Pro-Humanities

There was a piece in the Washington Post in July which argued for fewer humanities majors and more technology majors… what a crock!

This country has never suffered a shortage of innovation; we have always been a magnet for the aggregation of innovators, internally and abroad. What we suffer from is a poor social, political and economic support for innovation and growth.

If anything, there is a lack of understanding of the liberal arts and how they are applied to manipulate our political and economic activities. Americans are subject to emotional appeal, straw men, incomplete or carefully selected ‘facts’ and outright subterfuge by journalists and pundits (better described as message amplifiers) and marketers and advertisers (more accurately, consumer manipulators) to two major effects: (1) Consumer marketing which tells us to buy houses we can’t afford with loan conditions which are unsustainable in unstable economic conditions; processed foods and cable television which contribute to a litany of chronic conditions including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and tooth decay; cheap fashion which has a higher cost than evident on the surface and other consumer goods which come a high hidden social and environmental price. (2) Misleading and highly polished political messaging to sell poorly reasoned political arguments to the detriment of a majority of Americans. We’ve been sold that the inheritance tax is a ‘death tax’ and the Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare) calls for the establishment of ‘death panels’. And all evidence to the contrary, we are told “We don't have a domestic spying program…”

As consumers of American culture and media, we are bombarded by a constant barrage of doublespeak and embedded advertising. These are designed to persuade us to behave in a way beneficial to those who buy such placement. As Americans, we need the analytical and reasoning skills to see beyond the immediate story so we can make informed and not persuaded decisions. If anything, this country needs to foster and promote humanities and liberal arts education, not diminish.

And should the author of the initiating post has forgotten, let me remind him that one of the highest value class of American exports is American culture… That’s right, movies, television, music, online content, etc… all based on narratives dependent on the humanities.

What is the effect of a higher minimum wage on…

I overheard a complaint by a medical technician over the fast food workers’ strike for a higher minimum wage… This person objected to a $15/hr minimum wage because they, with a college degree and advanced training, made $16/hr. While my first response was… maybe they should be earning more, it occurred to me that I don’t know what effect a minimum wage increase would have on workers making various amounts higher than minimum wage. There have been a number of studies and news reports (see here, here, here, here, and here) on how such a change would effect the economy overall, the question I have is what happens to low wage workers who make just above minimum wage? What about two times minimum wage? Three times minimum wage? Union wages?… etc.

Carbon free renewable energy…

Float and tether energy collectors (any combination of solar/ wind/ wave collectors) onto offshore (and potentially out of sight) platforms: use the energy to generate hydrogen by electrolysis from sea water. The hydrogen gets stored in tanks on the platforms and harvesting would entail swapping empty tanks with charged tanks.