Kevin Garnett — A Short Guide to Hard Problems

A bit wonkish, but interesting.

Big implications for the transition from the analog era that has lasted throughout history up to now into the digital age. An important iteration in the digital age has taken place already. (This has some people concerned that humans will lose control to AI.)

Quantum computers appear to be different from classical computers such that they may result in different categories of problems that the machines can respectively handle. This can be seen by examining algorithmic problem solving capability and computational power.

So in addition to the size of problems that can be solved, there may also be a categorical difference, putting some problem types beyond the ability of human intelligence not only in terms of size in relation to speed, but also category.

Quantum computing may not just be faster but also of a different order than human intelligence. Are we facing looking like great apes relative to human beings as the digital age unfolds. It also raise questions about just who owns and controls the computing power, since it will profoundly affect the social, political and economic aspects of life as a whole. 

 

Quanta
A Short Guide to Hard Problems

Kevin Garnett, senior writer

See also

It may surprise some to learn that one in three start-ups in the Arab World is founded or led by women. That’s a higher percentage than in Silicon Valley. Women are becoming a force to be reckoned with on the start-up scene across the Middle East. Because the tech industry is still relatively new in the Arab world, there is no legacy of it being a male-dominated field. Many entrepreneurs from the region believe that technology is one of the few spaces where everything is viewed as possible, including breaking gender norms, making it a very attractive industry for women....

World Economic Forum
How women are transforming the Arab world's start-up scene

Kelly Ommundsen and Khaled Kteily

Education

Every child begins their journey through life with an incredible potential: a creative mindset that approaches the world with curiosity, with questions, and with a desire to learn about the world and themselves through play.
However, this mindset is often eroded or even erased by conventional educational practices when young children enter school.

The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking is often cited as an example of how children’s divergent thinking diminishes over time. 98% of children in kindergarten are “creative geniuses” – they can think of endless opportunities of how to use a paper clip.
This ability is reduced drastically as children go through the formal schooling system and by age 25, only 3% remain creative geniuses....

The World Economic Forum has just released its Human Capital Report with the subtitle “Preparing People for the Future of Work”.... It goes on to underline how schools tend to focus primarily on developing children’s cognitive skills – or skills within more traditional subjects – rather than fostering skills like problem solving, creativity or collaboration. 

This should be cause for concern when looking at the skill set required in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Complex problem solving, critical thinking and creativity are the three most important skills a child needs to thrive, according to the Future of Jobs Report....

Complex problem solving, critical thinking and creativity are different aspects of the same skill. Karl Popper wrote a book entitled, All Life Is Problem Solving, which sums it up. And it is not just about human capital and job qualifications.

The ability to combine creative and critical thinking are necessary conditions for the multifaceted types of problem solving one will need for life both personally and socially. While creativity is natural for children, ciritical thinking has to be acquired. And after childhood creativity has to be fostered with nurture or the natural impulse may decline and studies show that it does in the case of most people.

This requires emphasizing active learning over passive learning.

This realization is nothing new. John Dewey was famous for his pragmatic educational philosophy decades ago. He also emphasized that education is a necessary condition for a healthy democracy.

Unfortunately, the Human Capital Report is about "preparing people for work" rather than preparing people for life in a comprehensive way. That is a recipe for failure, both for individuals and society owing to its misdirected emphasis on a part of life rather than the whole. Education must be holistic, and therefore it must be systems-based.

World Economic Forum

This is the one skill your child needs for the jobs of the future
Mirjam Schöning, Head of Learning through Play in Early Childhood programme, The Lego Foundation, and Christina Witcomb, Senior Communication Manager, The Lego Foundation

See also

Over the past few years, Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings have all endorsed a teaching method known as "personalized learning."

It involves students guiding their own lessons with the help of technology, while teachers take on more of a coaching role if problems emerge. For its apparent benefits in getting kids up to speed in reading and math, advocates have claimed it could — and should — become the future of US education.

But personalized learning is so new, many teachers still need to learn how it works....

Business Insider

There's a teaching method tech billionaires love — here's how teachers are learning it

Chris Weller

Raúl Ilargi Meijer — Why We Are So Bad at Solving Problems

Must read. Deals with the really big picture. Lots to ponder and discuss in this post. See you in the comments.

The Automatic Earth
Why We Are So Bad at Solving Problems
Raúl Ilargi Meijer