Dean Earlix, Ph.D.

Aquaponicist, microbiologist, instructional designer, and fan of Sol clan. Chat me if you can guess why an ID might choose this background.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@adastra: The child who solved this problem might not have been the smartest. The first kids asked "How do I get an object at the bottom of a glass?" The last student asked "How do I get the object to the top of the glass?" Asking the right question can be taught. Do you?

[Zoya🕊️ @Zoya_ki_batein]

The teacher challenged his students to remove a mandarin from a glass full of water without spilling a single drop.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@ItsRobbAllen Very efficient 🤣

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@uxtigersdotcom Ah, it isn't just me feeling happy with my impending purchase until I see the coupon code field, then having second thoughts. Same thing happens when I discover shipping is not included only at transaction end, and my satisfaction with the final price diminishes.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@ItsRobbAllen I've gotten to see good home studios, starting in the 80s, advance to unprojected heights every decade. I was sure it would level out in the 2020s, but development got faster, instead.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@ItsRobbAllen With regard to living Science Fiction, I admit to raising the bar more and more often, but the capability of your synthesizer was once sonic proof of SF. I hope you can (re)capture that feeling as you use it!

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@KirillGoldinBiz @GadSaad Selection bias is a worthy #3. I worked in Academe for two decades, and found it informative, when applying for jobs, to note the ratio of interview questions that assessed my knowledge with those that assessed my world view.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@KirillGoldinBiz @GadSaad I suspect two reasons: 1) It partly results from the Dunning-Kruger Effect, because academics are conditioned to doubt themselves and listen to "experts," reinforcing herd mentality. and 2) Academic tenure, which breaks the effort-reward connection.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

Gad's argument about academic heard mentality conflates two groups: Pre- and post-tenured academics. His taxonomy, however, is spot-on. The old joke is that juvenile invertebrates are an active part of productivity as they search for a place to settle, find a spot, attach permanently, and accomplish little else but eating, resting, and reproducing. It's basically like tenure.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@sharemath Meditation has been shown to work much like sleep. Particularly, I suspect, for those who fall asleep while meditation.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@sharemath Feedback can also be bi-directional. In one experiment, touch typists watching the output screen would stumble in their typing if a random letter was substituted into the typed. This only works, however, if the attention and feedback pillars are in place.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@the_UrbanWolf @teachthemx3 Ah, Mr. Wolf, the 13-month calendar is both the answer and the obstacle to harnessing childhood questions.

After asking "why" about month lengths, your information could be withheld, then the child (and friends!) asked to come up with a better system.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@ArynneWexler Can anyone explain why Pride month comes at the start of summer? Doesn't pride goeth before the Fall?

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@BlackLabelAdvsr Well, I would be in a cult, for that sense of belonging (if nothing else) but I keep asking too many questions. <sigh>. To paraphrase Groucho Marx, "I refuse to join any cult that would have me as a member."

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@ThomAquinas77 @TechOperator I miss slide rules
1. Never ran out of power
2. Didn't put heart into my throat if I dropped it.
3. Made me estimate an answer before calculating.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@liorsela I'd love a profile between Chill, which causes tailgating, and Standard, which got me a speeding ticket when it went 11 mph over the limit. The second non-existant profile I'd use is "Gentle," which would smooth out acceleration and turning to avoid carsick kids and pets.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@teachthemx3 I'll call Wendy's assertion that "Learning how to learn is arguably the most important skill we should be teaching students" and raise her "arguably" to "absolutely." We can't know what kids will later need to know, so we MUST teach them how to learn it.

[Dean Earlix, Ph.D. @HalfPolymath]

@BlackLabelAdvsr I suspect that the average person who can delay his or her gratification until they can afford something (instead of borrowing to attain it) also has greater appreciation of that thing. All things equal, they will also be happier.