Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
no_such_reality
ParticipantFrom US EPA
[quote]In 1935, the number of farms in the United States peaked at 6.8 million as the population edged over 127 million citizens. As the number of farmers has declined, the demand for agricultural products has increased. This increased demand has been met (and exceeded) with the aid of large-scale mechanization (the use of large, productive pieces of farm equipment), improved crop varieties, commercial fertilizers, and pesticides. The need for human labor has also declined as evidenced by the increase in agricultural labor efficiency over the past century – from 27.5 acres/worker in 1890 to 740 acres/worker in 1990 (Illinois data; Hunt, 2001).[/quote]Do you understand what that says? We need 1 for every 27 we used to need. That growth continues.
What are the other 26 that used to farm going to do?
It’s the same in many occupations, yes, including Doctors, machines now read x-rays, tests and MRIs.
Police? Even the number of police per citizen is decreasing due to technology advances.
While we may need 1000 more police officers in San Diego, the population in San Diego has increased by 700,000. And in near future, before we add another 1000 officers, it’ll increase by another 1,000,000.
Participant.del
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=no_such_reality]The world fundamentally needs to change. Automation is, and will continue, to largely make 90% of the population irrelevant from a labor standpoint.
The vast majority of the population, not only don’t have the education, they don’t have the family dynamic, they don’t have nutrition, they don’t have the raw life enrichment experiences necessary to develop the raw mental horsepower needed to be part of the creative class.
The question is how will we get over the hump before we rip ourselves apart.[/quote]
The emphasized portion of this statement is a very “elitest” attitude, IMO. Regardless of a job applicant’s educational level, only a very small portion of jobs available in the US are “creative.”
[/quote] BG, you’re missing the point. The point I made, that you then reiterated is that few, of the total, jobs are creative. Creative as in make something, create, not assemble. In LAUSD, a 1/3rd of the students don’t graduate. That’s not elitist attitude on my part, that’s a fact from LAUSD. Even farming is becoming ‘creative’.
Will we always need farmers? Yes, but as we’ve discussed in a previous thread, the machines on the farm now make it so that a family of four can do the work of 100 from as little as 40 years ago. That’s my point, we need 4 now, no longer a 100. That’s the dynamic I’m worried about. It also requires a lot of a knowledge. And the raw horsepower is that willpower you mention to do it, everyday. Research and find answers, to build the marketing network to sell their product.
It’s also not elitist to recognize that it isn’t just genetics or the child’s stick-to-it-ness. It’s family support, teacher support, it’s having parents that provide a lifestyle that provides safety and experiences to grow from. Can a completely average kid from the ghetto make it? Sure, but let’s be honest, it’s rare, not because there anything inherently wrong with the kid, but because his environment (on average) has stacked a much higher and steeper mountain to get there.
The mental horsepower, or to borrow a phrase from some guys from Harvard and Yale, cognitive load carrying capacity, is large. Environment, training, experience and safety net determine how quickly stressers burn up your cognitive load. There’s a very recent interesting study about cognitive load and how it doesn’t really matter if you’re rich or poor, if you’re given stressors, like financial difficulties, that take up your cognitive load, you start to make bad decisions, rich or poor, you make the characteristic decisions that lead to being poorer.
ParticipantThere’s an old quote I learned from Civilization IV.
[quote]The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy[/quote]
Oddly apropos…
Potentially a quote from Oscar Wilde, potentially much older quote.
ParticipantThe world fundamentally needs to change. Automation is, and will continue, to largely make 90% of the population irrelevant from a labor standpoint.
The vast majority of the population, not only don’t have the education, they don’t have the family dynamic, they don’t have nutrition, they don’t have the raw life enrichment experiences necessary to develop the raw mental horsepower needed to be part of the creative class.
The question is how will we get over the hump before we rip ourselves apart.
October 17, 2013 at 8:16 AM in reply to: OT: Justice for Alexian Lien: victim of mob beating… #766991Participant[quote=flu]
lolI’m a reformed person. No really, I am.
I’m liberal tolerant these days….
My medication helps out a lot. 🙂Thanks for the morning chuckle ocr…[/quote]
Is that a script or an herbal folk remedy?
October 17, 2013 at 8:14 AM in reply to: Any of you doing anything to your money market accounts just in case of a default? #766989Participant[quote=flu]I can’t wait until February when we go through this all over again….
:([/quote]
February will be worse.
There are no heroes, mostly lame*sses.
When you think what the whole scenario says and what needing an extension until January says (that we can’t even agree on a bleeping budget), it means we’re polarized and that polarization is just going to get worse.
ParticipantI think it looks very different than you think. The recent Walmart mistake in Louisiana paints a different picture.
Not, the same outage occurred in numerous locations, but this only happened where someone said honor the cards anyway.
In other locations there were no issues.
ParticipantThat’s what I suspected. Sounds good for the soundbite. They were tough, they took away his city pension, blah blah, net end result. Hey Bob, go stay in your comfy house or a while.
ParticipantYea, that was my thought. 3 years probation on house.
Granted given up part of the pension probably sucks, but how much pension did he forfeit?
Participant[quote=bearishgurl]
Ask yourselves why this book is now a “reading assignment” for HS seniors in some public schools …[/quote]For the same politically correct reasons that Deasy is framing the discussion around iPads in LAUSD as being a civil rights issue that ‘these kids’ deserve to have iPads like the rich kids… 🙂
FF is just a symptom. The primary driver is bad habits gain in an extended adolescence and delayed marriage, which is then further complicated by a sedentary lifestyle which is further propagated by C&C.
As for ‘health clubs’ maybe 10% of the attendees are fit? Every time I show up, I see pretty typical American pudge and a boat load of people going thru the motions. Now if you’re showing up at 5AM, it tends to be the hard core crowd. mid-morning to mid-afternoon, the retire/sponsored set and after work, the harried I’m checking my workout box group.
Too much sitting, too much convenient food.
Participant[quote=spdrun]What about to food containing obesogenic compounds? (Though I’d agree that C&C is a large part of it.)[/quote]
The above, processed foods, ready to eat, massive increase in restaurant meals are all related to the commute/two worker households.
For as important as food is, it’s really pretty amazing how little the scientific community consensus there is on really what food does what.
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=6packscaredy]I like the yard work.
I think what I want to be for my final stretch is a strength inspiration/trainer for old men.
Not a college prof.[/quote]
Those “hippie farmers” up there are undoubtedly in better shape than their So-Cal brethren, most of whom have likely sat in offices, cubicles and vehicles most of their lives.[/quote]
I don’t know, they were looking mighty pasty and doughy when I was there, pretty typical american pudge.
That said, IMHO, our entire obesity epidemic is related to two factors – cubicles and commutes.
ParticipantWell, we could continue to talk about Humboldt’s green gold or Scaredy could tell us a little more about this orchard.
-
AuthorPosts
