The comparative advantage and your life

An economist in the late 18th century called David Ricardo was dealing with a dilemma.

The esteemed Adam Smith, father of economics had created the theory of absolute advantage. Basically, if you can make something cheaper than anyone else, you should, and then export it.

There was a fatal flaw in the theory. What if one country was better at producing everything than another country? Should that country produce and trade all the worlds goods? Should the lesser country produce and trade nothing?

His answer took form in the theory of comparative advantage:


Here are two countries with some fictional numbers, Malaysia and Thailand. The lines show a simplified version of what the country could produce if it uses all its resources to produce palm oil or automobiles.

Here, if Malaysia directed 100% of its economy into palm oil production, it could make $100 million, or if into Automobiles, only $50 million. We can say this is because the people have better training and knowledge in palm oil production, the climate is better suited to agricultural work than industrial, favorable business policies, or a number of reasons that affect productivity.

Being a bigger country with more natural resources, in our example Thailand can make $105 million in palm oil production or $120 million in automobile production.

In this example, Thailand has absolute advantage in both. But there is no point in Malaysians sitting idle and not making anything. So comparative advantage explains that Thailand is still better off making cars and Malaysia is still better off making palm oil.

In our own life, we sometimes think that other people are better at everything than us. We get tempted to not even try. But just like Malaysia there, we need to stop comparing ourselves to others, even if they have the absolute advantage. We should look at our comparative advantage, what we do better than other things.


Here's Mary and Tom. Mary and Tom both dream of being wealthy.

Mary is a bookish person who loves using mathematics to solve problems. She knows that if she studies hard and gets a good degree, she can get a job in a finance firm paying $100,000 a year. She is not very risk taking or entrepreneurial. She could start her own accounting firm but will probably not make a lot of money from it ($50K).

Tom is one of the lucky people that seem to have academic skills and practical street smarts. He also knows he can study, get his degree and get the job Mary is going for but with a $5k a year raise. But he has a great idea for his own finance firm, and is convinced he can make more money doing this ($120K).

In this example Mary might be jealous of Tom. But it really doesn't matter. In any case, Mary will still make more money with her studies and job in a big firm than she would starting her own business. Likewise Tom will start his business.

As I've said time and again, Economics is a science of choice. Here is another example. It shows how we can get the most benefit by looking at what we do better than other things, not other people. In fact the science shows how everyone gains by all individuals seeking what they do best, their comparative advantage. And it tells us that comparing ourselves to others isn't important to realize the best gains in our life.

And as a final note, we of course have to recognize that money is not the only motivator to our lives. But whatever provides an incentive for us can be used the same way.

Here is one final graph. Is money or enjoyment more important? I'll leave you to decide what you think Tom and Mary should do with their life.

Language is a sport, not a subject

In 2009 researcher Victor Ferreira conducted study showing that people form sentences with procedural memory.

To understand how big a deal this is, I have to explain some things first.

Procedural memory(n).
Also called implicit memory. Guides the processes we perform and most frequently resides below the level of conscious awareness. Retrieved and utilized for the execution of the integrated procedures involved in both cognitive and motor skills; from tying shoes to flying an airplane to reading. Accessed and used without the need for conscious control or attention. It is created through "procedural learning" or, repeating a complex activity over and over again until we figure out how to make all of the relevant neural systems work together to automatically produce the activity.

This study (among others) suggest that learning a language is like learning to tie your shoes, or to ride a bike. For anyone who's been in a language class before, does this sound like a typical class to you? If it does, tell me where you're learning. I'd like to speak to the teacher.

Most classes use a declarative or explicit approach to language teaching, at least in the early levels, and they usually never leave this approach.

Declarative memory(n).
Also called explicit memory. One of two types of long term human memory. Memories which can be consciously recalled such as facts and events. Declarative memory can be divided into two categories: episodic memory which stores specific personal experiences and semantic memory which stores factual information.

Ah, this sounds like language study! In language classes we can easily recall the drudgery of memorizing vocabulary lists and doing grammar exercises. The formula of A + B = Z. If we remember enough formulas, we can figure it out. The only reason it hasn't worked yet, we think, is because we haven't worked hard enough.

Except that the approach just doesn't work.

Memorization of rules follow a declarative path which can give a simulation of fluency up to a point. But it will never produce mastery. A native speaker learns through an implicit approach, and unless you do too, you are literally speaking a different language.

Victor Ferreira's study is one of a few I've seen about teaching syntax and grammar rules at subjects suffering from amnesia or Alzheimer's. Like his study, it is shown that people can remember how to construct sentence patterns even when they cannot explain how the rule works, or even that they had learned it.

If we think about our native language, we do the same. Most of us can't give explicit reasons for applying certain sentence structures, but we can do it continuously without error.

This shows that we use a different neural mechanism for learning languages than we do for learning academic subjects like science. Yet we continue to teach it as if it were an academic subject.

Why?

The assumption that adults cannot learn in a similar way to children is based on studies that compare explicit approaches with adults to implicit approaches to children. It's comparing oranges and apples. If more of Victors kind of studies continue, I hope there will be enough scientific evidence to appease the academic community that language learning should be trained like a sport, rather than an academic subject.

How to meditate: Metta or Loving-Kindness meditation

One of the three cornerstones of Vipassana meditation is the metta technique. It is one I have put off in my own practice.

In essence, the ultimate purpose of the technique is to generate a feeling of metta, or loving-kindness towards everyone and everything.

Also called compassion, There are many methods of practicing the technique, but they usually follow a system something like this:

It is necessary to begin with a calm mind (metta is usually practiced after concentration or Vipassana)

Then we cultivate the intention of wishing happiness.

We first wish happiness to ourself, that we may be safe, healthy and free from suffering.

Secondly we wish happiness to a good friend, or someone close to us, that they be safe, healthy and free from suffering.

Thirdly we wish happiness to someone we feel neutral towards, that they be safe, healthy and free from suffering.

Fourthly we wish happiness to someone we feel is difficult, an "enemy", that they be safe, healthy and free from suffering.

Lastly, we conclude with all things in existence, animate and inanimate, that they all be safe, healthy and free from suffering.

The process does not need to be long, just 10-15 minutes per day.

Both cognitively and emotionally, the practice might seem to not make sense.

We often feel justified in our hatred of certain others, especially if they are destructive people. It takes a lot of wisdom to realize that people do bad things from ignorance and desperation, and that if they were truly happy, they would not need to do the things that they do.

By opposing the behavior, we need to create enemies. By opposing the misery underlying the behavior, we need strong compassion.

The other cognitive block to trying the practice is to wonder why we would want to feel compassion for those we dislike or disagree with, and for inanimate objects.

The purpose of cultivating this intention is first and foremost for us. If we can even be in the presence of an enemy but still feel compassion, we can stay calm and happy. If we feel equal compassion for all people (a long-term aim of the practice), then we can be more objective and fair to the situation, by taking feelings out of the equation. Sometimes we can learn from people we dislike, and even people we dislike can make a good point.

The cultivation of compassion towards all beings and objects as well gives us more respect for the environment we live in. It allows us to develop a healthy relationship with the world around us. For example we learn that money is not in itself evil, but can be used for immoral or moral purposes. We learn that we can be satisfied with our old but clean clothes, instead of needing to buy new ones all the time, creating environmental problems.

It has only been this year that I have started to appreciate the value of this practice, and I have included it more regularly.

One reason is that it has taken me a long time to be happy with myself. Compassion towards ones self is the base, and kindness needs to be directed there, first and foremost.

The hierarchy in the practice above can be used to judge the compassion of any individual.

If the person is unhappy with themselves, they are often unable to even share in the joy of their friends. This is where we see that the most harmful people are often unhappy with the most fundamental aspect of their reality, themselves.

A more compassionate person, may have love for themselves and their friends, but bitterly oppose those they have decided are their enemies. This tribal or team mentality means that differences become the source of conflict, and any benefit from this conflict is given up. Politics is a good example of this, where often arguments are not centered on what policies would be most beneficial, but rather who is "right" or "wrong". A more compassionate society on this level would be more considerate of all opinions, even when it opposes their own. It is at this level that many modern societies are struggling to break through at a collective level.

The last is our relationship to materiality and the environment. If we are still concerned with opposing people, it is often hard to care about "things". As modern societies, we are trying to reevaluate our relationship with the environment so that we don't damage it beyond repair.

As individuals, it is our job to become more compassionate, with whatever technique we choose. Via the moral multiplier, our actions can have effects that extend beyond ourselves. And while we are a small cog in the wheel, it is the collection of all these small cogs moving forward that will take society to where it needs to go.

The rise of Asian universities

Asia is changing fast. That's pretty common knowledge.

People who don't live here or don't focus on the region might not realize how much. The idea for some in the west that the region will one day have the purchasing power of western countries seems inconceivable. But at least the idea is in the minds of most people alive today that the region will be important. And an important part of the regions transition is education.

Each year there is about 3 million students classified as international. About 550,000 or just under 20% of these come from Asia alone. With UNESCO quoting an average growth of 12% of international students globally every year, this number only seems likely to grow.

The most popular destinations have traditionally been English speaking countries such as the US, the UK and Australia and some European countries like Germany. Asian destinations like Singapore and Japan were considered second best options, for those who couldn't afford "better education".

In fact, this view is already old. Many countries in the region are starting to see the need to specialize in knowledge. Korea has education specializing in electronics, graphic design and even video game design, Singapore and Hong Kong are highly focused on finance and business education, and even Thailand is developing a good reputation in Asia for robotics and pharmaceutical research.

As the economies and incomes have been growing in the region, so has the desire to import foreign knowledge in the form of teachers and education systems, giving rise to the Asian international education industry.

Both the US and Australia have been capitalizing on this industry for a long time - classified as a service export, like tourism - which brings in approximately US$20 billion a year for each country. In Australia, it is the 3rd biggest industry by value, below coal and iron ore, but above gold.

Asian countries are seeking to entice these students to their countries with cheaper prices, and a more globalized faculty and student body.

Many countries have set aggressive targets:

• In 2007 Singapore announced plans to increase its number of international students from 50,000 a year to 150,000 by 2012
• Malaysia has also set a target of 100,000 for 2012
• In the next 5 years, Japan hopes to increase student numbers from 100,000 to 300,000
• Korea has expressed desire to increase international students by 100,000

For these targets, most countries are targeting other Asian students rather than Americans or Europeans.

One way this is being done is with offshore campuses.

Some American, British, Australian and other European universities are taking the market seriously, creating and operating campuses in Asian locations. Here are just a few:

• Webster University operating in Thailand
• Monash University in Malaysia
• University of Wales et al in Singapore
• John Hopkins University in China

These universities offer the same accreditation and curriculum as their western counterparts. They gain by accessing an increasing market. The local communities gain by having access to established universities academic experience and reputation.

Part of the reason these big universities are taking the region seriously is that domestic homegrown universities are rapidly improving in quality, prestige and research output.

If one can speak English moderately well, there are competent international programs offered in Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan and Korea. Perhaps more.

With growing education prices in the west and an increasing importance of Asia in global affairs, we may well one day be sending western kids to Asian universities.

What's your learning style?

This is probably one of the lest revolutionary posts I'll write in my learning systems entry of this blog, but it seems sometimes as if was.

Educators have known for a long time that students learn in different methods.

The three main kinds are visual, auditory, and tactile, or kinesthetic.

Visual learners learn best through seeing diagrams, mindmaps, videos pictures and the like.

Auditory learners learn best through hearing lectures, podcasts, and discussing.

Tactile learners learn best through action, doing experiments and exercises.

A person can be a combination of all of these, however 1 style (sometimes 2 styles) tends to be dominant and preferred for that student.

It is reasonable to assume that a mixture of these three learning styles will be present in all classes. It would be a reasonable assumption that most professors should provide material in a way that accompanies all learning styles.

But most don't.

If we recall our time in formal education, we often think about listening to someone talk for an hour or two upfront with some bullet points on screen (or black/white board) while we struggle not to fall asleep.

I'm a dominant visual/tactile learner. I get bored and start day dreaming to escape a lecture like that. Instead, I'll go home, try to create diagrams or charts or someway to visualize the knowledge I need, and I'll do a few exercises. And this way, I get A's. But my time spent in lectures like the above are almost completely wasted.

Occasionally I'll get a teacher who creates visuals or thinks up interactive exercises to do. Often my attention will snap back to reality when there is something visual to work with on screen. Unfortunately, it's quite rare.

For some reason, we have the idea that complex subjects can only be explained through large chunks of technical text. While that might work for some learners, it disadvantages the rest of us.

I've used this graph a couple of times in the economics section of this blog, and I will use it again several times.

Even though I have omitted most of the detail and technical information from this graph, it can still be used to explain a variety of concepts, such as opportunity cost, production capacity, excess and surplus, consumption versus investment, choice of investment, etc.

Not only does it apply on a country (macro), or industry (micro) level, it also applies on a personal level, which I try to bring it down to in my posts there.

The point is, that visuals can often be just as capable as explaining concepts as text.

Exercises in addition to benefiting tactile learners also provide a link from theoretical to practical. For me, I often don't feel like knowledge is cemented in my long term memory until I have practiced it a few times (such as conducting a strategic analysis report of a business).

Regardless of a students inclinations, it is not hard to argue that all three styles should be used in classrooms wherever possible to accompany for all students.

This is not revolutionary, but it is optional. The system allows for this kind of apathy and behalf of professors. The difficulty in implementing something so widely accepted as important in the classroom makes me concerned for the system, and for education.

It is one reason why I feel that in the next few decades we will need to reform the education system from the ground up, into a student-centered system of learning.

4 capitals, economic, social, cultural, and moral

We all want the best in our lives. Many of us spend large amounts of time thinking about it, planning for it, and trying to achieve it. If we have kids, we start planning for them too.

The economic concept of capital can be defined as "access to resources". When we are trying to improve our lives, we can think of it in economic terms as trying to increase our capital. There are various types:

Economic capital is defined by access to material resources such as cash, oil and the like. Much research has shown that we are usually unhappy if we don't have enough economic capital (in the form of money), but beyond a certain point, more doesn't make us any happier.

Another important type of capital is social capital. We can define our social capital by the number of connections we have to other people and social groups, and the quality of those connections. In the west we call it "networking". In most other parts of the world it's just the standard way of life.

Cultural capital is more loosely defined as the collection of skills, education and knowledge that members of society have.

All these forms of capital are a way of measuring the influence and power an individual has in society. I want to propose another type of capital.

Moral capital is created by our choice of moral actions, actions which are beneficial to society in the long-term.

The power that comes from moral actions is hard to measure, and it is a kind of soft power.

For the individual, increasing moral capital creates an internal sense of wellbeing, self-respect and earned pride of ones actions. It is not about feeling morally superior to others. But just as a person can find enjoyment in having a strong social network without looking down on others, so can a person enjoy the satisfaction that derives from a moral life without contempt for others.

In addition to that, a person who gains a high level of moral capital will earn trust from those that know them. They will have honor and integrity. While the words aren't used so often these days, they are no less important.

Certainly for some people certain types of capital matter more than most. But we will suffer if we have insufficient capital in each of these areas.

Without economic capital, we are poor. This needs no more explanation.

Without social capital, we become lonely and have less opportunities in life.

Without cultural capital, we don't have the necessary skills and knowledge to achieve our dreams. And,

Without moral capital, we can suffer from self-loathing, regret and guilt.

In fact we can learn to live with being poor to some extent. We can adapt to a small social circle if necessary. And in the internet age, we can self-learn virtually any skill we need.

But we cannot escape our own mind.

Moral capital is not a concept that is talked about often, or in clear terms. But it's a vital part of improving our lives. Because if we can make small choices in our life that will lead to a lifetime of regret and not being able to look at ourselves in the mirror, or a lifetime of pride and happiness to be alive, we should seriously be thinking on how to get some more of it.

Language developmental stages

After reading posts about language learning, I have come to a couple of conclusions:

1. There are a lot of unexamined assumptions around language learning, and
2. There is a lot of ignorance about implicit learning methods in general

One of the difficulties in a method like ALG is getting people to accept a silent period of 6-12 months before they start speaking in a language. We've been taught it is necessary to focus on production straight away, so classes have been geared to teach explicit rules and provide restricted exercises from the first day so the person feels they are progressing.

While they will gain some ability, it is not a natural progression, and may harm their progress at advanced stages.

The concept of ALG is to produce a methodology as close as possible to how children learn.

Discussions about language have made it clear however that most adults don't know how children learn languages. It seems amazing to me since I assume some of them have had children, and I assume some of those spent enough time noticing their kids learning to speak. These may be dangerous assumptions however.

Many websites such as this one lay out clear linguistic development stages for children. Sometimes they happen sooner or later, but all children go through these stages (except for severe learning disabilities of course).

Let me summarize:

0 to 3 months
Can recognize familiar and unfamiliar voices.
Can use meaningless sounds to convey urgent needs.

4 to 6 months
Can recognize commands with strong emphasis "No!".
Starts practicing with sound production.

7 to 12 months
Begins to recognize simple vocabulary, particularly nouns for objects they can see.
Baby starts producing first words. By this time they usually know between 5 and 20 words or so.

1 to 3 years
Can respond to simple questions ("where's the bunny?") and more detailed commands ("get your socks").
Vocabulary explosion stage. Children pick up words seemingly every day. By the end of this stage they normally know about 1000 words.

3 to 5 years
Fluency stage. By the end of this stage most children are able to understand and express themselves in most language functions about concepts they have learned.

When it comes to language learning, we are often impressed by the speed at which children pick up words at the vocabulary explosion stage, because it's what we see. We fail to acknowledge that for the first year there is virtually no production as the child is exposed to input.

This corresponds remarkably well to the 6-12 month (600-1200 hour) incubation period as experienced in learners of the ALG method.

Of course, babies are processing a lot more information than just language during that time. They have to understand the signals coming from their body, how to use their eyes, to move, to eat, etc. The speed at which they do all this is impressive.

But adults are also far ahead of babies in that regard. They know how to do that stuff already, so they can just focus on the language aspect. They also understand many concepts that are talked about in language already. They don't have to learn them for the first time like a child does. So again they are ahead.

While there is a demonstrated slowdown in neuroplasticity as we age, this research doesn't differentiate between people who have committed to lifelong learning and those who have been neurally sedentary. It also doesn't differentiate between implicit and explicit learning pathways. So the research that is often cited as a reason for why we cannot learn at the same speed as a child is usually not accurate or indicative.

Up to a year of silence may seem to be a large burden for a learner, but considering most people willingly spend 5 or more years learning a second language, the first year of silence is nothing.

All that is required is the faith to try it out, and the persistence to stick it out.

How Vipassana might rewire the brain

There are three main types of meditative practices: Conditioning exercises, concentration exercises, and what I call "deconstructive" exercises.

Conditioning exercises (such as metta meditation), seek to strengthen a neural pathway, often for a feeling. For example, metta meditation seeks to increase a persons feeling of compassion, leading to further happiness for them and creates incentive for their actions to be more moral towards themselves and others.

Concentration exercises are a type of conditioning exercise designed to train a fundamental skill, the ability to focus attention towards one object. They are exercises that strengthen our willpower over our subconscious mind and likely result in a strengthening in the functions of the brain that are involved in attention.

Vipassana, and other deconstructive meditations are harder to describe, and function very differently.

To understand this, it helps to also realize the concept of the neural network.

In my last post on the 3 minds, I mentioned that the network of neurons in our body doesn't end in our brain, but extends to our body, our gut and our nervous systems. This is called the neural network, and understanding these functions has lead to a booming field of artificial intelligence.

Artificial neural networks are now being used to aid in processing complex tasks with a large number of inputs in a similar way as humans do.

The system is based on how biological neural networks (that's us) function, and they fundamentally comprise of 3 layers:

The input layer and output layer are simply where information comes in and out. But the hidden layer has some interesting characteristics from the point of view of meditation.

In a neural network (unlike a traditional computer network), the path from input to output is not defined. Instead the system has to find its own route from input to output.

To do this, the hidden layer contains a few parameters to help it decide. Two it contains are filters and weighting.

Filters decide what information will be passed along, and which will not. This cuts down the amount of input data to be processed. Adjusting the filters changes the input the system has available to use.

Weighting is the importance given to certain types of input over others. It determines what information is considered more important than others.

When these are refined over time, the system "learns" and optimizes its function by creating the desired output while filtering out unimportant data and weighting the most important data more strongly.

This system is designed to replicate as close as possible how our brain and nervous systems process information. In our minds, the data is all the information we receive from our senses. When we engage in conditioning type exercises, we are trying to create a desired output (feeling) and by applying this attention over time, the system strengthens the pathway that leads to that output.

Vipassana works at a deeper level. In Vipassana, the process is to not seek a specific output (feeling) but instead to learn to observe what input is present without judgement or rejection.

I believe that Vipassana is working at the level of hidden layer parameters, like in the neural network above.

By seeking to not cling to or push away certain sensations, we are changing the filter values in our hidden layers.

This is what meditators talk about by being in the present moment. Most of the time, we are not aware of most of the things occurring in the present. We do not pay attention to all the smells, sounds, sights, and feelings that are occurring in every instant. By learning to be mindful, we are trying to increase our awareness of what is occurring, right now. It is a state of open mind, and when our filters adjust, we experience it as our mind "expanding" and becoming "vast" or "wide" or "expansive". It is a wondrous experience to have.

The result of this is that we change what input we become aware of, and having new information (even when the externalities of our life don't change) allows us to learn new things, and empowers us.

Secondly, by seeking equanimity, or nonreact as some psychologists are starting to call it, we are changing our weighting parameters.

Subjectively, we are all conditioned to feel that some information is more important than others, and this allows us to function in the world. However, when this conditioning becomes inappropriate for our current situation, the weighting values in our mind perpetuate old reactions, and they don't change to the new situation.

For example, most of us are still sensitive to specific insults that we were exposed to as children in school. When we were sensitive to these insults it was important for us to be part of a group. However, as an adult the risk of social rejection is much lower. The part of the mind that acknowledges these insults as important needs to change to adapt to the adults new social situation. If it stays stuck, we have an adult that has a harder time functioning in the world.

This focus on equanimity changes the way we weight information coming to us. The result of this is that how we feel changes. It is hugely satisfying to have the power to change how you feel about external situations you can't change. It creates joy and positivity in a person because they experience that in the long-term, they can become happier and happier, no matter their external situation. It can become so addictive, that many external forms of change no longer feel as satisfying, hence why many meditators start to retreat from the world after decades of practice.

This retreat is by no means necessary, and depends on the person. What this method gives instead, is an extremely powerful tool to be able to change the fundamental parameters about how we feel about ourselves, the people around us and the situations we find ourselves in. The cost of it is thousands of hours of hard work, but virtually everyone who experiences the benefits of it will continue to practice it for the rest of their life.

Why the Thai language needs reform

One of the problems I initially encountered when I came to Chiang Mai wanting to learn Thai was that there was a lack of good material in Thai.

In general, it's fair to say that Thailand is not a literary culture. Apart from books on Buddhism, very few books are written originally in Thai. They are usually translations from other languages.

Book stores and libraries not as big or as popular compared to Japan, Korea or France, although it seems to be improving in Bangkok.

Part of this I believe is that learning (as opposed to having qualifications) is not highly valued by the culture here, and this in my view is the most crucial aspect the country needs to change if it wants progress. But I digress.

I believe the crux of the problem is the Thai writing system.

This is not a post complaining about the difficulties of the Thai alphabet. In fact, if one applies themself, it is not as hard as it first seems. However there are a few things they could do to make it easier for Thais and foreigners alike to read Thai. This would encourage literacy and enjoyment in literature.

The first is a spelling reform.

Many educated words derive from Sanskrit or Pali and contain either rare or otherwise redundant consonants.

For example: "International business" is spelled ธุรกิจนานาชาติ It is pronounced something like dthur-a-git nanachaat, although the spelling would tell us it ends "nanachaadti" but we just learn you don't pronounce that part. It could be spelled ทุรกิดนานาชาด with no change in pronunciation.

The consonants ส ศ and ษ are the exact same consonant and follow the same tone rules, except the latter are only used for certain words. You just have to know which.

By eliminating redundant consonants, the total number of consonants could be reduced by about a third.

Every vowel has a short and long version, often looking very different from each other. For example: ๅ and ะ (aa and a). It may be too revolutionary, but there is already a marker to indicate a short vowel for certain vowels: เอ็ๅ the symbol above "เอๅ". If it was used for all vowels, the number of symbols for vowels could be decreased by almost one half.

Lastly, there are tone markers, but they respond differently depending on which tone group the first consonant of the syllable belongs too. These tone markers could be reused to respond to all consonants the same, and tone groups could be removed entirely, changing the tone reading rules from 13 to 5. This last change would force Thais to relearn some readings so it would encounter resistance. But it would not be a big change and it would be easy to adapt to.

The second, is punctuation and spacing. At a glance, which do you think is easier to read?

To get a feel for what Thai is like to read for a Thai person, I'll continue the post with no punctuation or capitals.

whileitispossibletoreadthaiinthiswayasitisinenglishitisntveryfuninfacteveninthaiitthereisnoindicationoftheendofasentencesoaphrasecanoftenbejustamassiveblockoftextandasistatedearlieritispossibletoreadbyidentifyingwordsandcognitivelyseperatingthemfromtherestofthegroupittakesmoreefforttodosoitisalsopossibletoknowfromcontextwhereasentenceendsandanewonebeginsbutagainitrequiressignificantlymoreeffort

Congratulations if you got through that. Yes it is possible to read and as some Thais I have heard argue that if you get used to it it is no problem. But it requires a lot more mental effort. With spaces between words, commas between thought groups, and punctuation marking sentences and other structural elements we can use our visual processing to aid us. It reduces the cognitive load in reading, and makes it less of a mental workout, and more enjoyable. Hence, encouraging enjoyment in literature.

Even the Japanese and Chinese incorporate some punctuation in modern day literature for this reason. Spelling reforms are possible. Italy and Germany both conducted spelling reforms in schools. The result? An increase in literacy. In fact, the average 15 year old Italian has been quoted as a consistently better speller than their English or French counterpart. Some studies have shown less occurrence of dyslexia in countries with simpler spelling systems, such as Italian as well.

Literacy is perhaps the most important thing a person can learn, as it forms the gateway to almost all forms of explicit learning. So by some simple reforms, the language can be made much more accessible to foreigners and Thais alike, leading to an easier integration for migrants into Thai society, and for Thais into international society.

From professors to mentors: The new role of teachers in education

In my last post on why most universities can be replaced by testing centers, I envisaged a new kind of university based on student initiated learning.

This type of facility would more loosely resemble a large library, with conference rooms, administration, and an advisor section by department.

There are no professors in this system. Instead, there are mentors. And rethinking this role in education requires a fundamental paradigm shift.

The professor represents the top-down approach to learning. It is the experienced professional deciding on what components of a subject to include and what to leave out, and their method of delivery. This requires a lot of guesswork about how to best distribute this knowledge to students they may not know well, or at all. Unless the professor has studied education methods, it is quite often that they will teach the subjects that interest them most, in the way they learn best. This is not optimal for all students.

The mentor system is a bottom-up approach. The experience of professors will always be valuable in an education system, the jobs won't go away. But it takes the most difficult part (curriculum design and pedagogy) and places it under individual student control.

The system works like this. Instead of curriculum, there would be a detailed list of knowledge requirements for each subject that will be tested through examinations or projects. There can be prepared recommended readings. But there are no set lectures. Students may request them, but it's not required to attend or give any lectures. At all.

This places responsibility in the student to do their own research and initiate contact with mentors. During office hours, the student can ask questions of mentors, ask for explanations of certain aspects of subjects, to check on their project work, assign any homework to assist with an area, and to check preparedness for testing.

This prepares the student for real life. Once a student has the habit and knowledge that they can find what information they need by their own effort, they are empowered. This gives the student the skills and confidence they need to confront challenges in the workplace or society in general.

The student, along with peers of the subject also have the opportunity to research additional information about the subject if they are inclined to do so. This way they can use the university experience as an opportunity to explore their interests and expand their minds. The system includes enough flexibility that students can study the same subject but may have researched significantly different topics (with a common set of core topics for consistency). So while all accounting students can balance financial reports, one may specialize in tax reporting, while another may specialize in summarizing complex corporate statements.

It's also about efficiency. By the time a student gets to university, they usually have a good idea about which methods they learn best with. By allowing the student to research in their own way, they can combine visual, auditory, kinesthetic and other learning methods that suit them best so that they retain information they need most. This point should not be underestimated. It is overlooked in most universities in the world and yet can make a huge difference in how well an individual retains and is able to use the information they acquire. By functioning on just 1 or maybe 2 styles of learning, they are often disadvantaging up to half the class.

Of course, mentors need to be accountable, just like professors. With a few modifications, this system is easy.

Most universities have subjects titled "independent study" which is usually a free form project agreed upon by you and your professor. You are often required to meet with the professor regularly, and your project needs to be approved by administration. It is then graded for your final result.

It is time consuming every time administration in a university has to get involved with academic affairs. But the mentor system doesn't need that. Although the courses are free in the sense of the method the student learns, the required content is preapproved. If the student covers these requirements, there is no need for administration to get involved.

The mentors themselves would be required to keep a logbook. This forms their student initiated version of a curriculum to justify their paycheck.

The mentors logbook would record student interviews, with any questions the student has asked the mentor. The mentor would then list what research they have done on these questions and the time spent on these questions to ensure their answers are up to date. It would also list any lectures/seminars given at student request, field trips, project meetings, progress assessments and any other interactions with students.

There is a fear of giving up power from academics, and a fear that the system would not support itself. While I understand that there are huge cultural blocks to this kind of educational system, I feel that these fears are unfounded and the system will work better for most subjects.

It is becoming clear that the current factory model of education is failing to meet the needs of this century. Pressure is increasing, and with it, more and more institutions will be pushed to adapt. A system that supports educational independency will not be a luxury, it will be necessity.