Comment author: Varuna 06 August 2014 09:57:50PM 13 points [-]

Your use of the Summers incident seems far more likely to inflame people than help educate. I predict it will increase the number of readers whose takeaway from the article is that you simply want to defend the indefensible, and are best to be ignored. People who already agree with you will enjoy it.

Comment author: Viliam_Bur 05 August 2014 08:07:04AM 5 points [-]

Could this be scaled? For example, with help from your daughter, could you make a booklet of the compressed knowledge and distribute it to more teenagers? You found the resources; your daughter could help you choose the ones that impressed her, and otherwise optimize for her age group, and perhaps ask a few of her classmates to participate in testing of the booklet...

Comment author: Varuna 05 August 2014 10:47:30PM 3 points [-]

That's a really good idea. I'm going to think about what that might look like.

Comment author: Varuna 04 August 2014 05:26:22PM 16 points [-]

Every time you see a media article concerning a topic you are knowledgeable about, it seems wise to gauge the accuracy of the article and update your estimate of the value of getting information from similar sources.

Comment author: Varuna 04 August 2014 03:42:40PM 10 points [-]

Drawing from several online resources, including lukeprog's "How to Beat Procrastination," I helped my high-school-aged daughter understand the workings of her brain a bit better. She has had great success in achieving several short-term goals for herself over the past month.

Comment author: Varuna 04 August 2014 03:25:58PM 0 points [-]

There are two sentient biological agents who are not yet ready to fully care for themselves, and I provide the means for them to enjoy food, shelter, education, entertainment, cultural enrichment, personal connections, and other life experiences while they develop. As part of a larger organization, I organize matter into a form that my fellow beings find far more useful than the original formation of said matter.

In sum: 2 beings, great positive impact each. Millions of beings, small positive impact each.

Just that.