Oddbean

The education system is merely a statist indoctrination system. If you studied economics in the West you probably studied Paul Samuelson’s “Economics”. Samuelson, a socialist sympathiser, kept pushing the idea that the Soviet Union would overtake the US economy through multiple iterations of his textbook which proclaimed “The Soviet economy is proof that, contrary to what many skeptics had earlier believed, a socialist command economy can function and even thrive.” Samuelson simply pushed back the date in subsequent editions and never addressed his incorrect predictions, removing this nonsense 30+ years after it first appeared in his textbook without comment. When you’re learning literal falsehoods that serve the statist ideology, how are you not being indoctrinated? What else were you taught that upon reflection was mere indoctrination? https://i.nostr.build/887z.jpg https://i.nostr.build/lqj7.png

In Lithuania I do not think they teach falsehoods, but they do not teach some things that should, and do teach some that there is no need which looks like intentional deviation of focus. I think this is worse than teachind actual falsehoods. Maybe there is just one falsehood: ethical and religious (catholic) lessons in school. Catholicism is false through and through in itself. And out of the rest of human relationship stuff they teach, sexual attraction and sex place in life are false. But this one is tough; I am afraid nobody in the west (and islam) has realized yet that everything we (adults and elderly) think we know about sexual relationship is false. Back to what should be tought but isn't: history lessons in schools are basically fairytails. It may or may not be true what they teach, but those facts they teach are mostly irrelevant. Much details about each individual kings ar warlords and their birth dates of Europe and Egypt. Little focus and time spent on 18th century and later and that is almost exclusively about Lithuania only. Basically we skip everything that is really important: old times: things other than wars everywhere, Japan, China, Siam, India, Inca, Aztecs, Maya. Newer times: same countries as above, but also the muslim countries, Spain (the colonies and Franco), South America, UK, Canada, economics like central banks, treatment of gold (especially confiscation) in USA, UK, Europe. Another one is in general economics, finance, money. Graduates of schools, colleges, and universities alike know nothing about macro economics, banks central and private, not even personal bank accounts, accounting of legal entities, anything to do with investment, not even real estate, not even how to get a roof apart from parents. In a way that is good for decentralization - parents get a chance to share their knowledge.