Opus 2026-364: Cut and Paste

One indication of the facade of modern academia is plagiarism.  We have frequent revelations of the educational elites who do little but copy the work of others.  I experienced it teaching middle school.  It was easy to discover at that level because illiterate eighth graders have a very limited vocabulary and copy and paste the silliest things, including the references at the bottom of the page and hyperlinks.  With modern technology it is childishly simple to find out if something is copied.

A famous line of Margaret Thatcher was “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”  I thought of that in regard to the plagiarism that goes on in the academic world.  You see where I am going with this, don’t you?  “Eventually your run out of other people’s ideas.”  

I find that many of the books I try to read may be honest in giving their sources but the end product is often just a chain of quotes with little original thinking.  I have heard it called “term paper style”.  You remember what those were like.  

Another face of the problem is a reliance on tradition.  I am examining that in my own life with the focus on theology.  It amazes me how people don’t listen to my ideas.  I accept they may be lacking in great wisdom but that is not why people don’t listen.  They just don’t want to hear and have a hard time grasping something outside their comfort zone.

One of the ideas that I am exploring is the proposition that the Jews of Jesus day did not teach the Torah.  They taught what would become the Talmud.  At that point it was the oral law which is a scholarly way of renaming the game of Telephone.  If you want an example of how the oral law is a joke read about the reforms of Josiah.  At that point the religious leaders had even forgot to celebrate the Passover.  How can you claim to have an unbroken oral law when you can’t remember one of the key points of Jewish history.

Keep thinking.  One way to know if you are being successful is that people won’t listen.  Of course that could also mean you are spouting nonsense.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-332: The Long Haul

Genuine home schooling parents are committed to the longview of educating their children.  My oldest grandchild is only eight and my daughter is already squeezing me on books and authors that she thinks I would recommend for when they get to high school age.  It’s hard to remember books that have made any lasting imprint.  Many of the ones that might be worth reading are no longer on the shelves and many of them are not even in print.

What is a parent to do?  We discussed reading certain classics such as Plato and Augustine.  The general consensus at least among us laymen is that much of that is a waste of time.  When Plato was alive and Socrates was writing down what he had to say he was original and the first one to come up with a lot of this.  Nowadays, most of what they have to say is something we have been either embracing or rejecting for all of our lives and so it’s not as exciting as it might be for an ancient Greek teenager listening to Plato.

Our hope is that the children will be readers and not just button pushers.  We read to them.  My daughter’s older child is old enough now that she’s starting to read to us.  She got her first library card this week and had to sign her name on the back.  That was an exciting moment for her and an exciting moment for her parents and her grandparents.  Children need an example set and they also need expectation set.

I can remember as a child, but my father in the evening would be reading much of the time.  We did have certain television programs we watched, but we didn’t just sit down at the TV and watch whatever came in front of us.  He subscribed to several magazines.  One of our favorites was the Readers Digest back when it was actually a readers digest.  He also subscribed to their edited books, the ones that came with all the extra fluff cut out.

My father was a blue-collar worker all of his life.  He worked with his hands.  He worked outside in the sun.  He struggled with polio from his childhood.  And yet he set an example of reading for his children that has endured to this day.

Set the example.  Turn off the TV.  Turn off the computer.  Put away your iPad.  Find a good book.  I may change your children’s lives.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-300: Digital Applications

Three bits of information presented as the result of research have come together in my mind.  I say “presented” because I don’t know how valid the research was.  Just because I want something to be true does not make it such.

The most emotionally satisfying is the documentation of the stagnation and decline in the results of standardized testing since digital technology came into the classroom.  We all have made note of this.  I can remember when they dumbed down the SAT test to improve scores.  I witnessed the decline in the years I was teaching, 1987-2017.  Every time they issued new text books the vocabulary had to be lowered.  The talking heads claimed that research on this went back to 1962.

The most frightening is the effect of AI tools.  The research here was done in the computer industry.  Use of AI seemed to keep the lower levels from growing.  They could do their work using all the offerings of AI but they were stuck in a rut.  The upper levels seem to be able to advance.  Either they were old enough to have developed a deeper understanding of what they were doing or just having the experience let you keep growing.  It isn’t just a matter of productivity but of making advances in quality.

The personal concern came from a discussion of Bible study and the use of digital Bibles.  The talking heads seemed to feel that their learning was being weakened by dependence on the screen.  I think they said computer tools could help your research but the idea was that there was an acutual physical and mental decline.

I find I am watching more videos lately.  Does that have anything to do with my decrease in physical and mental energy?  It seems vaguely that the two correlated in my life.  Of course, correlation does not mean causation but it causes one to wonder.  I think of all the people confined to a bedroom with a TV and slowly sinking.

Does the increased use of technology have an effect on the dementia of Americans?  This would go back to the advent of television.  Is there any research for such a thing?  I know that the visual can effect people. When my son was young we didn’t let him watch a lot of TV but we noticed that when what he watched was animated as opposed to live actors, his behavior changed and the change was for the worse.

My son suggested that it might be due to decreased attention spans which is another area that researchers have noticed.

I am going to reduce my screen time and increase my time with physical books.  It can’t hurt and I am willing for it to help.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-282: Can Truth Become Monotonous?

I don’t require a lot of variety in my life.  I could go to the same restaurant every time I eat out.  When I end up at an Italian place I always get the same thing.  Breakfast is considered wild and crazy if I settle for 51 grams of oatmeal instead of 50.  I always put my left shoe on my left foot.  I can’t help it.  It is just the way I am.

Having said that, I do get tired of “turn or burn” sermons.  I realize that people need to get saved.  It is one of the most important decisions you will ever make but I have a feeling that they need to also grow in grace and be challenged to apply their faith to life.

One of the traits we have as humans is that if we have too much repetition we become desensitized.  Picture the difference between that first taste of pizza and how it hits you after you have eaten too much.  How boring would your birthday be if you celebrated it every day.  Do you really pay attention when people greet you with, “How are you?”  Why don’t advertisers use the same mantras forever?  How many home run records would be broken if every pitch was a fast ball right down the middle?

I find that as much as I like consistency I still throw in little variations.  I move my chair on the front porch for a different view of the horizon.  I turn my recliner a different angle just to be wild and crazy.  I buy a different type of cheese every once in a while.  You might need big changes.  Most of my family can’t stand the same restaurant two times in a row.  I get to go along for the ride.

If you are trying to convince someone of something important, like salvation, look for a variety of approaches so that you don’t wear them out.  Don’t be like the marines and charge straight up the hill every time.

As they say, results may vary.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-236: Don’t Help the Chick

I am watching a podcast from Reasons to Believe in which Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink are discussing AI coding.  I won’t try to summarize their discussion except to look at one observation they made.  Zweerink was reporting on some research and how it affected the work of different programmers.  It made people at all levels more productive but there was a more significant point.  The lower level programmers were more productive using AI helps but they were stagnant in developing new skill or new code.  The experienced programmers added new areas of progress to their productivity.  The point they drew was that the years of effort in learning to produce code had made it possible for the senior people to grow and advance with the AI.  Use of the shortcuts provided was keeping the low level people on a plateau.

That resonated with me.  There is a principle in life that says when you do things for people that they can do themselves you are not helping them but you are making them weaker.  I saw this in education with the introduction of computers and ready-made science kits.  The technology brought them to completion on a set project but did not develop the skills to move beyond the canned outcome.  Because they did not have to struggle they developed no intellectual muscle. 

Schools have begun allowing students to use calculators instead of learning their multiplication tables or the process of long division.  If all you want are bookkeepers then that may be enough. If you want rocket scientists or people to design bridges they need to develop a deeper understanding of how things work.

Let me repeat an observation I have made multiple times.  When chicken eggs are approaching the moment of hatching, people want to help the baby chicks to break out of the shell.  They are so helpless and we are so sensitive.  The sad truth is that if you do the work for them and they don’t need to struggle, they will not set loose the hormones that will allow them to get strong and thrive.  Your shortcut may shorten their lives.

I am only part way through the podcast but I think one of the conclusions will be that AI can be a useful tool but it can also be a shortcut that inhibits human progress both collectively and individually. 

Be leery of shortcuts.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-227: Can Ignorance Be a Blessing?

We live in an age awash in education and resources.  Think of the literacy rates in the developed world.  While there may always be a small minority who are incapable of learning to read, most of those who cannot read at grade level need to put the cap of accountability on their own head.  History is full of people who learned to read in the face of violent opposition.  My mind goes to Frederick Douglass.  It was illegal to teach a slave to read so he had to find ways to do it himself.  In that same period you had uncounted people like Abraham Lincoln who had very little formal education but kept seeking out knowledge.

We live in times when education is available.  Is that a good thing?

Which is worse, a culture where knowledge was freely available but people seemed determined to remain brainwashed or one in which there was little book learning but the practical bent of people allowed them to progress in their lives?  I prefer the former because it allows me to dig deep even in a world of shallow soil but over all I am not sure I am better off.

As usual, I tend to think in spiritual terms.  We have long periods of history in which the great unwashed masses had no access to the Bible.  The entire world was run by powerful elites who themselves could not read and, if they could, usually did not.  My heritage is Europe so look at it.  Consider Charlemagne.  He was illiterate as a young man.  He recognized the importance of learning because he did not want to be forced to rely on priests who served another master.  He learned to read at some level but never did get the hang of writing.  He was the tip of the iceberg. 

How did you come to know God in an illiterate, ignorant age?  What was the basis of salvation if you could not access the basic words of life?  Imagine being forced to rely on what the priest told you and it was possible that he could not read either and was making it up as he went along.  Were any of those people saved?  I would imagine so but on what basis?

Very possibly it was the same basis as today.  It is possible to know all the right doctrines and quote all the right verses and still not be part of the Body of Christ.  You have to ask yourself what the basis of Abraham’s salvation was.  He had no written Bible.  All he had was folklore passed down and a few conversations with a mysterious Supreme Being.  It was enough.

Ultimately God is looking at our hearts.  Do we trust in Him?  Do we follow Him as best we can?  It is possible to wander down this road too far and drift into heresy but the Bible repeatedly talks about faith and trust in God.  It supersedes the law.  It is the basis of doctrine.
Ultimately we are dependent on God’s grace and mercy.  Knowing my limitations, I am good with that.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-214: Well Raised Children

I went to a birthday party for my granddaughter. She turned eight years old. A hoard of children were going to be there and we would be in a park with a splash pad. What could go wrong? My imagination had many suggestions. None were fulfilled.

I would guess that we had about 15 children present. The ages range from about four to 13. What was really amazing was that there were absolutely no problems. We had no fights and no injuries. At no time did it seem to occur to the children that they could fill a bucket with water and dump it on an adult. They politely asked when they wanted to sample the goodies that were available.

Such children do exist. The one factor I did not mention is that they were all home schooled. I suggest that had something to do with it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-151: Click Bait: It Should Be Obvious

I did not bother to click on this one because I wasn’t really interested but I saw it several times and the image kept coming back.  The scenario had Lucy, Ethel, Fred and Ricky watching a game show on TV and the bait was that Ricky knew all the answers.

As it kept coming back to me I wondered why.

The one big difference between Ricky and the others is that he did not attend public school in the United States.  That is my assumption for this post anyway.  I really don’t know the I Love Lucy lore enough to be sure, but it makes sense.  I would assume he went to school in Cuba and actually got an education.

I had an experience like this when I was teaching.  I had a young lady who had just left the boat from Sierra Leone.  For those who went to public school, that is a nation on the west coast of Africa.  I remember her coming to me after a few weeks, almost in tears, because of the empty classes she was taking.  She said, “In Africa I was studying Shakespeare, here we are learning the definition of a noun.”  I believe she was in 7th grade at the time.

So it should be no surprise that Ricky knew the answers.  He had an education.  It is amazing what a difference that makes.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-112: Arrogance Trumps Memory

I was listening to a podcast by Steven Gregg on the 70 weeks of the prophet Daniel.  What caught my my attention was the attempts to date the prophecies and coordinate them with the coming of the Messiah.  It came to a head when he pointed out that Daniel said there would be four kings of Persia and the “authorities” claimed that there were twice that.

Not being a cheerleader for prophecy or eschatology I don’t have a big opinion built into my psyche regarding the visions of Daniel.  What gets me is that some things are easy to document and the “experts” still have other opinions.

We seem to have two extremes.  We have some people who are in awe of the educated.  They are impressed by degrees and credentials.  There are more than are healthy but not as many as the educated classes think there are.  I am in the other group.  I am totally unimpressed by formal education.  Yes, we need to be educated but we err when we correlate that with classes taken at a college or university.

You may have heard about a book with a title something like “All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”  I was disappointed when I check it out and that was just the title of one chapter.  I think we need another book entitled, “All I Ever Learned that Was Important I Learned after College.”

Beware of arrogance masquerading as knowledgeable.  Build your own foundation by your own research.  Read with discernment and you will find your memory is more useful than the guru who wants to sign you up.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-075: Immortal Quotes: Enquiring minds…

In contemplating all the doomsday scenarios that we are looking at I began wondering what it was that would help us to come out as individuals, families, communities the other side, moving forward and prosperous.  I am somewhat amused at the people who tell us to buy gold.  They don’t seem to have studied much in history.  As recently as FDR, we have had the government confiscating gold.  In order to make your goal worthless all it takes is the government to make it illegal.

The most recent advice I got was to invest in assets that would retain their value, don’t put all your money in cash.  Make sure you don’t put it all in the bank.  At all sounds very good.  Real estate is an asset that doesn’t go away, but it could be taken away.  All you have to do to wipe out someone’s real estate assets is to increase taxes to the point where they can’t be paid.  The same is true of almost anything.

That led me to think about what would help us to survive and the two things that came to mind were skills and flexibility.  In looking at skills, I could see that my children would be well placed to survive, but if I were younger and had to go out and get a job, I’m not sure that I have any skills that would find a place in a world coming out of chaos.  If I were younger, there might be a place for pastors, but even pastors often have to have a skill on the side.  My 29 years of teaching would be almost worthless.

I always get amused at people to think about teachers is being this elite group of highly trained professionals.  Not really.  Teachers main contribution is daycare.  They supervise people’s children while their parents are off, trying to earn enough money to keep up with their neighbors.  There is very little that is taught that most parents could not take care of.

The basics that are necessary for an education?  Go back to the three R’s.  Any adult who can read should be able to teach a child to read. If you can write a sentence, you should be able to teach your children to write a sentence and encourage them to put them together in a paragraph.  If you can balance your checkbook, you’re ahead of most Americans and you can teach your child the math that they need to survive in the future.  After that, it’s up to the child.

There might be some exceptions to this such as teaching microbiology or quantum physics, but that won’t be the issue for most of us.  In the world coming out of chaos there won’t be much demand for microbiologists or quantum physicists.  They well however, be a need for carpenters, bakers, welders, and hopefully we will be advanced enough to need electricians.

So that commercial phrase from the National Enquirer really should be one of our goals and focuses.  We need to create children with enquiring minds.  We need children with curiosity and the initiative to go out and look for answers.  What we need for the future are not more teachers, but more well stocked libraries

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-068: 101 Means 101

In case you have not picked it up, I enjoy debating theology and Bible.  For me a paraphrase of “All roads lead to Rome” would substitute “Bible” for “Rome”.  It is a natural drift in my mind.

There is a basic truth about Christian theology that we tend to overlook and that basic truth is that basic theology is easy to understand.  It might be an exaggeration but with John 3:16 and five minutes I could teach you basic theology.  From there we would open a door to a lifetime of enriching conversations about God, His nature and how He expects us to live.  If we are really bored we could get into prophecy and the end times but since those things generally have no practical application they can be saved for theological desert.

Does basic theology demand that you accept Jesus as God?  Yes.  Does it demand that you agree on whether Mary had other children?  Not really.  Such topics lead to the divisions in the body of Christ and can be taken to the point of undermining the basics but they are not necessary for salvation.  Is there more truth than I could cover in five minutes?  Obviously.  I could not read you the Sermon on the Mount in five minutes but it is loaded with spiritual truth.

Don’t get upset when people disagree with you on topics beyond the five minutes.  Remember that some people tan and some burn but the sun is the same and produces vitamin D in both.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-514: AI Sydrome

A friend directed me toward an article out of MIT that was investigating the effect that AI crutches had on the people that used them.  The research was frightening but not surprising.  They found that people who used ChatGPT had serious reductions in their ability to think and process.  There was a clear difference.

This made me wonder if reading the material produced by AI would have the same effect.  Do we get dumber when we read the product of artificial thinking?

I would suggest you might even take another step and ask yourself if reading kind of garbage literature that has been forced on kits for the past 20 years in public schools would tend to make a brain degenerate.  Muscles develop and maintain strength through resistance and effort.  The brain is the same.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-491: Literacy Is Overrated

Down through history the percentage of the people who were literate was very small.  For most people it had little or no value and the amount of time and effort it took to learn put it beyond their reach.  Even heads of state and commanders of armies often could not read.  They had scribes and priest to do that for them.  Of course that put them at the mercy of the scribes and priest and that worked out in history also.

The value of literacy depends upon access to truth.  It doesn’t do you much good to have a literate population if nothing they read is true or accurate.  Of course, part of the dumbing down process is to separate the general population from the ability to discern what is true and accurate.  I have been conditioned to believe that liver is a disgusting thing to eat.  I continually come across people who rave about the liver and onions that they’ve had and tell me that the only reason I don’t like it is because it was not prepared properly.  They make sense, but I’m not willing to listen.  I am even less willing to try it.  It is similar to the people who say that real communism has never been tried.

The implementation of the intersection of literacy and truth depends on open and free dialogue.  I think of how the American colonies responded to the Federalist Papers as each chapter was published in local newspapers.  The picture you get is that when the local citizens would gather at the pub to have a pint and discuss the publications, the discussion was free and far ranging.  In those days, people gathered at the pub to discuss philosophy, politics and economics.  Today they gather at the pub to get drunk and watch football.

Literacy is only valuable if you are willing to think about what you read.  For everyday tasks the written word is often optional.  Have you ever bought a piece of furniture from IKEA?  You have to assemble it yourself and the instructions have no words.  It would be interesting to find out if being literate made it easier for you to understand picture writing.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-439: You’re Not Old Enough

My granddaughter had met me out on the porch and we got to discussing the sunrise.  As I was trying to explain to her the dynamics of the Earth rotating and us seeing the sun rising, it became more visible.  First there was the upper curve.  Then the clouds closed and opened the window and suddenly we were looking at the bottom slice.  I came up against the problem explaining to her how we were on a planet rotating at about 1000 miles an hour and traveling through space around the sun, even faster than that while she felt she was sitting still.  It is a good question.

I thought of all kinds of illustrations and applications.  To me they seem to make sense, and I’m sure you would agree.  At the same time I could see her eyes glazing over and her mind going into neutral and her mouth wanting to say, “Sure, Grandpa.”

Someday she’ll be able to understand.  One of the things that adults forget is that there is a development in the thought process that comes with maturity.  I remember when I was placed in an experimental math class in seventh grade.  I was supposed to have great math ability or at least math aptitude.  It was probably true, however, I was not mentally mature enough to grasp certain things.  I can remember going home literally crying because I could not understand variables.  How could X be worth seven but also be worth 21?  My brain could not wrap itself around it.  And then one day there was an epiphany.  I don’t know why but suddenly it made sense.  I was on my way.

I also wasn’t ready until the moment of that epiphany.  Children are like that.  We need to understand it.  No matter how clever you are, they are not ready.  It’s not an insult to say you’ll understand when you’re older.  It’s a statement of fact.  I’m sure it frustrates the child and makes them doubt your sincerity.  That does not change the truth.

We see this in so many areas of our lives.  When I look at things in the Bible that I’m having trouble grasping, I need to remember that it’s very possible that even at my age, my mind is not mature enough to grasp the complexities and the relationships.  Some things like the trinity and the incarnation would fall in that category.  Some such as the resurrection are so glorious that we can’t comprehend.  In addition to that, there are every day events such as the murder of Charlie Kirk, where we keep asking ourselves, “Why?”

There are answers to the big questions and the mysteries of life.  We may not be able to grasp them.  We may lack vital information.  It may be just that our mental hand/eye coordination is not ready yet.  Be patient.  You’ll understand when you grow up.  Or when you are resurrected.

And don’t give me any of that, “Sure, Grandpa” nonsense.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-234: Click Bait: Missing Link

A bit of Clickbait caught me.  It had to do with the factors which increase intelligence or, can increase intelligence.  After a long, drawn out introduction, and an advertisement, the guy finally got to the point.  What is it that consistently increases your intelligence, your success, your income, and so forth?  Reading.

He then went into the reasons why people don’t read.  The number one reason was they were so involved in social media.  That is no surprise.  I kept waiting for him to bring up one of the key reasons why people aren’t reading anymore.  It wasn’t mentioned.

To me the big reasons why many people who used to read don’t read anymore is because that reading has become woke.  There is a playbook put out by editors and publishers that requires authors to include certain elements in everything they write.  I know that this is true because authors tell me so.  I know the results because I have stopped reading books many times, simply because the authors are forcing the politically correct nonsense of our PC culture into the story and destroying storyline in the process.  

Another reason is that the writing has become boring.  It bores people because it is so unrealistic.  I don’t mean unrealistic in that the author gets carried away with his imagination.  I mean unrealistic in the sense that it seems the writer has never met another human being outside of his I Hate America Studies program.  It also bores young boys because they are more into cavalry charges than the feelings of the handicapped kid next door.  It bores because women are taking over genres that used to be male dominated and they try to transform it to their gender studies ideal.

You all have seen this. You may not recognize it for what it is.  If you read any kind of a novel recently, you will find that there is a requirement to balance out the characters with all kinds of under-represented categories.  You’ll find that the main character will be a woman who is a great martial arts champion, has incredible physical strength and skills, is incredibly beautiful, and often times is very loose morally.  Is such a combination possible?  Maybe.  Probably not.  It is possible that Tarzan taught himself to read and write too.  Are there women who could take down the chosen man?  Of course.  Most young adult women that I know could certainly take me out of action, especially if I’m not looking.  Does that mean it’s normal?  No way.  Does it mean that healthy young man will enjoy reading such a book?  Not unless there’s a lot of very explicit sexual material.

In addition there is the nonsense that is presented as scientific, logical, and right.  Most people in their heart of hearts know this stuff is nonsense, and will start turning it off.  I know that when I’m reading theology, if the author is so steeped in their own personal prejudices and traditions I come to a point where I don’t bother going on.  The same is true history.  In fact, almost any area of life that you’re reading you will stop reading not because the author has an agenda, but because they are pushing ham-handedly.

So the fact that reading influences intelligence was interesting, but the Podcaster overlooked one of the most obvious reasons why people are reading less.

Now you know even if he didn’t.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-204: Revival of Catechism

When I was pastoring, I made sure that I did not get cavalier and casual about taking people into church membership.  You couldn’t just show up one Sunday, have an overwhelming emotional experience and be taken into membership.  I would have classes that extended for a number of weeks as we went through the basic beliefs of Christians and the peculiar aspects of our denomination.  I tried to make it clear what was basic in following Jesus, and what was expected to join our fellowship.  I don’t remember hearing any big complaints because people tended to be interested in learning what they needed to know.

I am somewhat shocked at how easy it is for people to join some churches.  I think a basic course in theology should really be required to join.  Notice I said to join, not to fellowship.  Fellowship can be extended just on the basis of, “Hi, my name is….”

In light of that, I think it would be good if part of our secret knowledge, so to speak, included a few words in the original languages of the Bible.  If we could learn those words, it would clear up a lot of confusion.

One of those words is that which is translated “LORD”, in all capitals in the KJV and NASB.  The Hebrew word is Yahweh.  There’s no great virtue in being able to say that word, but there is great value and understanding that it is as a statement of God that His name means, “I am.”

It might also be helpful to learn to pronounce the Jewish name for Jesus, and understand that that means savior.

I also think that the words dealing with being saved are important.  I think that people should learn to say the Greek word charis, rather than just grace.  I think learning a Greek word for faith, pistis, would help clear up some confusion.  It would force people to look a little deeper and think twice as they read the scriptures and talk with other believers.

I realize that this could get carried away.  I know there is always the danger of becoming an exclusive club with “secret knowledge”.  I don’t think we need that, but we do need to somehow get people to think more seriously, and more deeply about their faith.

Maybe we could even start translating our Bibles using certain keywords in the original language.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-177: Nightmares

Last night I had a nightmare again.  My nightmares are almost exclusively about being back in the classroom.  They’re not about teaching,  they’re about not being able to teach.  Usually they have a room full of kids who keep changing their names or have no supplies.  Usually, I have no role book and no seating chart, which means I have no way of knowing who they are.  Sometimes the class keeps changing as people wander in and out, not only students but also adults.  I’ve had nightmares where the room had no walls and the entire rest of the school was out partying in the quad while I was trying to get across some truth about history.

Last night was different.  It was about teaching.  It was about making up a test for my class.  It wasn’t as horrible as actually having to teach, but it was exhausting.  Trying to figure out a creative ways to see if the kids had heard anything can take it out of you even in your sleep.

It’s been eight years now and I still have this dread of having to go back into the classroom.  It’s not the kids.  I enjoyed the kids I worked with, and we got along well.  It’s not teaching itself.  It is the frustration of having to deal with all of the roadblocks to doing the job.  If I am ever desperate enough to go back to work I will apply as a Walmart greeter first.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-162: Little Bits

I am finding that there is value in reading small portions, little bits, of scripture.  I’m not talking about getting into a legalistic regime of say, one verse a day.  I’m not talking about a chapter a day.  I’m not talking about reading through the Bible in a year.  I’m talking about reading at a pace that doesn’t hurry, focuses and is willing to stop when the time runs out.

This insight is coming from my personal experience each morning.  Part of my routine is to get up and make myself some old-fashioned oatmeal, which takes five minutes to cook . During that time I make some toast and a few other things.  I also am slowly reading through the Bible.  The emphasis here is on “slowly”.  Today I only got through three verses.  It’s no minimum, it’s just read and listen and absorb.  Today I came across the mention of the “myriad of holy ones” with God.  What does that mean?  I have no idea but it made me think of something else, so I stopped reading and contemplated that.  I pulled out my iPad and made a note.  And then the beeper went off to say my oatmeal was done.  I moved on having harvested something from that brief time of scripture.

The key is to pay attention as you read, which is much easier for me in small bits.  If I’m going too far and too fast, I tend to go into speed reading mode.  That means skimming, scanning, overlooking and often missing the point.

So just a thought.  It’s something that I am following.  It might benefit you. You might find a totally useless.  What a blessed day.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-161: Sounds Good

I am sitting in the library working and listening to a tutor work with a youngster a few feet away.  She is teaching phonics.  I thought phonics was dead.  Maybe they are in the public schools.  It is 9:30 in the morning and the kid should be in school so it makes me wonder if it is a mother doing a bit of home schooling in the library.

I also wonder if we should embrace different levels of phonics.  I thought I learned phonics.  I certainly learned to sound out words and use a dictionary for syllable stress.  As an adult I ran into someone who had actually studied the intricacies of the system.  It was fascinating.  I had no idea is was such a complete system.

Don’t worry that you don’t know the whole system.  If your decedents are in public school and are not getting anything but “see and say” then feel free to teach them the bits that you know.  It is one of those situations where knowing part is better than knowing none.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-138: Regressive Progress

At what point does something new actually represent a big step backwards?  My thinking at present is focused on technology and how the younger generations often are not learning to read or to do simple math.  It’s all very nice when the skills and advanced civilization are replaced by automation but I don’t know that it’s healthy for digital screens to replace ink on paper.

I revel in much of modern technology.  I am loving my iPad.  While I’m showing concern, I’m also dictating this to the technology that is typing out what I say.  I love word processors and spread sheets that are done on the computer.  Corrections are easy.  Calculations are instant.  It’s great to be able to correct your mistakes or change your phraseology.  So I like a lot of what is available.  But with every new addition of my word processing software, the features I find very convenient disappear to be replaed by bells and whistles, bells and whistles that I will never use because they are not something that I find useful.

The problem is not refusing to be open to new things.  The problem is not having the discernment to know whether the new thing is an advantage or a ball and chain that keeps you from moving forward.  Many improvements are in the ADD of the programer and sever your options.  Change can be dangerous when it’s done for the wrong reasons.  Look at this verse from Proverbs,

Proverbs 24:21 (KJV) My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

The KJV terminology is fun.  I specially like the word meddle.  Several translations throw in the idea of avoiding people who are rebels.  Some rebels are needed.  Most rebels are pretty much self-centered people trying to get things their own way, rather than what is the best way.  There is a difference.

Let’s go with the electronic devices that replace books and reading.  I don’t know if you’ve experienced it yet, but when things are digital they can be changed by you, but they can also be changed by others, often without your knowledge.  A simple example of that is going back and looking at things that I have dictated into my iPad and finding that my iPad has changed them.  Often I will proofread what I’ve said, and be satisfied with it, but when I go back to edit it later, find that it has been changed after I moved on.  How do you find truth in history, philosophy, economics, or any other field, if the computing device is free to change them when they want to.

I’m not really worried about AI taking over the world.  What I am worried about is programmers who tell the computer to make changes or to delete things that they don’t like.  I am relatively sure that some nefarious operator removed the text of the novel 1984 from my Kindle.  I can’t prove it.  I have no way of knowing it beyond a shadow of a doubt.  My only indication is that I have a file that did not have 1984 in the file name that contain notes from the book, but the book itself had disappeared.  Come to your own conclusion.

It troubles me that many in the younger generation cannot pick up a book and read it.  Often it is just sloth or some kind of reluctance or refusal to put any effort into understanding.  I base that on experiences teaching middle school, where students would tell me the answer was not on the page.  When I would force them to read it out loud to me they would stop halfway through and say, “Oh…”  It wasn’t that they couldn’t read it and understand it.  It was that they refused to.  If it was a problem with processing, which was solved by reading it out loud, they could have done that before I came over and hovered over them.  They chose not to.

Some things such as cursive writing are questionable, I guess.  I learned them, so I figure others should, but I’m open to the fact that phasing it out might work.  But being able to read for yourself and understand what you read will never go out of style except in a mindless dictatorship where tyrants tell you everything you need to know and keep you from doing anything they don’t want you to have.

Some progress isn’t.

homo unius libri