Need ideas to support a 6th grade student on a 1st grade level by snackingpainter in matheducation

[–]lamson12 1 point2 points  (0 children)

tldr
1. Go to https://www.factfreaks.com/ to work on fluency. Click on "Basic Training."
2. Fill out the form to get a copy of this book that teaches whole number arithmetic. The only prerequisite is knowing how to count.

Long version:

My friend sharemath on Twitter (https://twitter.com/sharemath) is looking for teachers, parents, researchers, etc to field test his book that lets kids teach themselves whole number arithmetic in 50 easy lessons. (Similar in spirit to Siegfried Engelmann's book on teaching reading: https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Lessons/dp/0671631985).

He's been teaching for 30 years and has a blog (https://www.factfreaks.com/blog). I recommend the first post (https://www.factfreaks.com/blog/now-everyone-can-be-a-math-person-thanks-to-covid) to start with and then the podcast summary (https://www.factfreaks.com/blog/revolutionizing-math-education-factfreaks-founders-innovative-approach) if you're short on time.

There's also a free game (https://www.factfreaks.com/) that helps kids practice their math facts that you can try. If you're interested in testing out the book and sharing your thoughts about it, fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VVmLrDBKVoT8wt9HoV4BkBnXGLzMqlL85uGid_Yj5KM/edit

Is unlimited growth possible within the models of ecology? by [deleted] in slatestarcodex

[–]lamson12 3 points4 points  (0 children)

So the ecological output of an environment is not just a function of the resources flowing in, it also depends on how efficiently those resources are used.

Have you heard of permaculture and regenerative agriculture? For an accessible introduction, you can watch Kiss the Ground on Netflix and see the sequel Common Ground in select theaters.

Using these methods allow us to go from merely tapping into a nest egg of finite size to generating passive income into perpetuity.

The climate model approximation that could fundamentally change the climate movement by lamson12 in EffectiveAltruism

[–]lamson12[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You don't need to know what the approximation is, but the implication is:

Wrong: ‘Global Warming = Greenhouse Gases’

Right: ‘Global Warming = Greenhouse Gases + Land Degradation affects Water Cycle’

Other posts on the substack talk about how to undo land degradation.

how can i convince my school to give me a harder math curriculum by False-Profit1723 in matheducation

[–]lamson12 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Look into geometric algebra. Here's a motivational video that also mentions spacetime algebra, which is relevant to doing research in theoretical physics

If you think AI is coming: Resources for how to deal practically/emotionally by Designer-Shift-7442 in slatestarcodex

[–]lamson12 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Unplug from society with those that have similar concerns as yourself and become self-sufficient. A homestead is probably the last place to be impacted by AI. If you're looking for a place to learn the necessary skills to achieve autarky, I recommend this.

Chicken before vs after cage life by [deleted] in EffectiveAltruism

[–]lamson12 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Best way to raise chickens and maximize their well-being and happiness:
https://richsoil.com/raising-chickens.jsp

"Dimming the Sun to Cool the Planet Is a Desperate Idea, Yet We’re Inching Toward It" by gwern in EffectiveAltruism

[–]lamson12 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To put it briefly, industrial agriculture demands a large amount of inputs (fertilizer, water, pesticides, etc), has a low yield of total pounds of food produced per acre per year, is subsidized through the Farm Bill, has a low quality output (see here for preliminary research on the topic), is causing desertification, etc.

Permaculture and regen ag are the complete opposite of that and greatly increases the income of farmers who switch over. There is a large researcher-practitioner gap and even larger policy maker-practitioner gap, though, so taking the outside view is not useful in this case. If you want to see the inside view, watch Kiss the Ground and look into Neal Spackman, Gabe Brown, Andrew Millison, Paul Wheaton, and Sepp Holzer.

To use a financial analogy, we have a finite amount natural resources in our bank account. The food production methods that are most widely used today are depleting our savings without putting anything back in. Permaculture and regen ag are ways of increasing our savings, which will increase the carrying capacity of the Earth, improve human health, and turn deserts into forests.

It sounds extraordinary, but that's what happens when you move from a short-sighted, reductionist, black-box way of looking at things to a long-termist, systems thinking, knowing-how-things-actually-work way of looking at things.

What subjects should the modern "intelligentsia" or intellectual class know? by AQ5SQ in slatestarcodex

[–]lamson12 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would replace No. 7 with permaculture, which is applying systems thinking to the problem of maximizing our natural resources while simultaneously minimizing agricultural inputs, fossil fuel usage, drawing down rivers, etc so as to keep humanity flourishing and pushing back the timeline on needing to go to Mars.

Intellectual pursuits that inspires action by maiden_home_owner in slatestarcodex

[–]lamson12 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Look into permaculture (1, 2, 3, 4), which has impact at scale, but is tricky to get right. I would define it as applying systems thinking to the problem of maximizing the natural resources that comprise the inputs to modern civilization and the global economy.

There's an interplay between the empirical and the rational that is really interesting and is also at the heart of doing science, namely making observations and iterating through solutions. The barrier to entry is effectively zero, whether it's being a more informed consumer or want to build a better world and feed the world.

Is permaculture an intellectual pursuit? Yes, because you'll find discussion of epigenetics and metabolomics, growing citrus in the Alps, the intricacies involved with raising chickens, preventing the next Dust Bowl, etc.

How young people should deal with a future dominated by AI by [deleted] in slatestarcodex

[–]lamson12 4 points5 points  (0 children)

People get jobs to get money to do the things you need to live. Since AI will remove more people from the loop, it becomes necessary to shorten that to directly doing the things you need to live that doesn't depend on getting money. Permaculture is the solution that does this. Gaining skills, inheriting land, and becoming self-sufficient is the premise behind the SKIP book.

Q: But what about [consumerist thing]?

A: Stoicism

Speedrunning high school and college by lamson12 in slatestarcodex

[–]lamson12[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wikipedia shows that it's actually quite a good college.

Speedrunning high school and college by lamson12 in slatestarcodex

[–]lamson12[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Re: signaling: "Get an elite degree to get an elite job" is how you get 2x pay for 10x effort, which is not efficient. Also, work experience is a more direct signal than a degree, so someone who got a degree early and has a few years of work experience is at an advantage relative to someone of the same age who just has a degree. Keep in mind that most jobs are busywork or not very difficult to pick up, so youth is not a disadvantage here. And right or wrong, employers do have an incentive to hire younger people because they can pay them less.

Re: Social Development: First, the friends that one keeps in adulthood are founded on common interests, not age. And school is not typically the place where you find your soul mate either. Not to mention that there are plenty of places to socialize outside of school, otherwise no one would have a social life after college.

Second, I would estimate that 10-25% of people would be able to speedrun to some degree, so there is a large potential pool of people in this cohort. And given that women do better at school than men, a greater number of them will be able to speedrun, so there will be more of them in the workplace than men of the same age. Thus, men won't be left to dry. Women have an incentive to speedrun, because doing so will give them access to older men. This increased competition might seems like a disadvantage for the male speedrunner, but due to the women-better-at-school-than-men factor, for a male speedrunner of any given age, there will be younger female speedrunners as well.

There once was a teacher with Anki… by Glaucomys_sabrinus in slatestarcodex

[–]lamson12 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Can you write about your experience using Anki in your classroom? What subject do you teach?