Posts by BenWilson
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I agree about the discouraging effects of competition, Dyan. The problem is that it seems to work for the very top performers, driving them to extremes. The various human prowess records would possibly be lower if they hadn't been driven by competition.
But what is also missed in this drive is the toll that it takes on those athletes. Having been driven to the very limits of human strength and endurance, they very often don't age well. So competitiveness doesn't serve general health objectives at any level, it would seem.
There are other exceptions, where people use competition to focus, without really much caring if they win. But it seems to be a fragile balance, easily dominated by urge to win.
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Cracker: On the trail, pt 1., in reply to Islander,
The two times I've had newborns have been the only two times in my life it's been good to suffer from insomnia.
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Good luck Damian. Looking forward to 2am tweets very soon.
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OnPoint: If Wishes Were Horses..., in reply to DexterX,
What is your point?
I'm trying to work out how much financial harm you suffered, and how much it justifies in terms of changes to the education system, and how much of it you could have worked out with 5 minutes questioning of the guy before hiring him. This is not to attack you personally, just to get a handle on why this considered a huge concern.
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OnPoint: If Wishes Were Horses..., in reply to DexterX,
He was employed as a labourer/trainee - when you set things up be it weather boards - roof sheets those elements need to run parallel and at right angles to the underlaying structure and each other - add to this not being able to read a ruler the right way.
OK, thanks for the answer. Next question. How long did it take to explain these two ideas to him? We are talking about a quarter of a math class at the age of about 10, right?
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OnPoint: If Wishes Were Horses..., in reply to DexterX,
An example being I employed a school leaver who did not know what parallel or perpendicular were; he just didn’t have clue as to what a right angle was and he couldn’t use a ruler.
If you could explain how this dragged down your productivity you'd be answering my question. What were you employing him to do? Also, it would interesting to hear why you hired him in the first place.
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OnPoint: If Wishes Were Horses..., in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
Interesting. I'm still stymied by:
Sixty per cent of businesses said increasing the literacy, numeracy and basic skill levels of the workforce was the number one productivity issue for the Government to address.
Is illiteracy and innumeracy really that much of a burden on productivity? I don't think they're good things, but really? Considering we're talking about minimum wage school leavers here, who are most likely being put into menial labour. Is productivity being dragged down by these people so much that it's worth dicking around with our education system over it? I don't know the answer to this question, btw.
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Hard News: We interrupt this broadcast ..., in reply to thegirlstefan,
It was very telling that John Key, who very rarely makes an appearance on "Morning Report", declined to appear this morning on a 1-on-1 debate with Phil Goff.
It's telling all right. He's probably going to be elected in a month, and he's not willing to spend more than 4 sessions telling us why.
I'm looking forward to tonight's debate. We might get a taste of what it is that Key is so scared of.
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Legal Beagle: Referendum Fact Check 4:…, in reply to Graeme Edgeler,
So there's nothing to the received wisdom that sunny days favor Labour?
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Legal Beagle: Up to 11, in reply to Graeme Edgeler,
I've sometimes changed my views and taken years to realize it. Also, time just flies these days.
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