Renewal #298
By Hank Silverberg
Commentary
A new semester begins for me this week. I have two classes and 50 students at the community college where I teach as an Adjunct Professor.
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A large number of these students chose a community college because they can take the introductory courses with lower tuition and then transfer later to a four year college. In Virginia, the curriculum for my classes is identical to that of freshmen taking the same class at a four year college to make the credits more transferable.
Unfortunately, a number of the students over the last few years have come in with a big gap in their education. They went through high school during the pandemic, and the virtual zoom classes they took at home for about two years, set those students' education back and left them a bit unprepared for college.
College professors are aware of this, and we try to help, but it doesn't always work. Instead, students often seek help in poor places, like the internet. They are bombarded with false information, fake news and revisionist history which mingles with sound scientific research, solid journalism and actual facts about the past. Figuring out what is real and what is not is confusing and challenging, and I am afraid some students, ill prepared during the pandemic, are not up to the challenge.
This year, more than in the past, there is another challenge--Artificial Intelligence.
AI has the potential to change the world. But as Isaac Asimov speculated in some of his wonderful science fiction novels, such changes may not always be for the benefit of mankind.
I won't let my students use AI for any of their written work. To be an effective adult, you need adequate skills in written and spoken communication. AI can communicate for you, but will not teach you to do it yourself. That is what education is all about, learning how to better yourself.
I am not a Luddite; I believe in science.
But let me just say we need to slow down a bit and not let the science outpace our ability to cope with AI, just like we did with splitting the atom or engineering a gene. The people developing AI need to keep their hands on the "off" switch just in case.
News You May Have Missed
Stranded Astronauts?
The decision more than a decade ago to put space launches into the hands of private companies may be coming back to haunt NASA. Just ask astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were sent up to the International Space Station in June expecting an eight day stay, and are now still there.
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| (The Starliner Capsule, NASA) |
But Wilmore and Williams will stay in space until February, when a SpaceX's Dragon capsule is ready to bring them home.
It's a vote of confidence for SpaceX and a disaster for Boeing, which has recently had all kinds of trouble with its jet liners as well.
NASA had planned to have two reliable spacecraft companies to carry astronauts, but that hasn't worked out. This decision pretty much hands over this mission and a host of others, including a Moon landing, into the hands of SpaceX.
About a month from now, SpaceX will launch its planned Crew-9 mission, but it will carry only two of the previously assigned four-crew members, so there is room for Wilmore and Williams on the flight home after a six month wait.
Of note, SpaceX is owned by Elon Musk, who is a heavy contributor to Donald Trump's campaign and owns both X (formerly Twitter) and the Tesla car company.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasas-stranded-astronauts-will-fly-home-on-spacexs-dragon/
New Poll!
Polls taken in August do not usually predict the outcome of a vote in November. A lot can happen
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A survey taken by Fairleigh Dickinson University last Friday shows Harris with a seven point lead (50% to 43%) over former president Trump. But that only shows a popular vote trend, not the condition of the race in the swing states (Wisconsin, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Arizona, among others).
Harris also leads Trump 38% to 33% among the all- important Independent voters who do not lean towards either party and often decide elections.
https://www.fdu.edu/news/fdu-poll-finds-race-and-gender-push-harris-above-trump-nationally/
The national survey, taken between August 17 and August 20, shows race and gender play a significant role in how people are going to vote.
Dan Cassino is the Executive Director of the Poll, and a Professor of Government and Politics at FDU.
“When voters are thinking about race or sex, Trump’s support just plummets,” said Cassino. “All the time, we hear strategists and pundits saying that Democratic candidates shouldn’t talk about identity, but these results show that making race and sex salient to voters is bad for Trump and boosts Harris.”
Among voters who were not primed by the survey questions to think about the race or sex of the candidates, Harris and Trump are tied (47 to 48). When the list of issues mentions the sex of the candidates, Harris pulls ahead, 52 to 42. And when the race of the candidates is mentioned, Harris holds a 14-point lead, 53 to 39, a 15-point shift from the baseline condition.
Again, polls are only a snapshot in time, and this one has a margin of error of 3.6%. But the trend is noteworthy.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4846433-harris-leading-trump-by-7-points-poll/
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
Dumbest quote of the week goes to someone who really needs to be shamed, conservative commentator and fake journalist, Ann Coulter. There were many critical things she could have said about the Democratic National Convention that would fit her hard-right political leanings, but instead she chose to highlight Gus Waltz, the son of Vice Presidential nominee, Tim Walz.
As Tim Walz spoke, his 17-year-old son was crying, and jumped up and shouted several times, "that's my Dad, that's my Dad!" The emotion was caught on national TV cameras.
Having no clue, Coulter singled that few seconds of a very long night and tweeted out:
"Talk about weird."
She ended up deleting the tweet after a big backlash from much of the internet.
Gus Waltz has ADHD, a nonverbal learning disorder and an anxiety disorder, which sometimes brings emotional outbursts. Governor Walz has not revealed his son's condition before, but that's irrelevant to both this instance and the campaign as a whole. Coulter has no clue about real emotion and deleted the tweet after she was called out by Michelle Obama and others. Coulter has done dumb things like this before, like suggesting that women should not be allowed to vote. I fail to understand why anyone still pays attention to her at all.
(Your Suggestions and comments are welcome)
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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
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