685392008-06-26T17:50:00.000-04:002008-06-26T17:50:00.000-04:00Ilargi,The burden is on the more mature. There's ...Ilargi,<BR/>The burden is on the more mature. There's no question the parents and teachers are more culpable than students--we're more experienced and responsible. For about three years I wrote textbooks; and then stopped when I found that despite my best efforts, the editors and educators insisted on pablum. <BR/><BR/>Occasionally, I re-consider writing a screed and setting myself afire in Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-48886290195782103912008-06-26T15:41:00.000-04:002008-06-26T15:41:00.000-04:00Another teacher here.Hey ric...Ditto.But let me no...Another teacher here.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Hey ric...<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>Ditto.<BR/><BR/><BR/>But let me not bitch about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-69566070535085252902008-06-26T15:20:00.000-04:002008-06-26T15:20:00.000-04:00In my reading of history I have come to think that...In my reading of history I have come to think that there are "pod-people" of all ages, at all times. Every generation has its share of free thinkers and a sizable fraction that buy the party line, believe the hype, toe the government line, however you want to say it. <BR/><BR/>I'm still in my 20s and have some peers who are as cynical as I (some are as cynical as Ilargi about the motives of ourEBrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02894676347259218501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-36549552937110913262008-06-26T14:46:00.000-04:002008-06-26T14:46:00.000-04:00ric,The text of the poll you quote can already be ...ric,<BR/><BR/>The text of the poll you quote can already be found above. Not much using posting it again.<BR/><BR/>As for Mish' comment, <I>It took nearly 80 years for people to get as reckless as they did in 1929</I>, I think that is either very shortsighted or plainly untrue.<BR/><BR/>It may hold for some people temporarily, like US investors, but on the whole people are always equally recklessIlargihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09698428009501267664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-89589685250057045002008-06-26T14:35:00.000-04:002008-06-26T14:35:00.000-04:00Let's not get carried away bagging on the younger ...Let's not get carried away bagging on the younger generation. <BR/><BR/>They did not create the social, political, environmental, and financial environment they were born into and ultimately shaped by.<BR/><BR/>Let's also remember that there are plenty of people among the older generations who are just as "pod-like" as the d*mn kids these days.thethirdcoasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02828310354952426682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-22860035366091470212008-06-26T14:17:00.000-04:002008-06-26T14:17:00.000-04:00ric, what pod person needs to think when video gam...ric, what pod person needs to think when video games have taught him how to react?<BR/><BR/>Machete anyone?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-33206390430698689892008-06-26T13:22:00.000-04:002008-06-26T13:22:00.000-04:00Teaching has never been easy, but over the past fi...Teaching has never been easy, but over the past five years it has become excrutiatingly hard as 40% of my Gen Y'ers smile in their seats with mind-numbing complacency, turn in 20% of the work, and docily receive their F's. But why should they worry when money is free and they have more toys than any other 20 year-olds in history? <BR/><BR/>It's not everyone, but in terms of indifference to the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com