Can We All Agree on Political Basics?

This is a question I've been contemplating since my contretemps with a self-proclaimed tea bagger relative less than ten days ago. The heart of the matter is whether or not we can agree on the same facts, because if not, then it must be admitted that any concordance is impossible and we must be in perpetual hostility. (People are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts.) This could also be taken as a sign that the nation is perpetually polarized and there will always be two nations - one  'Red',  one 'Blue',   at least to a first approximation.

Another factor one must consider is the level of insight, critical thinking ability and education. Though people may not like to admit it, these all bear on the person's access to and grasp of facts without which common ground is impossible. Does this mean everyone must have gone to college? No, only that they have open and inquiring minds and are prepared to have their pet beliefs challenged and defend them via their own logic and argumentation as opposed to taking the easy path of telling your opponent to "read the book."  Of whomever.

It also presumes the person is prepared to educate himself beyond high school, and not restrict himself to one avenue of information - say FOX News, or right wing news channels.  (Left wing sources should obviously be checked too - as I showed with numerous posts in February and March on how MSNBC was not getting its facts straight to do with the Ukraine crisis. I also showed in other posts the conspiracy phobia infecting many on the Left and why they need to surmount it - because it diminishes their argumentation capacity.)

One sign that a person is on the right track is that s/he welcomes new knowledge - especially emanating from opponents and doesn't regard it as the signature of a "know it all" - which is a derogatory, anti-intellectual term. The use of such a detraction shows that those who use it are neither critical  thinkers or that they welcome new knowledge, facts etc. It instead shows a fear of knowledge - perhaps born of a lack of enough exposure during their elementary or high school years.

So what political basic facts should we all be able to agree upon? (Noting these will also impinge on areas of economics, history and science).  I set them out as follows:

1) We no longer inhabit a democracy or Republic but a corporatocracy which is run by and for the benefit of corporations.

2) The two primary political parties are themselves corporate parties - running off the dime of Big Business. The Dem version we call Neoliberal, the Republican is more Neocon - twisting the economy to serve the war state.

3) Our history is told as a form of propaganda - especially regarding the wars we've fought - most of which were based on pretexts.

4) Global warming science is valid and 97% of actual climate scientists - not "liberals". - ACCEPT it. Also, the effects are going on all around us and are supported by quality science.

5) Our nation is beset by fundamental economic inequality which at root can be traced to a too small tax base and tax rates -given what the nation seeks to support.

6) Too much of the tax commons goes to military spending and is wasted.

7) Our health system suffers from too uneven a quality and not enough health professionals where needed.

8) Presidential elections are virtually meaningless and are merely portrayed as a 'horse race' between two top contenders. Very little real information is brought out for citizens.

9) The political system itself is corrupted by money and won't be fixed until we cease saying money is "speech" and allowing it to sway our elections.

10) Religion is far too involved in our politics and needs to be exposed more to Jefferson's "wall of separation".  Having a religion also should not be a determinant of whether a person is qualified to run for public office.

I'd like to believe reasonable citizens can agree on even half of these - but that remains to be seen!

U.S. Adults & Students Bomb Out In Math, Science ....Again!

Conducting a workshop in August, 1978 to help Caribbean teachers with the CXC Astronomy syllabus

One of the amusing comments of Caribbean teachers attending a CXC (Caribbean Examinations Council)  astronomy workshop in August, 1978 in Castries, St. Lucia was:

"Why is there so much physics and math in this syllabus content? Are we expected to be able to integrate both these subjects?"

Well, uh, yes .....that's why this subject is called Integrated Science and why astronomy is taught for one trimester as part of it. After doing some basic background review, however, most of the teachers grew a bit more comfortable.  Though astronomy ultimately became defunct after five years - because fewer and fewer teachers were prepared to handle it - the seeds sown in the inaugural year allowed a vast number of science teachers to enhance their physics and math skills.

Could a deficit in physics and math background, skill also explain why U.S. students continue to not do so well compared to other advanced nations? According to recent results of a world wide test - administered to over 156,000 people in 20 nations, between the ages of 16 and 65 - the conclusions are not sanguine, for the students or the adults. In the case of the high school students they placed 31st in math, and 24th in science, not having changed position in the last decade.

Meanwhile, the students of Shanghai, China (the nation that's just dispatched a space craft to the Moon) scored highest, with their results equivalent to at least one additional year of school - over U.S. competitors. Nor was this simply a matter of regurgitating material, but instead the students demonstrated they "were very good at higher order skills reflecting what you can do with what you already know."

One example of this type of problem would be:

"A group of 4 astronauts lands on Mars with solar radiation collection material of total area 2000 m^2. If the efficiency of the material is 30%, and the ambient night time temperature on Mars for their base location (Isidis Planitia) is -40 C (10 C day time high), will they have adequate collecting material if the solar constant on Mars is 620 W/m^2? (Assume insulating material with a thermal conductivity of 0.08 W/mC, and a need to keep the inside area of their domecile at least at 10 C, requiring solar radiant energy collected of at least 1,200 W per minute for an area of 10 m x 10 m.)

Estimate the thickness of insulating material they're likely to need in order to make it work. Comment on whether this expedition is even feasible given the limits of their materials, and that no more than 100 m^3 of insulating material can be taken."

That Chinese students are proficient at doing this type of critical thinking application problem and U.S. students mainly are not, ought to be severe cause for worry. In addition, this divergence can also explain why so many in the U.S. still fail to grasp the basics of climate change, including why spates of frigid weather and snow do not contradict it.  This take is also reinforced by the fact that American adults scored below the international average on a global test in math, reading and problem-solving using technology — all skills considered critical for global competitiveness and economic strength.

Meanwhile, adults in Japan, Canada, Australia, Finland and multiple other countries scored significantly higher than the United States in all three areas on the test, according to results released Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is made up of mostly industrialized member countries.  Are we a nation in profound decline? I submit to you that given the results on multiple levels, we are, and there's no gainsaying it.

How complex were the problems? Maybe you are thinking they were similar to the sample one shown above. Not so! Beyond basic reading and math, respondents were tested on activities such as calculating mileage reimbursement owed to a salesman, sorting email and comparing food expiration dates on grocery store tags.  None of which require profound insight or genius level skills, or shouldn't. But recall that a similar test given in the 1980s disclosed adults who: didn't know the Sun was a star, and believed the Sun moved round the Earth, not vice versa.

Not only did Americans score poorly compared to many international competitors, the findings highlighted the gap between American high- and low-skilled workers, and how hard it is to move ahead when your parents have not. To fix ideas,  in both reading and math, for example, those with college-educated parents did better than those whose parents did not complete high school.

Most worrisome, the U.S. tested below average on literacy. Coupled with the nation's "large social disparities, the test's findings reveal that for Americans, social background has a major impact on literary skills," the study said.

As we confront an era with ever more advanced technological issues, not only climate change but (very soon) the advent of quantum computing and bio-engineering, one wonders just how prepared Americans are. While too many still remain mesmerized by the bubbling DOW, they'd do much better to ensure they attain essential critical thinking skills - for themselves and progeny.

A set of sample math and science questions to see how you fare:

1)  In a given week a salesman travels 134 miles, during which he pays an average of $3.29 per gallon for gas. If his Buick Enclave gets 12 miles to the gallon, how much should he be reimbursed?

2) You're given a straight rule, a doughnut and a circular disc. Draw a sketch of each and mark the center of gravity in each sketch. What is meant by the center of gravity?

3) A girl is given 100 cubic centimeters of boiling water in a beaker, to which 50 grams of  ice is added. Using a thermometer, how will she know when the mixture has reached thermal equilibrium?

4) One Big Mac and Cheese with condiments has 3,800 calories. You want to burn them off with exercise, and choose jogging. This allows 150 calories to be burned off per half hour,. How long will you need to jog to burn off the Big Mac?

5) An air conditioner consists of a fan coil unit and a compressor unit.  When switched on, the fan coil unit rated at 250 watts, operates continuously. The compressor unit - rated at 1.6 kilowatt- operates only 40% of the time. If the air conditioner is switched on for 12 hours a day, find the total electrical energy in kwh (kilowatt-hours) consumed in a 30-day month.

6) Find the value of x, if:

6x - 24 =   12 - 3x


7) If seven  pencils and 5 erasers cost $11.60, but 5 pencils and 3 erasers cost $7.60. Find the cost of 8 erasers.

8) The floor of a room is in the shape of a rectangle. The floor is c meters long. The width of the floor is 2 meters less than its length. State, in terms of the unknown c:

i) the width of the floor

ii) the area of the floor

If the area of the floor turns out to be 15 m²    then find the width of the floor in meters.