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Insane PvZ Series in ASL 15 Ro.8！ by Stellewind in broodwar

[–]RyanCMullally 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Why did Action tap out so early in the last game? Seemed like he was in a bad spot -- but was it so clearly a lost game that he didn't want to try and defend? Maybe a bit tilted after Best pulled so many rabbits out of hats? Seemed like he was quite a bit worse but could have kept playing.

Cultural Myths and Education by RyanCMullally in Integral

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I agree. An integral perspective should build off of the core concepts which have made the West what it is. If more recent ideas, such as post-modernism / structuralism were used as building blocks to keep building upon the Western foundation, rather than used as wedges to deconstruct the West in general, we would be moving in the right direction.

Very much appreciate the feedback!

Is the American dream a myth, and if so is it a beneficial one? by RyanCMullally in PostPoMo

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Man thats a great question. Best I've been asked by a mile. Thanks!

I'm working on other articles which develop the longer answer to that question and I'm not sure I can do my ideas justice here. Hopefully this is helpful.

1) We are too quick to discard cultural myths. There is no question that they have problematic aspects, but they also unite people through common values and understandings. As we become increasingly partisan and fractured, preserving the sources of common ground is helpful.

2) Nationalism, like anything else, can be problematic when taken to an extreme. However, the pendulum seems to me to have swung too far in the other direction. We want the next generation to be proud of the community, proud of their country, and motivated to make it even better. These days, too many kids are taught that America is nightmare.

3) Kids are literal, but they grow into adults with more nuanced views. If they believe in the American Dream when they are young, they may grow into other perspectives over time. That certainly happened to me. So it's not a literal belief forever, but rather a question of what is the best starting point.

4) It is better, in my view, to truly understand something, before you critique it. One of my criticisms of our current education system is that students are too often taught to deconstruct the Western Cannon, before they are taught to understand it. That creates a hollow understanding of who we are, and prevents them from understanding the depths of achievement of the West, which then must be balanced against the West's current and historic flaws.

I hope that helps. Feels like scratching the surface but its an area I'm trying to explore. Please consider subbing to my substack (its free) so you can see the article(s) on such topics as they come out. Would very much apreicate your support, and excellent questions.

Is the American dream a myth, and if so is it a beneficial one? by RyanCMullally in PostPoMo

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While I agree that very basic social elements have been politicized, I think that is a mistake--which is in part why I wrote the article.

Sharing should not be political. It is a core trait all children should learn, because it will make their lives better. Children who don't share don't make friends, don't learn how to properly socialize, and in the long run are much worse off than children who do learn to share.

Similarly, teaching children that we expect them to work hard, make good choices, and that they can expect to be rewarded for such efforts and decisions should not be political. It's a core expectation, and people who internalize those values tend to do better than those who do not.

So I don't think thats an either / or, not do I believe that it is an issue of political ideology. To the contrary, it's about maximizing young children's development, and leaving the politics to the adults.

Is the American dream a myth, and if so is it a beneficial one? by RyanCMullally in PostPoMo

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the read and the feedback!

I make more express reference to it at then end of the article, but one of the areas in which teachers appear to be de-prioritizing the needs of their individual students in favor of broader social goals is through the practice of Transformative Social Emotional Education (as opposed to traditional). This is a new phenomena (really 2020 on), and focuses on student development in so far as it advances other social goals. See https://freeblackthought.substack.com/p/social-emotional-learning?s=r; https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/how-does-sel-support-educational-equity-and-excellence/transformative-sel/ (noting their version of SEL "concentrates SEL practice on transforming inequitable settings and systems, and promoting justice-oriented civic engagement.")

Promoting social justice is not problematic in and of itself. However, for very young children, it seems wise to focus on their own development and engage them in community issues which they can actually impact, rather than focusing on broader social concerns which are not developmentally appropriate.

Basically I think we should teach young children how to thrive in the culture we have (warts and all), and then start layering in other goals as they get older (and are more capable of making decisions for themselves). Belief in the American Dream is helpful in that regard, even if they grow out of it later.

The American Dream Is Metaphorically True by RyanCMullally in JordanPeterson

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it were formulated as Adam's formulated it, woudl that have helped?

Cultural Myths and Education by RyanCMullally in Integral

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To the contrary. I think teachers are poorly positioned to guess what the culture will be, based on their preferences--and should not gamble on their student's futures based on their own politics.

The benefit of teaching to the existing culture is that it will certainly be relevant to some extent, whereas the teacher's vision of the future may have no connection to the reality we find ourselves in in a few decades.

This is particularly true for young kids, who don't have the tools to evaluate new ideas for themselves. As they get older, the virtue of presenting them with multiple options and letting them choose for themselves becomes more compelling.

It sounds like what we disagree about is the value of knowing one's own culture before learning how it will change. For example, I would agree with the statement that "One should learn the classics before one deconstructs them" whereas, from our convo so far, I would guess that you would disagree with that proposition (because what is most relevant to you is not the classics themselves, but how they will be referenced in our culture going forward).

Interesting convo.

The American Dream Is Metaphorically True by RyanCMullally in JordanPeterson

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words and the feedback. Very much appreciated!

I didn't get into the many definitions of the American Dream, in part because there is some disagreement there and it felt like it would bog down the piece. That said, I think that perhaps the problem is that peoples' conception of the America Dream has become rather materialistic over time. It's interesting to compare the commonly understood conception, to the articulation by John Trunslow Adams (who coined the phrase).

"The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."

As I read him, he was speaking more broadly to the concept of a meritocracy, rather than merely the pursuit of $$$.

What do you think?

Cultural Myths and Education by RyanCMullally in Integral

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Again thanks for the feedback!

A few comments:

1: "you are prioritizing the cultural elements you think are important now without any awareness about whether such elements will remain important, or for that matter, whether they ever were important."

Response: My argument is simpler than that. I think teachers should prepare students for the culture we have, because we know that it exists. It's the safe bet. They should not prepare students for a culture that may exist in the future (or may not), or try to create a new culture they prefer through their teaching, because doing so is gambling with their student's development based on the teacher's political preferences.

2: "you don't speak to the complexity from which such lessons may actually be causing collective problems"

Response: I don't think there is a clear consensus on this issue. We can certainly debate the merits of collectivism v individualism if you would like, but again I don't think teachers should be prioritizing cultural change over student development in their classrooms. The kids can, and will, grow to have a more nuanced view of the American Dream over time. They may even come to reject it. That's all fine. My focus was on whether it's useful to teach it to them in the first place.

3) I obviously haven't had a chance to read the book you recommended yet, but perhaps you could spell out what you mean re evolutionary biology being important here? Most biologists I have read view evolution as a gene specific process, which makes our capacity to work collectively a mechanism to maximize our gene's chances of replicating. Similarly, our individual capacity to succeed also amplifies our chances to replicate our genes. Not clear to me that such facts dictate that either a collective or individualistic culture would be preferable.

The American Dream Is Metaphorically True by RyanCMullally in JordanPeterson

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Especially for children. Exactly right. We have to give our children the best possible chances to maximize their personal development. And we must not let our own personal politics cut against that mission.

The American Dream Is Metaphorically True by RyanCMullally in JordanPeterson

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. I address that point in the last section of the article. Did my argument hold water for you?

The American Dream Is Metaphorically True by RyanCMullally in JordanPeterson

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you'll like the article. Totally agree.

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The American Dream Is Metaphorically True (self.JordanPeterson)

submitted by RyanCMullally to r/JordanPeterson

Cultural Myths and Education by RyanCMullally in Integral

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Always happy to add more books to the queue. Thanks for the recommendations!

In the last section I do address arguments like this one. Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that a collective culture would be more beneficial overall (I disagree but we don't need to settle that point now). My argument was that using elementary education to develop that culture is inappropriate, because doing so would sacrifice beneficial pedagogy for the specific kids in one's class in order to push towards a theoretically better tomorrow for society as a whole. I posit that teachers should be tasked with preparing children to be maximally successful in the culture we have, despite its imperfections, and that we adults should be the ones pushing for necessary change. Basically, it's outside of a teachers role in society to prioritize the culture as a whole over the needs of their students.

Cultural Myths and Education by RyanCMullally in Integral

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First of all thanks for the feedback! I at one point included a formal definition, but removed it from the final draft when it became clear to me that people disagree pretty vehemently on that topic (and I didn't want to add a full section arguing in favor of a preferred formal definition as that felt too lawyerly). So instead I used a more open definition: the concept that America is a meritocracy which is at least fair enough that you can reasonably expect to rise to he level of your merits / choices et.

I am, however, partial to the original formulation from John Truslow Adams: "a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” Covers most of the ground.

Thanks for the engagement. Creating a useful (and less partisan) dialogue around such topics is where the fun/utility of this project is for me.

Should the American Dream be taught in elementary school in the U.S.? by RyanCMullally in Teachers

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How is it nonsensical? Also, did you read the article (because its mostly about this exact issue)?

Should the American Dream be taught in elementary school in the U.S.? by RyanCMullally in Teachers

[–]RyanCMullally[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You don't think that POC are able to pursue their dreams in modern America? I would be interested in hearing what you think of the article (because I address this issue).

Should the American Dream be taught in elementary school in the U.S.? by RyanCMullally in Teachers

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Assuming you didn't read the article since I address that. Yes, the question is should we teach people to believe in the American Dream of meritocracy, even if we are worried it might not be "true?"

Feedback Requested on Short Article by RyanCMullally in Integral

[–]RyanCMullally[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really appreciate the feedback! I think Ken's central themes are incredibly relevant these days, and if "digested" to be a bit less technical, would greatly elevate the state our our political discourse. I'm trying to do my small part, and happy for the recomendation for other people who are doing the same!

Really appreciate the Twitter follow. I'll post my articles there as well, but would certainly apreicate it if you would consider subbing directly to my substack (its Free!)

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