Ask Lemmy

Critical Thinking Skills

Reading the screen.

Seriously, about 90% of computer problems would be solved if people just read the fucking screen.

Basic problem solving. Even just the ability to Google something seems to be lost on so many people.

Manners.

A sense of community, at least in the states. We have become a nation of de facto sovereign citizens, everyone competing with everyone. A society can't last long without social responsibility.

literacy, and essay writing. they almost neve rpush it MS or HS anymore.

Map reading/Orienteering - Most people are literally lost without GPS

Listening.

Basic troubleshooting and repair knowledge. Like just how to use a multimeter and the basics of how electricity works and how to repair something.

Honestly just basic knowledge of everything in our daily lives would be useful. People should understand how their phone works and how it gets internet access, how their car works, and stuff like that.

Basic it skills

I think that we should require more humanities courses for STEM degrees. I had to take some english courses but that was about it. Seems like a lot of STEM-lords (particularly the computer ones) need to take a cultural anthropology course and chill out a little. Or philosophy but that risks making them worse.

How to build a usable nuclear fusion power plant. Zero is way too many for such a difficult task.

How to turn greenhouse gasses into pure drinking water. I wish I knew how to do that.

Listening and empathy. Putting themselves in others' shoes instead of just seeing/speaking/thinking about I, me and myself.

Media literacy and reading comprehension. Specifically, the ability to infer an intended target audience for a particular piece of work. A large part of media literacy is being able to view a piece of media, and infer the intended audience. Maybe you see an ad for pink razors, and can infer that it is aimed at women who shave. But that’s just a simple example. It should also extend to things like internet comments.

People have become so accustomed to laser-focused algorithms determining our media consumption. Before, people would see a video or comment they didn’t resonate with, infer that it wasn’t aimed at them, and move the fuck on. But now, people are so used to their algorithm being dialed in. It is to the point that encountering things you don’t vibe with is outright jarring. People don’t just move on anymore. They get aggressive.

Maybe I make a reel about the proper way to throw a baseball. I’ll inevitably get at least one or two “but what about me? I’m in a wheelchair, on crutches, have a bad shoulder, have bad eyesight and can’t aim, etc… Before, those people would have gone “this clearly isn’t aimed at me” and moved the fuck on. But now they make a point of going “but you didn’t make this specifically for me.

It has gotten so bad that content creators have started adding disclaimers to their videos, news articles, opinion pieces, etc... It’s fairly common to see quick “and before I get started, this video is just for [target demographic]” as if it’s a cutesy little thing. But the reality is that if they don’t add that disclaimer, they’ll be inundated with “but what about [outlier that the content clearly wasn’t directed at]” types of responses.

How to handle criticism. To take the best from it, learn from it, try to become more of what is important to yourself and leave the rest.

It's either not taking it at all, thinking everyone is wrong... or it's giving it to much attention. Like thinking the opinion of people that you don't respect at all, that you don't even like counts too. You'll never be right for everyone. But being criticised by people that care to make your life better is actually precious.

Financial literacy

Sewing. Learn to sew! It's very helpful!

For something very relevant to health: cooking, knowing how to measure food, and how to read a nutrition label. Obesity would be much less common if people were able to cook their own food more often, and knew how to actually measure out accurate portion sizes.

I totally get that time, upfront costs like cookware, and access to decent ingredients are MAJOR factors in whether or not someone can learn how to cook, but anyone can and should know how to read a nutrition label and know how to measure accurate portion sizes for the things they eat. If you are trying to lose weight or work on healthy habits, a food scale is infinitely more valuable than a body weight scale. Most people do not know what 28g of chips looks like.

Critical thinking.

Basic cooking skills

Reading comprehension

Listening to someone speak without interrupting

Remembering to let other people speak when having a conversation