39 Comments
Jan 23, 2023·edited Jan 23, 2023Liked by Joel Smalley

I commend anyone who wishes to challenge the established status quo around, education, health and the money system.

As a former school governor, my observations were of a very broken system. If education is about teaching students how to navigate and get the best out of life, it is a very broken system.

Government sponsored exam bodies, create exams which tend to drive teaching behaviour. IE students learn how to pass an exam and know little about the real world.

This system has gone on for so long, I can only guess that it suits those in power to teach just enough and so maintain all our institutions.

If one wants to change anything, one needs to change the underlying structures which drive behaviour. This is not an easy task, I got fired as a school governor!

Wish you well Joel

Expand full comment
author

Thank you, Steve. Unfortunately, I have to agree with you! I have written before about "credentialism". It's a real problem. So too, the exam system, even before it was made more "fair", i.e. more difficult to distinguish between different levels of capability. Inevitably, when embarking on this course (excuse the pun!), I considered things like exams and certificates. It was a very brief consideration! I'm all about helping people to increase their capabilities, not pretend they have them because they have a piece of paper saying so.

Expand full comment
Jan 23, 2023Liked by Joel Smalley

Best of luck Joel, glad to hear you’re giving it a go!!

Expand full comment
Jan 23, 2023Liked by Joel Smalley

This is sorely needed. I'm a retired researcher and what has appalled me most over the past 3 years is how much data has been misrepresented to the public. I've also been appalled by the number of people who should be able to evaluate data and information (i.e., former colleagues) who have fallen for the shoddy data that has been put out. We live in scary times.

Expand full comment

As a Science Teacher I'm totally in favour of Evidence-based Education. And a good starting point is the alleged evidence around Darwinism. See the introductory science on my site, christianrethink.co.uk. I am more than happy to be involved in proper debate.

Expand full comment

I hope those who liked my comment realised the implications of "alleged evidence" for Darwinian Evolution. There isn't any!

Expand full comment
Jan 24, 2023Liked by Joel Smalley

Its a great place to start a conversation where parties are open canvases willing to share and learn, and feel safe to do so.

Expand full comment
Jan 24, 2023Liked by Joel Smalley

Looking forward to the new direction Joel, your efforts have helped immensely in educating my family and friends and won me quite a few debates. Looking forward to see what you come up with. Good to see you chose a different direction to politics. Most politicians these days have bitbuckets for brains and anything of value you tried to add would be redirected to /dev/null.

Expand full comment
Jan 23, 2023Liked by Joel Smalley

Hey Joel, just signing up to keep abreast of developments in this area. Have been active in the btc space since 2012 and despite some capital Ive little else to show for it as early on (2015) my government collapsed my whole life for working on it (full denial of banking/business facilities/ability to set up companies). Always saw the end goal being a a parralled system to be worked outside their remit. Now more that ever I believe its the only way forward so I share your vision on that.

Have been working on a piece of land in the vein of permaulture and was thinking of selling shares in it as some kind of sidestep to the landed registry system. Looking for solutions in this space that work on btc rather than some novel solution. RGB and liquid look promising, shares etc on lightning might be available next year, that helps overcome teaching people how to use other chains and the extra security that goes with them.

Looking forward to the content. Thanks

Expand full comment
author

Excellent. Please sign up if you want a broader understanding of the underlying technology that crypto runs on. Did you also know that I have a therapeutic community project I'm looking to launch in Zanzibar? https://uvz.ubuntu.international/. I will be doing an entire course on decentralised autonomous organisations eventually. That sounds like it should be of interest to you?

Expand full comment
Jan 23, 2023Liked by Joel Smalley

Joel,

I live in Calgary, Alberta and am very much aligned with you.

The future of our species hangs in the balance, and we're either going to decentralize or become chattel for technocrats. I envision enclaves of village-states that use technology to share knowledge and best practices, with very little centralization of power anywhere.

I fear that our species is too immature and acquisitive to get there, but the current system is less than worthless. Because it stupefies and demoralizes, it must be replaced.

I am happy to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in this endeavour.

Expand full comment
author

Excellent. Please email me if you'd like to participate (planet.decentral@use.startmail.com). Did you also know that I have a therapeutic community project I'm looking to launch in Zanzibar? https://uvz.ubuntu.international/. I will be doing an entire course on decentralised autonomous organisations eventually. That sounds like it should be of interest to you?

Expand full comment
Jan 23, 2023·edited Jan 23, 2023

More than a little bit. Email sent.

Ubuntu is the first word that came to mind as I read your stack this morning ;-)

Expand full comment

I doubt if I would be able to keep up, but if you want to test it on the thickos I'm in.

Expand full comment

Education is the way to go! Teach the young how to think not what to think, aka Konstantin Kisin with his Oxford Union speech.

Well done Joel wishing you all the best.

Expand full comment

I think these days is we have to teach the kids how 'not to think' and undo the damage caused by the education system.

Expand full comment

I do not know if I will be able to follow it all, but I would like to try and would be happy to give feedback if you have any spots left.

Expand full comment

Hi Joel, I'd love to be involved and give feedback for a free place!

Expand full comment
author

Thanks, Matt. Please email me!

Expand full comment

Crypto atheist that I am I am happy enough to sign up.

Expand full comment
author

You and me both!! I may have come full circle on decentralisation but I'm still not a big fan of crypto. Ask Mathew Crawford!!

Expand full comment
author

Please email me!

Expand full comment

I know nothing.

Expand full comment
author

Sometimes I wonder if life might be happier like that!

Expand full comment

Have you contacted Matthew Crawford? You seem to have pretty similar interests...

Best of luck with this, anyhow.

Expand full comment
author

Yes, I have worked with Mathew. He is a much better educator than me and smarter too! But I am very inspired by him.

Expand full comment

“Evidence based medicine” proved to be just empty words. Look what has happened.

Expand full comment
author

I know. But that hasn't stopped individuals from providing healthcare on an evidence-based basis. We know how they like to corrupt words but that doesn't mean we should let them curtail our good intentions.

Expand full comment

What I should have said is that before EVB we debated the evidence and selected treatment accordingly. Same is true after EVB. EVB was just a minor speed bump while we to tried to understand why anyone thought medical decision making was any different. Sample error may factor in as I had a orthopaedic surgical practice in an academic institution. In spite of not having randomized double blind placebo controlled studies (not enough blind surgeons) progress was enormous from 1975 to 2000.

Expand full comment