tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29945617349518647282024-03-13T08:29:35.055-07:00Al Fin The Next LevelPuzzling out different ways the human world can grow out of this between-level, into the next level.al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.comBlogger225125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-53643081180929078152013-01-19T18:38:00.001-08:002013-01-19T18:38:46.518-08:00Habits are not Like Hobbits: They Don't Just Disappear
Even without magic rings, hobbits tend to disappear when one closes a book or turns off the DVD player. They may persist for a short time in the mind, but they tend to fade fairly quickly.
Habits, once formed, tend to stick around -- sometimes for one's entire life. That is one reason why it is important for children to form habits that help them to fulfill their life goals, and form them al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-91441731192932011202013-01-16T11:17:00.000-08:002013-01-16T11:40:16.789-08:00Concepts in Mental Development: Limits to Cognition
Children are not taught, they learn. How well and how much they will learn depends upon the skills that they master, long before they are aware that they are learning. Whether or not they have the chance to master those skills depends upon their caretakers.
Even the best of us is limited in what we can learn and what we can conceive. Such limitations applied to Albert Einstein and they al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-54552411213237202782013-01-11T19:02:00.000-08:002013-01-11T19:12:19.196-08:00Essential Thinking Skills for the Dangerous ChildThis is the first entry in what will be a short introduction to thinking skills for dangerous children. Here we are looking at different ways in which thinking and the expression of ideas can go wrong.
A dangerous child must learn about the weak points in human cognition, belief, and judgment. These are cognitive and decision-making biases, which are generally built-in to the human cognitive al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-14060935171452122502013-01-03T08:12:00.003-08:002013-01-03T08:12:42.200-08:00Even the Manhattan Smart Set Is Adopting HomeschoolingIn the face of rampant school corruption and ineptitude in the NYC system, smarter NYC parents are beginning to see the virtues of homeschooling. Here is a personal account from one such NYC parent:
The city’s public schools are underfunded, overcrowded, and perpetually in turnaround. District boundaries governing enrollment change from one year to the next, as do standards for admission to al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-39340651804441166742013-01-02T11:31:00.002-08:002013-01-02T11:31:59.777-08:00Contact Flow Sparring: An Excellent Foundation Training
The clip above depicts John Perkins with different students, demonstrating the "contact flow" quasi-sparring method of training. Perkins is the developer of the "Attack Proof" method of self defence.Notice how the speed of interaction can be varied depending upon the level of expertise, control, and familiarity with the techniques and the training partner.
Slow contact training of this sort isal finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-70715121735820446262012-12-29T08:30:00.003-08:002012-12-29T08:33:09.042-08:00The Dangerous Child Curriculum, Part IXFor today's posting, we will return to the John David Garcia curriculum, last visited in part VII of this series. As mentioned in earlier postings, Al Fin corresponded with and visited with Garcia in his later years.
Garcia's curriculum is meant as an example or a prototype for the design of a broader, more enlightened, and distinctly more dangerous curriculum for the new generation of al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-4794791276616081182012-12-27T00:00:00.000-08:002012-12-27T00:00:13.623-08:00Survival Is Not Politically Correct; But It Is Mandatory
Humans of the advanced world have entered a brave and dangerous new phase of existence. We are moving through a stage where it is politically incorrect -- and sometimes illegal -- to protect oneself and one's family in order to survive a growing range of threats which one is not supposed to be aware of, much less mention in polite company.
Nevertheless, if you want to play through to the next al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-41294184836601235862012-12-25T17:28:00.000-08:002012-12-25T17:28:09.191-08:00Philosophy is for Thinkers; Ideology is for StinkersThere are very fundamental differences between philosophy and ideology. Ideology refers to a set of beliefs, doctrines that back a certain social institution or a particular organization. Philosophy refers to looking at life in a pragmatic manner and attempting to understand why life is as it is and the principles governing behind it.
...philosophy and ideology, if measured on a scale, would al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-71533778948465270412012-11-30T19:24:00.000-08:002012-11-30T19:24:11.129-08:00Basic Intro. to Smart Welding for DIYers: Guest ArticleWelding is an important skill for farmers, ranchers, DIYers, and people who wish to live in remote areas far from skilled craftsmen for hire.
The previous article on welding contained several links to multiple welding tutorials. Today, we will present a guest article on welding first published on Survival Blog by "GM". This article is a good introduction to the DIY welder.
I am a retired al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-26591232927719069912012-11-18T10:13:00.002-08:002012-11-18T10:23:29.851-08:00Maturity and the Dangerous Child
The Dangerous Child Method of education and child raising lends to the creation of exceptionally mature minds. In fact, a Dangerous Child is an exceptionally mature child who is also exceptionally skilled in a wide range of competencies.
The 20th century American philosopher, psychologist, and author Harry Overstreet is perhaps best known for his book, The Mature Mind (PDF).
The Mature Mind al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-91912635848983049802012-11-13T12:08:00.002-08:002013-01-16T11:40:52.524-08:00An Unexpected "Back Door" Into the Brain?The modal view in the cognitive and neural sciences holds that consciousness is necessary for abstract, symbolic, and rule-following computations. Hence, semantic processing of multiple-word expressions, and performing of abstract mathematical computations, are widely believed to require consciousness. We report a series of experiments in which we show that multiple-word verbal expressions can beal finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-58517573854009530372012-11-06T13:32:00.003-08:002013-01-16T11:40:52.522-08:00A Few Words on Conventional Education from Marvin Minsky
Marvin Minsky is a renowned MIT professor of artificial intelligence, robotics, and cognitive science. He is the author of a number of publications on cognitive science, including The Society of Mind, and The Emotion Machine (Intro).
Here are some of Minsky's thoughts on "The Concept of a General Education" from his MIT webpage:
§2.6 of The Emotion Machine: The “playfulness” of childhood is al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-447361549298445842012-11-01T12:00:00.000-07:002012-11-02T07:26:35.603-07:00Designing Your Own Free Education OnlineWhen designing a course of independent study, some of the most useful tools available can be found online. When you design your own education, you can tailor the content to your needs -- rather than the needs of an institution, a government accreditation agency, or a "society."
Online, you can select from individual tutorials, or you can take an entire course online -- for credit or not for al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-73624473645812612222012-10-31T09:16:00.003-07:002012-12-26T18:12:30.867-08:00Dangerous Child Basic Survival Training: Baby Boot Camp
The Dangerous Child Method of Early Childhood Education should be implemented very early in life. Some skills and competencies can be introduced before children learn to walk and talk. Other skills -- such as the survival skills listed below -- should be taught as soon as the child can comprehend the need. Safety, as always, is paramount in the early training.
Don’t underestimate your kids al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-29743584091367548322012-10-28T06:00:00.000-07:002013-01-16T11:40:52.520-08:00Using Biofeedback to Help Train Your Dangeorus ChildIt is not easy to raise a truly dangerous child. Necessary, yes, but not easy. As we learn more about brain development, we are likely to develop better tools to assist us in this difficult work.
Biofeedback is one such tool which is likely to be of great help in dangerous child training, to assist the child in learning to keep a level head. A new game developed at Boston Children's al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-19736983237366009172012-10-16T14:22:00.000-07:002013-01-16T11:40:52.517-08:005 Year Project by Antonio Damasio to Look at Music and Child Brain DevelopmentFamed neuroscientist Antonio Damasio and associates at USC will follow children for 5 years -- during the period between roughly the ages of 6 years old up to 12 years old -- in order to qualify and quantify the effects of high intensity music training on brain development.
Childhood music training has been linked to superior language skills, better math skills, and enhanced creativity. The al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-6722214440455366722012-08-20T09:35:00.001-07:002012-08-20T09:35:07.225-07:00Skills Training and the BrainTraining a child to be broadly competent is useful for the child's confidence and later ability to solve novel problems. But what about more intense training for a deeper mastery? We have learned that it requires at least 10,000 hours of training to master a skill. Sometimes skills mastery requires between 10 to 20 years of intense, wisely directed practise.
Are there precautions we should al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-26679397339451478672012-08-15T09:27:00.000-07:002012-12-26T18:12:30.865-08:00The Mind of the SurvivorThe material quoted below comes from an article by William C. Prentice, published in Survival Blog. Prentice describes the mindset, attitude, and basic psychology of "a survivor." He is not talking about "survivalists," but rather he is describing people who are more likely to survive a trying situation, regardless of its nature.
I know that no matter what happens, I can cut it. I have a al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-34537021405546886072012-08-11T17:52:00.000-07:002012-08-12T06:13:53.228-07:00What About Martial Arts for Children?Modern children are typically pampered and sheltered from most of the harsher realities of life. This is a good thing for infants, toddlers, and most kindergartners. But as a child grows older and more independent, he will spend more and more of his time outside of direct adult supervision. If he does not learn to develop situational awareness and to protect himself as he gets older, he al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-50815586923210919992012-07-29T08:42:00.002-07:002012-07-31T09:36:12.443-07:00Native Differences in Ability and an Integrated CurriculumThe ideal curriculum for the young child would be both open and integrated. An integrated curriculum ties the various fields of learning together, acknowledging the related patterns of brain activity in areas such as music, math, and science.Music, science, and math go hand in hand. This is a natural combination for children. As we think about the integrated curriculum, it is important to al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-44430893516915648402012-07-27T11:56:00.001-07:002012-12-26T06:01:13.323-08:00Steps to Personal Development and AutonomyHere is a quick look at Arthur Chickering's Seven Vectors approach to personal development in children and youth. It is a useful taking-off point for designing approaches to early life curricula for Dangerous Children.
Chickering's theory was based upon personal development during the college years, but if you want to raise a Dangerous Child, you had better not wait that long.
1. Developing al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-27167350592915021452012-07-25T13:50:00.002-07:002012-07-25T13:50:47.531-07:00Who Will Educate the Dangerous Child?The answer to the question, "Who will educate the Dangerous Child?" contains one of the reasons why the Dangerous Child is so dangerous: The Dangerous Child will educate himself.
Until the child becomes interested -- becomes motivated -- there is little likelihood that he will ever grow to become a Dangerous Child. And in the typical government school classroom environment which primarily al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-74998300784760981662012-07-22T10:36:00.004-07:002012-08-07T17:27:43.211-07:00Levitin: 10,000 Hours to MasteryAcademy/Beck: One of the many things I appreciated in the first book was your discussion of the "10,000-hour" rule. Can you please review that?
Levitin: Yes, of course. It's not a rule so much as it is an empirical finding. But in the final analysis, it comes down to that in order to be a world-class expert in anything, be it audiology, drama, music, art, gymnastics, whatever, one needs to have al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-15371679585813575162012-07-16T21:35:00.003-07:002012-07-22T10:45:23.829-07:00The Road to MasteryWe talk a lot about competence in the dangerous child, and certainly competence is crucial when dealing with dangerous (and valuable) skills. But on the road to mastery, competence occurs somewhere near the half-way point.
In 1980, Stuart and Hubert Dreyfus described A FIVE-STAGE MODEL OF THE MENTAL ACTIVITIES INVOLVED IN DIRECTED SKILL ACQUISITION (PDF). In the document, they describeal finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2994561734951864728.post-68922431736378706712012-06-16T09:46:00.001-07:002012-06-16T09:46:31.099-07:00The Dangerous Child Can Make ThingsModern schooling has very little to do with true education. The graduates of modern government schools may be better suited for collecting lifetime unemployment or disability checks, than for making their own independent way in life.
...education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. _John Dewey
Rather than turning children on to make things, fix things, understand the universe al finhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739269791915017382noreply@blogger.com0