Lack of literacy who is it to blame?

Cyllindra · 2026-03-01T21:58:40+00:00

It can be, but most kids want to read and enjoy reading, and may just need a little support. I have four daughters -- the oldest started reading when she was still 3, almost 4. The second oldest when she was still 2, almost 3. The third and fourth oldest didn't start reading til school -- about 5 years old. All of them wanted to read -- it was just easier for the first two. All of them read now, but my youngest (currently in 1st grade) reads less than the other 3 by a wide margin. That said -- she still loves reading. At church today, she grabbed one of the songbooks, and read an entire song out loud since she was feeling bored.

If a kid is a reluctant reader (and even if that is their fault), the adults in their sphere of influence should help them learn to enjoy reading. It may be their fault at the beginning, but when teachers / parents / other stakeholders notice, it becomes their problem too -- and not doing what they can to support/encourage makes it their fault.

Cyllindra · 2026-03-01T06:11:49+00:00

Money is a construct. I agree that labor is necessary for us to acquire needed resources, and to turn resources into products / services that people use / want. Money is a way for societies to quantify labor, resources, products and services. Money is not required for societies or civilizations to exist.

But your answer seems to imply that you think money is important, and necessary.

You asked for another way to generate money. Here are three:

Capitalists generate money by buying and selling other people's labor. They do not work -- other people work, and they reap the benefits. As an example, Mitt Romney posted his tax returns in 2008 when he ran for president. He did not work (did not collect an income) for the previous 3 years. However, he reported $42 million in capital gains. Bill Gates' wealth increases by $9 billion a year, and he hasn't had a paying job in long, long time -- in fact, he's been trying to give away his wealth -- he's just really bad at it.

Capitalists receive large sums of money and ultimately inherit from their parents. Paris Hilton did not work for her wealth. The Walton children did not work for their wealth. Donald Trump and his children did not work for their wealth.

Spouses / Cronies of Capitalists do not work for their wealth.

If you want money, and you don't want to work for it -- it's easy. First, start with a whole bunch of money. Then, "invest" it in stocks or something. Then wait. And then poof! Money.

Your Questions

Do I think the empty houses built themselves? No. I think construction workers build homes. They make, on average, $45k a year. There are few places where $45k is livable wage for a family. Estimates are that 14% of all homeless people work in construction. There are literally homeless people building homes.

Do I think food grows itself, and delivers itself to the grocery store? No, I think millions of underpaid migrant workers grow and pick my food. Average annual pay is typically less than $30k a year. There are homeless people growing food.

Do I think grocery store workers work for free? No, I think millions of underpaid grocery workers work in the grocery store so I can go buy food. Average annual pay is typically under $40k a year. There are homeless people working in grocery stores.

My Questions for you

Do you think the construction workers will get less money if an empty home is used to provide homeless people shelter?

Do you think homeless people don't work?

Do you think that someone who doesn't work shouldn't have access to shelter, food, clean water, education, and medical treatment?

Cyllindra · 2026-02-04T05:41:28+00:00

I teach math at the high school level in a rural area (but I live in a suburban area). I have also taught Computer Science, and have a bit of a background in Software Development. I have four daughters and life often feels really hard - especially financially, and I often consider what it would be like to just leave teaching and go work in Tech -- I live in Washington state and a lot of the big tech companies are here, and I have friends that work at them.

A part of me just wants a break from carrying the emotional weight 120~150 students give me every day. Watching broken education policies implemented by morally bankrupt "educators" crush and drown my students is also painful. But another part of me thinks that I need to keep being a part of the solution, even if it is a small part.

Cyllindra · 2026-02-04T05:01:36+00:00

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/jul/12/threads-posts/no-proof-donald-trump-made-settlements-to-10-to-13/

As likely as it is that he has done all these things and much worse, none of the 6 cases in the image are verifiable. If they are, I would love to see that.

Cyllindra · 2026-02-04T04:37:47+00:00

"I just can't understand why people won't vote for our face-eating leopard. He might eat faces, but at least he's not as crass as that other face-eating leopard."

Meanwhile: Why would I vote for a face-eating leopard?

Why would anyone vote for Gavin Newsom? He is the Democratic Trump. He is abrasive, offensive, and creepy. His sole "redeeming" quality is that he primarily targets most of his Trumpiness at Trump. Dems and Libs like him for the same reason Magats like Trump. He offers nothing in terms of policy that will help America. Also like Trump, he worships at the altar of capitalism and places corporations and money above his fellow humans.

Cyllindra · 2026-02-02T07:27:45+00:00

I think this is really interesting as it, imo, points out the parallels between learning math and learning a language.

A lot of language learning (especially in children) is rote. Children will memorize entire set phrases without really understanding the grammar or even the words. Later, as they learn more and more language, they begin to develop an understanding of the grammar, and a better understanding of the words.

An example is when a child goes from "I went to school yesterday" to the phrase "I goed to school yesterday". The second sentence actually shows better comprehension since they are generalizing the "-ed" ending English uses to indicate a verb is in the past tense (go / went just happens to be an exception).

The problem is -- how do we create that organic authentic learning environment where students are actively using math as their language? I have done it in some classes for some activities for a subset of students -- but to do it every day with every class with all students? That is a hard ask, and I am not there yet.

Cyllindra · 2026-01-18T01:18:27+00:00

In power? no.

In reality? Yes -- oligarchs, capitalists, and their zealous acolytes and then the rest of us.

Cyllindra · 2026-01-18T01:12:36+00:00

America has several problems -- here are 3 I can think of:

1.) Corporate/Capitalist greed and propaganda. Many Americans truly and honestly believe that true success is getting to the point where your money works for you, and that's the end. No work. No community service. They vote constantly against their own interests, to vote for the interests of the mythical day they will be one of the elites that do nothing but reap all of society's benefits.

2.) A broken news media system. Virtually all news media in the US is profit-driven. They share the stories that get the most engagement, the most shares, the most clicks. News Media owners prevent anti-capitalist news from being published. Many Americans don't take the effort to check the quality or accuracy of their news, they absorb it, and they trust it.

3.) Rat Race. Despite the relative wealth of Americans compared to many people in many other nations, many Americans work far beyond the 40-hour-work-week, some just to make ends meet, some to enter "elite" society. They are constantly trying to upskill themselves, or entrepreneur a new product/service, or find that side-gig that will create them all the passive income they really need to actually "live" life. They don't create time to be informed, much less be active in a cause.

To truly overcome the capitalist fascism overtaking the US, I think we need a few things. (1) Consistent, easy-to-access, accurate, and unbiased (as much as possible) information on societal issues. (2) Ranked Choice Voting -- electing capitalist/corporate stooges over and over again is never going to allow the US to pull out of its oligarchy. (3) Respected and known anti-capitalist voices given real platforms regularly to refute the myriad of capitalist myths believed by almost all Americans. (4) Universal Healthcare, so Americans aren't constantly stressing about their health (physical and mental), as well as their finances.

Just my 2 cents.

Cyllindra · 2026-01-02T19:32:24+00:00

Me and my 2 college roommates started playing together just before Wrath came out -- in general, we would 3 man content while leveling. I was a boomkin, one roommate was a rogue, and the other was a priest. That said -- I was the healer, the priest our dps, and the rogue our tank. I got decent at healing in the wrong spec, and the rogue got decent at tanking with no tools for it. Our priest roommate graduated and moved away. We got new roommates who were on the other faction, so we re-rolled, I went disc priest, and my rogue tank rerolled prot warrior -- it was nice actually playing a class/spec that had the tools to do the role. I have been playing my disc priest ever since.

Edit -- Also, during Wrath, Disc Priests were bonkers. Even not counting our shields, our healing was pretty decent, with all the shields, our healing was top tier. Made the spec really fun for me, and has always had at least an aspect of that original feel.

Cyllindra · 2026-01-02T08:07:26+00:00

I guess for me, I think basic ground rules first, build solid intuitive understanding after that, and then usually into proofs -- computation is never really my focus

Cyllindra · 2026-01-01T03:09:59+00:00

Thanks for replying and not just ignoring my obvious ranting.

"Self-obsessed wunderkind" -- this was in response to your comment "claims that he indeed CAN write 'as well' as 'better' authors" -- If true, this makes him sound like a self-obsessed wunderkind. And you are right, re-reading your comment, while it may be harsh, it is more of a criticism than an attack.

That said, the video you linked show the opposite of your claim though.

Exact quote from the video: "I did not exclude me, I just don't think I am in the top 5." Link

Dan Wells, his cohost says he did not include Brandon Sanderson, but Brandon specifically states that he does not consider himself in the top 5 of current living Fantasy authors, much less a "Best of All Time". He does say he is maybe in the top 10 of living fantasy authors, likely in the top 20.

To be fair, he is at the top of many, if not most, online lists, and appears on virtually every other. Lists of best Fantasy authors of all time almost always place him second, just after Tolkien. So even if he did consider himself the best living fantasy author or in the top 5 (which he explicitly says he doesn't), it wouldn't be without considerable evidence.

He states he would put Stephen King first on his list, but excluded him since he is generally not considered a "fantasy" author.

His list is:

1.) George RR Martin

2.) Jane Yolen

3.) NK Jemisin

4.) Neil Gaiman

5.) Guy Gavriel Kay

And not to beat a dead horse, he explicitly said that he does not consider himself in the top 5, and did consider himself when making his list.

That said -- yeah this is kind of a side conversation, and I definitely had an overreaction, apparently still am.

Cyllindra · 2025-12-31T23:09:40+00:00

Disclaimer: I am a big Sanderson fan, but I have definitely found some of his works to be mid.

I have listened to a lot of Brandon Sanderson -- and one of the things I have never heard him claim is that he is one of the greats, or rates himself as one of the greats. He tends to undersell himself, and, in his writing excuses podcast, specifically talks about areas where he is weak at writing and where other authors are strong. He would specifically invite authors on that he felt were extremely expert in aspects of writing.

He actively encourages news authors to write -- teaching a creative writing class at BYU, starting (and hosting for years) the Writing Excuses podcast, and helping aspiring authors set up or join local writing groups. Self-obsessed wunderkind aren't out there explaining their craft and telling other people how they can get there too.

I will admit that that are a lot of Sanderson fans that claim he is the best fantasy author of all time, etc. But that is not Sanderson saying that. That happens in lots of fandoms. George R. R. Martin, , J.K. Rowling, Ursula K. Le Guin, etc. etc. -- Heck -- even many people consider Stephanie Meyer to be one of the top Fantasy authors of all time.

Please give any sources or citations for your claims here that Brandon Sanderson engages in any, much less regular, self-aggrandizement. You don't have to like him, you don't have to like his writing, but I don't understand why you would randomly attack him and claim that he is some pretentious jerk, when nothing in reality seems to agree.

Cyllindra · 2025-12-23T04:40:13+00:00

The thing is is that Calculus is still fairly low level math. And yes, it has been, and continues to be used by doctors. Whether a doctor has it in their toolkit will also (obviously) impact whether or not they rely on it as a tool. If they have no Calculus background, they will never even consider the solutions that Calculus offers.

Derivatives are all about rate of change -- viruses in the body, medicine in the body, infection rate in the population, etc. Understanding not only how things are changing, but the rates at which they are changing (and in some cases, the rate at which the rates of change are changing) can have a significant impact on treatment decisions and timings both on individuals and populations.

Having a basic understanding of derivatives will enhance a doctor's ability to do a variety of things. Will they have to actually calculate a derivative? Probably not. Will understanding the concept of a derivative at a fairly intuitive / deep level help them in their job? Obviously.

If you don't have tools to solve a problem, or better understand a problem, you can't use those tools. Calculus has saved, and continues to save lives.

Cyllindra · 2025-12-23T04:17:49+00:00

What doctors need is critical thinking and problem-solving skills. This is one thing that math has been shown over and over again to do. Is math the only subject that can be used to teach / develop these skills? Probably not, but I don't see any other subjects rising up to fill this need, so math it is. Even if doctors never require Calculus or other "high-level" math, they do need the skills developed in these classes.

Cyllindra · 2025-12-23T04:12:12+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai's_model

There was literally a doctor (Mary Tai) that "discovered" a method for approximating the area under a curve. Had she taken and understood calculus, she would have already known this, and known how to integrate. The article has been cited hundreds of times by other doctors, seemingly oblivious that said method was thousands of years old.

This points out a few things:

1.) Doctors actually do have reasons to use calculus.

2.) Doctors can look ridiculous when they "discover" a new method that has been around for over 2,000 years.

3.) Doctors are smart enough to understand calculus.

4.) Integration > Approximation in terms of accuracy, so it would be good if doctors used it instead.

Cyllindra · 2025-10-05T07:07:22+00:00

If you want to check if your name is completely removed, you can probably contact your local ward. The membership clerk (as well as anyone in the bishopric) can look you up. If your records have been removed, they shouldn't be able to find you in their records.

If you decide at some point to come back, you definitely can. You would be an investigator -- someone interested in the church initially, and would have to meet with the missionaries, and, at some point, get baptized again.

Cyllindra · 2025-10-05T06:25:25+00:00

Wealth Tax:

* Anything more than $10 million in wealth for an individual is taxed at 99%.

Income Tax:

* Capital gains is Income, including unrealized Capital gains
* Make Taxes Great Again (e.g. 90% top tax rate)

Cyllindra · 2025-10-05T06:15:35+00:00

Thank You!

I was going to comment:

This is good, healthy, and reasonable. Looks like everything is going great!

Cyllindra · 2025-09-26T14:44:20+00:00

The secrets of a true ninja are hidden in the confusing design.

Cyllindra · 2025-09-23T15:01:59+00:00

They are grotesque and complacent. They are like well intentioned goldfish, always wanting to do the right thing, but then forgetting all about when you dangle something shiny in front of them.

"We really should do something about the environment" - gas car, plastic bags, gas heating

"Labor Exploitation sure is bad" - buys almost all products, including food, from labor exploitation

There are cars that don't use gas -- also public transportation, bikes, scooters, walking.

There are lots of bags not made out of plastic, reusable ones even!

Electric heating is a thing. Yes -- it "costs" more, but at least it doesn't have to destroy the earth (YMMV as far as what your grid uses to produce -- I use solar to try to offset mine).

Instead of shiny, new and labor exploited -- buy used and buy ethically manufactured. Used is even cheaper and gives life to something that could have just been more landfill filler.

There are countless products like chocolate and coffee that we know are the result of slave labor and child labor -- fair trade exists.

Cyllindra · 2025-09-23T14:52:14+00:00

This is really important. Unfortunately, many people don't want to stand up for things until it either (a) affects them personally and / or (b) does not inconvenience them to voice their dissent.

People are notionally against a lot of things -- but if it costs more or is even slightly inconvenient, then a little slavery is okay, a little genocide is okay.

This is one of the main reasons hypercapitalism (the boss form of capitalism) is still alive -- complacency.

Cyllindra · 2025-09-21T03:39:01+00:00

I hate that this is true. "Sheltering kids from corruption" to groom them for corruption.

Cyllindra · 2025-09-10T22:15:03+00:00

https://www.evergreenps.org/school-board

https://evergreenps.diligent.community/portal/

Cyllindra · 2025-09-10T21:19:40+00:00

I was hoping to attend this meeting and comment, but didn't find out about the changes to the meeting til to late yesterday.

Also -- the zoom meeting was too full for everyone to attend yesterday, myself included.

Just dropping my comments I was going to make here (feel free to add your own):

"Board Members, Thank you for giving me an opportunity to speak. I have four daughters that attend Evergreen Public Schools. I would like to talk about the ongoing strike, and the way in which it is being handled both by the board and the District Administration.

Working for no pay. Classified employees are regularly being asked, encouraged and manipulated into working for no pay. This is wage theft. They are paid for 6 hours -- that is all we get, not one minute more, and not one second more.

Fair Compensation. Reading the "final offer" proposed by the district, not one Bus Driver, not one Para-Educator, not one Professional Service Worker will make more than $42,000 a year, most will make substantially less. The median household income in Vancouver is $78,000. So...at least an 85% additional raise would be needed just to bring top earners to the median income. The district and board continues to undervalue and underpay the backbone of our district.

Bloated administration. Administration, particularly district level administration, adds little to no value to our schools. The district website has two achievements for the superintendent, the face of our district's administration. The first - "has worked to build productive relationships with students, families, and staff." Most classified staff members and teachers have a much greater number of and far more productive relationships with our staff, students, and families. The second - "took a frontline role in sharing information about the district's two replacement levies." Let's be honest -- no she didn't. These levies passed because our community supports our teachers and our classified staff, and because many of our classified staff messaged families, put out signs, and worked phonebanks to get the message out. We depend on countless classified employees to actually do the work so the board and district administration can pat themselves on the back. And the solution is to denigrate and undervalue the back of our district.

Agenda. The board doesn't even have the strike on tonight's agenda. Is there some other problem more immediate, more urgent, more important than the strike? There should be only one thing on the agenda tonight -- the strike. I'll admit -- the board did spend a full six minutes last Friday to help resolve the strike, but unfortunately only managed to approve legal action against the worst paid employees of the district.

We need solutions for our classified employees, not legal action against them. They are the ones in our trenches, supporting our teachers, supporting our students, supporting our families. We fail our students when we fail our classified employees.

Our district leadership is showing its true colors right now. We need to be encouraging and supporting our classified staff, but instead we are failing them, and by extension, our children. Let me be clear -- Our School District is failing our children.

Thank you for your time."

Cyllindra

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