What could possibly go wrong?

[highfigh]

Oregon governor signs bill ending reading and math proficiency requirements for graduation

https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-resources/assessment/Documents/OregonDTC03.10.21_QA.pdf

 

[Hetfield]

Keep em dumb is their motto. They are counting on dummies to vote for them.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[panteragstk]

So I guess we're just going to make this a reality MUCH sooner than predicted?

 

[lovinthehd]

So I guess we're just going to make this a reality MUCH sooner than predicted?

I thought we'd already been there for the last several years.....

 

[slipperybidness]

If there is no reading and math proficiency requirements, then there really isn't much point nor much value in attending school at all!

THIS is why the USA is getting spanked in the business world by other big world players.

Skilled labor is incredibly difficult to find in the USA at this point.

 

[Pogre]

Wow. The US needs to wake the truck up and start teaching critical thinking skills along with proper skepticism.

 

[Pogre]

Omg this makes me so mad. I recently heard Arkansas is pushing to have creationism taught in schools as a viable theory for the beginning of everything too.

Every day, I wake up in a world surrounded by people who believe in batshit crazy things and who want to legislate what they think their invisible BFF in the sky wants on everyone else, regardless if it unnecessarily infringes on rights, safety or even makes any sense. Flat earthers, creationists... where does it end? Are we going to start teaching that the moon landing is a hoax? You'd think we live in an enlightened enough era that things like this would be losing steam, not gaining it.

 

[Hetfield]

Omg this makes me so mad. I recently heard Arkansas is pushing to have creationism taught in schools as a viable theory for the beginning of everything too.

Every day, I wake up in a world surrounded by people who believe in batshit crazy things and who want to legislate what they think their invisible BFF in the sky wants on everyone else, regardless if it unnecessarily infringes on rights, safety or even makes any sense. Flat earthers, creationists... where does it end? Are we going to start teaching that the moon landing is a hoax? You'd think we live in an enlightened enough era that things like this would be losing steam, not gaining it.

Hold on a sec, just hold on. You don't believe the Earth is flat and man walked the earth with dinosaurs? And I thought we were friends.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[panteragstk]

I thought we'd already been there for the last several years.....

Oh we've escalated over the last year and half. Sh!ts getting dumber and dumber...

 

[panteragstk]

Omg this makes me so mad. I recently heard Arkansas is pushing to have creationism taught in schools as a viable theory for the beginning of everything too.

Every day, I wake up in a world surrounded by people who believe in batshit crazy things and who want to legislate what they think their invisible BFF in the sky wants on everyone else, regardless if it unnecessarily infringes on rights, safety or even makes any sense. Flat earthers, creationists... where does it end? Are we going to start teaching that the moon landing is a hoax? You'd think we live in an enlightened enough era that things like this would be losing steam, not gaining it.

It drives me nuts simply because anything could be a "theory" but people don't understand that there is a massive difference between your idiot brother thinking the earth is flat es a "theory" and there being a widely acceptable theory like gravity.

 

[Pogre]

It drives me nuts simply because anything could be a "theory" but people don't understand that there is a massive difference between your idiot brother thinking the earth is flat es a "theory" and there being a widely acceptable theory like gravity.

Most people don't realize that when a scientist uses the word "theory", they're not using the colloquial "it's just a theory" version. A theory is the best explanation we have to describe the observations we see in reality. A scientific theory has been put through the wringer and has held up to all attempts to prove it wrong. Theories aren't just guesses.

I know you prolly already know that, but a lot of folks don't.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Most people don't realize that when a scientist uses the word "theory", they're not using the colloquial "it's just a theory" version. A theory is the best explanation we have to describe the observations we see in reality. A scientific theory has been put through the wringer and has held up to all attempts to prove it wrong. Theories aren't just guesses.

I know you prolly already know that, but a lot of folks don't.

How right you are.

 

[Swerd]

We see evidence of things like that every day on AH. It's time to drag out one of my favorite quotes. This one is from Issac Asimov. (Asimov (1920-1992) born in Russia, after the Bolshevik revolution but before the USSR days, came to the USA at age 3. He was educated in the US as a biochemist, and became a prolific writer of fiction and especially science fiction.)

He once wrote:

"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."​

I think we've all witnessed that among the anti-vaccine people.

 

[panteragstk]

Most people don't realize that when a scientist uses the word "theory", they're not using the colloquial "it's just a theory" version. A theory is the best explanation we have to describe the observations we see in reality. A scientific theory has been put through the wringer and has held up to all attempts to prove it wrong. Theories aren't just guesses.

I know you prolly already know that, but a lot of folks don't.

That is 100% my point as well. The word is very misunderstood.

 

[panteragstk]

We see evidence of things like that every day on AH. It's time to drag out one of my favorite quotes. This one is from Issac Asimov. (Asimov (1920-1992) born in Russia, after the Bolshevik revolution but before the USSR days, came to the USA at age 3. He was educated in the US as a biochemist, and became a prolific writer of fiction and especially science fiction.)

He once wrote:

"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."​

I think we've all witnessed that among the anti-vaccine people.

Reminds me of "The Demon Haunted World" by Carl Sagan. I'm not done with it, but one of the first things he talks about were that a cab driver got super excited when he got Carl in his cab because he "was interested in science". Well, the cabby starts asking questions and they're all about astrology and a lot of other pseudoscience and all Carl could tell him was that stuff wasn't really science because there wasn't any science to back any of it up. Needless to say the cabby was disappointed with that answer.

I probably butchered the story, but that's the gist of it. People don't really know what is and isn't science.

 

[Pogre]

I probably butchered the story, but that's the gist of it. People don't really know what is and isn't science.

It's true. People often have the wrong idea of what it even is. Science doesn't make truth proclamations or claim we've answered everything. It's collecting data and building models that offer tentative explanations to describe the observations. It's put out there for review, where everyone in the field takes turns trying to poke holes in it. If it survives the review process it's put forth as a theory. It's never set in stone and is open to modification as we learn more about "x". It's self correcting and embraces the possibility the models could be wrong. Nobel prizes are awarded when someone proves an accepted model wrong.

I think it's the single best method we have for determining the facts about reality that best match what we can see and experience. It never claims absolute truth or knowledge, but gets us about as close to it as possible, and can be refined and updated as we learn more.

Again, I know you understand that, but a lot of folks don't. I just wanted to put it out there.

 

[panteragstk]

It's true. People often have the wrong idea of what it even is. Science doesn't make truth proclamations or claim we've answered everything. It's collecting data and building models that offer tentative explanations to describe the observations. It's put out there for review, where everyone in the field takes turns trying to poke holes in it. If it survives the review process it's put forth as a theory. It's never set in stone and is open to modification as we learn more about "x". It's self correcting and embraces the possibility the models could be wrong. Nobel prizes are awarded when someone proves an accepted model wrong.

I think it's the single best method we have for determining the facts about reality that best match what we can see and experience. It never claims absolute truth or knowledge, but gets us about as close to it as possible, and can be refined and updated as we learn more.

Again, I know you understand that, but a lot of folks don't. I just wanted to put it out there.

Yup. Well put, and you bring up another point the anti-science or just "lack of understanding" crowd likes to make. If science is correct then why does it change? Well, when new data is found and applied, you change what you think. It's not subjective.

 

[lovinthehd]

Omg this makes me so mad. I recently heard Arkansas is pushing to have creationism taught in schools as a viable theory for the beginning of everything too.

Every day, I wake up in a world surrounded by people who believe in batshit crazy things and who want to legislate what they think their invisible BFF in the sky wants on everyone else, regardless if it unnecessarily infringes on rights, safety or even makes any sense. Flat earthers, creationists... where does it end? Are we going to start teaching that the moon landing is a hoax? You'd think we live in an enlightened enough era that things like this would be losing steam, not gaining it.

I believe I have read of school districts authorizing the moon landing hoax stuff....

 

[lovinthehd]

It's true. People often have the wrong idea of what it even is. Science doesn't make truth proclamations or claim we've answered everything. It's collecting data and building models that offer tentative explanations to describe the observations. It's put out there for review, where everyone in the field takes turns trying to poke holes in it. If it survives the review process it's put forth as a theory. It's never set in stone and is open to modification as we learn more about "x". It's self correcting and embraces the possibility the models could be wrong. Nobel prizes are awarded when someone proves an accepted model wrong.

I think it's the single best method we have for determining the facts about reality that best match what we can see and experience. It never claims absolute truth or knowledge, but gets us about as close to it as possible, and can be refined and updated as we learn more.

Again, I know you understand that, but a lot of folks don't. I just wanted to put it out there.

I suppose its the simplistic approach like with religion where you offer unconditional faith in exchange for "answers"....they expect science is such a font of "answers".

 

[lovinthehd]

FWIW I haven't looked particularly into the Oregon legislation (nor has it been approved by the feds IIRC) but do plan on asking some friends who are/were in the education system here as to what their views/thoughts are....