[ExI] jarring change

[Dan TheBookMan]

thOn Sun, Sep 13, 2020 at 5:20 PM spike jones via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
> What is the most change-averse institutions in modern society?  John Burch Society?  OK sure but mainstream.  Presbyterian church?  Hmmm… warmer but still not really mainstream and you might be surprised on their attitude toward change.
>
> Imagine setting up a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being most change-averse and then multiplying by the order of magnitude of people who are in some way involved in that.  So… Burch Society is about a 3: a few thousand people take that seriously, and Presbyterian, a 5?  OK then.
>
> Imagine your change-averse times numbers of people involved in some way, and think of who ranks up near the top of that scale.
>
> To simplify matters, you can work with just your own country or subset of humanity where you know the rules.  I will focus on USA, having no expertise outside (haven’t been there or done that (hope to someday (but won’t get on a plane or ship (unless they carry me aboard in a wooden box.))))
>
> OK, see the game?  Number of people (OOM) times change aversity.
>
> My highest ranking institution is…
>
> Public education in general, the university system in particular.  The number of people involved in that is in about the 8 range, with a score I estimated for aversion to change around at least 8 or 9, so we are way up in the 60 to 70 zone with the product.
>
> Commentary to follow, but I want to read what you have to say first.
>
> spike

Not that I doubt your conclusion, but I'd like to see how you're
measuring change here.

One problem I do see here is public education has only existed a short
time -- basically, in the US since the late 19th century and that's a
little deceptive since it wasn't that centralized back then and mostly
became mandatory in the 1930s. So in terms of long-term duration, it
wouldn't have an institution like, say, the Church of England or the
Roman Catholic Church beat.

Also, if you read Bryan Caplan's book on education, I'd also wonder if
it matters. One of his theses is that most education is simply
forgotten or has little impact once the degree is achieved.

This reminds me of how many people approach learning and education:
memorizing trivia. As one person online quipped, 'Why do we need to
know the names of Columbus's ships? Who gives a fuck?' :)

Regards,

Dan
  Sample my Kindle books via:
http://www.amazon.com/Dan-Ust/e/B00J6HPX8M/