Education doesn’t stop at your school’s door. I’m almost 70, graduated from high school with honors in 1972 and started college in ‘78. Life intervened so I wasn’t able to graduate. But over the past 44 years, I’ve never stopped learning.
So many people have similar histories- high school, maybe junior college or like me got married way to young. Got an ordinary job and then slogged through daily life. Work, home, TV, bed and repeat until you die.
I would say the vast majority of Trump’s cult members can’t remember the last time they read a newspaper or opened a book. Their news intake consists of at least one Social Media platform, Fox News (or another TV source for more misinformation) and a right-wing podcast or talk show. They probably really hate that antagonist Rush Limbaugh died. This highly slanted media has left them unable to recognize fact from fiction and all ability to think logically is gone. That’s why online and phone scams are so profitable and hate groups grow like weeds.
Combine a head full of propaganda and conspiracy theories that make people so afraid that they have to own a closet full of guns, refuse life saving vaccines and attend an Evangelical church heavy on right-wing politics with a fatalistic view of the world and their place in it.
Now they are already primed for a evil con man more than willing to tell you anything you want, sell you crappy gold tennis shoes (oh well, we can skip paying the utility bill this month) and convince you he is a savior sent from god.
It’s the perfect combination to start a fascist regime. There are only two solutions. Both are pretty unlikely. 1. Find a charismatic leader and “steal” Trump’s followers or 2. Find a way to educate them. Education is the best solution as it lasts til death. I told you these solutions were unlikely.
Since the Democrats couldn’t find a younger, more dynamic leader for this election cycle, we must be looking ahead, working with more than one possible candidate and start leadership training. Yes, with the right basic characteristics one can be trained for the presidency.
Education starts at preschool and never ends. We must fine-tune our public school system to excite kids on learning, broaden the available subjects and teach critical thinking. “No Child Left Behind” has been a disaster. For one, Civics is gone and History has been so watered down that high school graduates only know a few highlights of white history. History is so much more that Wars and dates. History should inform us of how people lived, flourished, behaved badly, started violent uprisings, protested, improved the lives of others, overcome obstacles, created great art, music, books, made scientific discoveries, learned to live in a changing world and how we got here.
They say you cannot teach an old dog, new tricks, but why not? If we could unlock adult minds to the pleasures and advantages of being a lifetime learner, we would be able to tell our story, belief systems and develop ways to work together to build a better world. Yes, it is to make America great again but not the MAGA version of abandoning the rule of law and throwing out democracy. You don’t need to steal people rights, imprison anyone who disagrees with you, act with hate, be afraid of people who don’t look like you, be intolerant of others or condemn people who march to the beat of a different drummer. We already have the foundation in our government, judicial system, educational system, patriotism and people who want to make our country better. We have just dug the Grand Canyon between us. Good democracy is were we work together. MAGA must stop being victims, surrender to love not hate and learn that everyone has the right to their own religious beliefs or none. But NO ONE has the right to dictate the beliefs and rights of others. You do your thing, i’ll do mine. Also, you cannot catch being gay, nor will the Black rub off. You give us room to live and we’ll do the same for you.
Going down the road to fascism isn’t the answer. Just look at history and the many countries with current authoritarian leadership. No American would even want to vacation there, much less live in a country like that. Don’t turn our country into the awful things Trump says about others.
I agree education doesn't have to be in-school, and that it's a tall order to educate people. Taking away cellphones in the classroom may be the best we can do for now.
I so agree with what you said. I have a similar history. Graduated high school in 1970. Attended college but didn’t graduate. Didn’t know what I wanted to be. Took an intro to political science class as a general education credit. The teacher had us subscribe to a news magazine. Time or Newsweek. I forget which one. We had to read it cover to cover as he quizzed us on it every week.I still subscribe, although I don’t always get it read.
Well done! Great article. I went to work at 15, graduated HS in 1976, took me four years to get a 2-year technical degree in “computer programming” all on my own. No smart phones, no internet, learned various learning cheats for all manner of things, all on my own or by researching at the library. Have been a lifelong student; always had a sense of curiosity, which made people notice me. It’s never been WHAT I knew, so much as my ABILITY to learn, discern, and innovate. But I am seeing less and less of that in the middle class from which I came. It’s interesting though that when I knew less I was a Republican, then at some point around age 40-45 after advancing my career, traveling the world and meeting so many people, I leaned moderate and then more liberal. I have seen that happen with many of my peers in age who continue to learn. But as I meet new people nowadays, I agree more and more with the idea that social media has created a lot of garbage, like eating inert matter, filling our minds with fluff that not only serves no purpose, it actually stifles cognitive growth/discernment. It’s both sad and dangerous for our society. Thanks again for your article. Vote BLUE!
I started out as a republican as well. Are used to work for a Republican administration. Today’s morally bankrupt Republicans are nothing like the old GOP.
Cellphones are allowed in the high school where I work - and, despite teachers pleas to disallow them there is no appetite for the parental disapproval that probably would follow. And as you say, Sabrina, it then becomes the pacifier for the unruly student so - maybe - others will be able to learn … if they put their phone aside.
Excellent article. There should be more like it. Perhaps there would be if it didn't go straight for the jugular of capitalism. At the least, it's uncommon common sense. I'm glad there are finally studies to confirm it. Children who have seen that horrible cartoon Charlotte's Web do not want to read the wonderful book it was torn from. Their language development and cognition suffer as a result. As for Trump people, they're much worse than impaired. They're haters. The few I know personally have high IQs, good educations, are prosperous, and not fooled one bit by sensory stimulation. They are greedy and racist. They hold fascist beliefs. They are just bad people. They love Trump because they are just like him.
Evil haters- that's even darker than thinking they're just ignorant... it's pretty obvious that CEOs and the top 1% support him just for the tax cuts and regulation breaks; you'd think they'd have a care for their children and grandchildren inheriting a barely inhabitable planet.
Bravo! Great article. My husband and I have been involved in educational development for quite some time. His PhD disertation was about how people learn and what tests indicate. We aren't arm chair quarterbacks! Each month, it seems "things" can't get much worse and yet, day after day, there is ral evidence to support your writing. People ARE getting less educated by the day. However, it's not just lack of knowledge needed to pass a test, write a paper or give a speech but also, how to deal with ambiguity, how to express oneself and certainly the total disregard for civility
It seems the bell shaped curve is flattening! So, what do we do about this? Unraveling ignorance is tough. We need better informed parents to develop a childs full potential and that's not done by watching tv or playing online games. We need better teachers to EXPAND the knowledge of each student so they will become better parents. So, where do we start? Rules matter! Separation of church and state matters. Investing in public schools matters. Forget private schools because they are just a front to hide bigotry and religious fanaticism. Invest in teachers, not in Bulliten Board 101 but in philosophy, history, literature and science. We need braided minded people to become a "thing" again. Thanks for your words Sabrina!
Sabrina is right that many voters are voting against their own interests. History suggests it is not because of low IQ but rather the fact that most Americans are financially traumatized.
Before WWII Europe was an intellectual powerhouse with Jung, Freud and Einstein. Europeans did not vote for fascism because they had low IQ. It was the financial trauma of the depression that created a free floating anxiety that allowed a strong man to appear to be a savior. This is were dictators come from. The traumatized are looking for a way to feed and house their loved ones today in America as many Europeans were before WWII.
I listened to you on Thom Hartmann, and was motivated to read your Substack. I’m a grandmother of a nearly 15 year old grandson, and have noticed the lack of ability to use logic to figure things out. I’m no genius, but it worries me how I can figure things out more quickly than he. This is a kid who was identified as GT in around 2nd grade. After years of being exposed to video games, etc, I’m afraid that is no longer the case
No bright lights; No bright colors; No loud noises.
The Egyptians embraced that philosophy, and even offered women
special quiet places to give birth.
Up until the age of six or seven, when the soft spot in the head hardens,
the child was to be closely held and protected by its mother. They said that this is the period when the child's emotional self was developing (the so-called etheric body), and that to disturb it would have life-long traumatic effects on a person...drastically limiting their ability to learn, and to achieve mental and emotional balance.
In the early 1900s the Austrian intellectual, Rudolph Steiner, resurrected these ideas and formed them into what we know today as Waldorf Education. More than 150 of these schools operate in the U.S. Thousands more exist worldwide. What they do is absolutely amazing.
I'm a philosopher at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne Australia. I teach a course on the history and philosophy of information technology which teaches students how to create a more mature relationship with tech. The problem you identify well here is something I have been warning of for some time. Here is a link to a paper I published in 2012 on The Triumph of Virtual Reality which you might find interesting as context. https://cosmosandhistory.org/index.php/journal/article/view/292/1190
I'm also on Substack and will follow your articles.
…what a fucking pathetic our country is… we went from front runners for civil rights movement of 60-70s to politically passive and finally politically impaired people, NAZIS taking our country state by state and school district by school district WITHOUT ANY RESISTANCE and only NAZIS on the march while democrats applauding Biden and waiting for a “blue wave”, we can’t just live in a democracy from election to election we have to sustain its progress, there’s no such thing as “status quo” in political climate, shit either goes “up” or “down” and we are in a such a deep hole that only delusional people can think elections alone can fix the country
You nailed it sister. I listened to you on Mr. Hartmann's program and though I generally agree with Thom, as an intellectual, I disagree with his assertion that television was not the advent of intellectual decline. It was/is called the idiot box for a reason. When one "watches" as opposed to listens, parts of the brain are shut down. Music videos are a perfect example. For instance, when I listen to Reelin in the Years by Steely Dan, I imagine certain things: "your everlasting summer and you can see it fading fast..." I think of what my adolescent summers looked like, smelled like. Ergo my brain is active. On the other hand, if I see fixed images of those words, my brain becomes narrowed and limited.
Sorry to nerd out, but great piece. I wasn't hip to you before Thom had you on; I'm a subscriber now!
yes, we are in agreement on this one for sure. re TV, the complexity of the plot line has also degraded, almost to grade school level.
Glad to have you aboard! I’m fairly new on Substack, so I’m grateful for the subscription. My plan is to continue doing it free of charge until the election- after that I’ll go do something constructive😉
cool beans. I subscribed to you just now, but unfortunately, I don’t generally pay for subscriptions sunce I don’t charge for my own. Not looking to make money, but I can’t afford to lose money either. Keep up the good work looks like we’re both in the resistance.
Well, Ms. Haake, I don't think Thom will take issue with my divulging that he is a mentor of mine. In fact, though I had listened to him prior to the Ferguson uprisings, it was during that period when I regularly called into his radio program. The fury of almost half a century being a Black Man in the United States (and having lived a very, very unusual, almost unbelievable, life) simultaneously exploded and imploded.
Thom Hartmann gave me an outlet; people responded. In an irony of ironies, I have an interesting background in the Administration of Justice (pertinent to your resume) as well as a considerable time in corporate America. Suffice it to say I've been writing all of my life, but from a very sterile place. I am non-partisan, because I am an intellectual.
Nonetheless, Thom and I became kindred spirits as intellectuals and, if you will pardon my forward language, the M.F. is a brilliant thinker (damn his politics), author and historian. A direct result was his encouragement and, indeed, tutelage in my becoming a better writer...and thinker. And though I appreciate and thank you for subscribing to LookingNWords, you'd best know: it ain't for everybody. Because it is not about a group grope, echo-chamber or star chamber. It is about the goddamned brutal, ugly T-R-U-T-H.
totally looking forward to reading your stuff. I’ve had an unusual life as well, my Mother’s Day post to survivors (from Saturday) pretty much lays it out. glad to make your acquaintance and look forward to chatting going forward after I’ve had a chance to read your stuff.
Thanks for all of the new subscribers, Sabrina. It was a wonderful surprise when I opened my email today. My work and that of my colleague, Arran Gare, who co-hosts my podcasts, is filled with solutions. As philosophers our focus is always on making the invisible, visible and available for reflection and critical engagement. This is how addictions are also addressed and it's not rocket science. What we are up against, however, is tech being designed to be less and less visible so people can be unconsciously integrated with it. The business model is to create addictions. This is creating a post or anti-philosophical world which makes our job teaching students the history of human thought more difficult every year.
Education doesn’t stop at your school’s door. I’m almost 70, graduated from high school with honors in 1972 and started college in ‘78. Life intervened so I wasn’t able to graduate. But over the past 44 years, I’ve never stopped learning.
So many people have similar histories- high school, maybe junior college or like me got married way to young. Got an ordinary job and then slogged through daily life. Work, home, TV, bed and repeat until you die.
I would say the vast majority of Trump’s cult members can’t remember the last time they read a newspaper or opened a book. Their news intake consists of at least one Social Media platform, Fox News (or another TV source for more misinformation) and a right-wing podcast or talk show. They probably really hate that antagonist Rush Limbaugh died. This highly slanted media has left them unable to recognize fact from fiction and all ability to think logically is gone. That’s why online and phone scams are so profitable and hate groups grow like weeds.
Combine a head full of propaganda and conspiracy theories that make people so afraid that they have to own a closet full of guns, refuse life saving vaccines and attend an Evangelical church heavy on right-wing politics with a fatalistic view of the world and their place in it.
Now they are already primed for a evil con man more than willing to tell you anything you want, sell you crappy gold tennis shoes (oh well, we can skip paying the utility bill this month) and convince you he is a savior sent from god.
It’s the perfect combination to start a fascist regime. There are only two solutions. Both are pretty unlikely. 1. Find a charismatic leader and “steal” Trump’s followers or 2. Find a way to educate them. Education is the best solution as it lasts til death. I told you these solutions were unlikely.
Since the Democrats couldn’t find a younger, more dynamic leader for this election cycle, we must be looking ahead, working with more than one possible candidate and start leadership training. Yes, with the right basic characteristics one can be trained for the presidency.
Education starts at preschool and never ends. We must fine-tune our public school system to excite kids on learning, broaden the available subjects and teach critical thinking. “No Child Left Behind” has been a disaster. For one, Civics is gone and History has been so watered down that high school graduates only know a few highlights of white history. History is so much more that Wars and dates. History should inform us of how people lived, flourished, behaved badly, started violent uprisings, protested, improved the lives of others, overcome obstacles, created great art, music, books, made scientific discoveries, learned to live in a changing world and how we got here.
They say you cannot teach an old dog, new tricks, but why not? If we could unlock adult minds to the pleasures and advantages of being a lifetime learner, we would be able to tell our story, belief systems and develop ways to work together to build a better world. Yes, it is to make America great again but not the MAGA version of abandoning the rule of law and throwing out democracy. You don’t need to steal people rights, imprison anyone who disagrees with you, act with hate, be afraid of people who don’t look like you, be intolerant of others or condemn people who march to the beat of a different drummer. We already have the foundation in our government, judicial system, educational system, patriotism and people who want to make our country better. We have just dug the Grand Canyon between us. Good democracy is were we work together. MAGA must stop being victims, surrender to love not hate and learn that everyone has the right to their own religious beliefs or none. But NO ONE has the right to dictate the beliefs and rights of others. You do your thing, i’ll do mine. Also, you cannot catch being gay, nor will the Black rub off. You give us room to live and we’ll do the same for you.
Going down the road to fascism isn’t the answer. Just look at history and the many countries with current authoritarian leadership. No American would even want to vacation there, much less live in a country like that. Don’t turn our country into the awful things Trump says about others.
I agree education doesn't have to be in-school, and that it's a tall order to educate people. Taking away cellphones in the classroom may be the best we can do for now.
I so agree with what you said. I have a similar history. Graduated high school in 1970. Attended college but didn’t graduate. Didn’t know what I wanted to be. Took an intro to political science class as a general education credit. The teacher had us subscribe to a news magazine. Time or Newsweek. I forget which one. We had to read it cover to cover as he quizzed us on it every week.I still subscribe, although I don’t always get it read.
This is a killer piece, Sabrina! I don't even know where to begin with commentary on this contextual marvel - so I won't.
Thank you as always for your successful efforts decrypting the content of our seemingly persistent pandemonium.
Precisely!
Well done! Great article. I went to work at 15, graduated HS in 1976, took me four years to get a 2-year technical degree in “computer programming” all on my own. No smart phones, no internet, learned various learning cheats for all manner of things, all on my own or by researching at the library. Have been a lifelong student; always had a sense of curiosity, which made people notice me. It’s never been WHAT I knew, so much as my ABILITY to learn, discern, and innovate. But I am seeing less and less of that in the middle class from which I came. It’s interesting though that when I knew less I was a Republican, then at some point around age 40-45 after advancing my career, traveling the world and meeting so many people, I leaned moderate and then more liberal. I have seen that happen with many of my peers in age who continue to learn. But as I meet new people nowadays, I agree more and more with the idea that social media has created a lot of garbage, like eating inert matter, filling our minds with fluff that not only serves no purpose, it actually stifles cognitive growth/discernment. It’s both sad and dangerous for our society. Thanks again for your article. Vote BLUE!
I started out as a republican as well. Are used to work for a Republican administration. Today’s morally bankrupt Republicans are nothing like the old GOP.
This is very disturbing! Many are sleepwalking through the fiasco
Common sense and logic go a Long way. Truth helps.
…words NEVER hurt any NAZIS
Hahahaha yeah cause their brain is quite small
No because they are inheirantly evil
Cellphones are allowed in the high school where I work - and, despite teachers pleas to disallow them there is no appetite for the parental disapproval that probably would follow. And as you say, Sabrina, it then becomes the pacifier for the unruly student so - maybe - others will be able to learn … if they put their phone aside.
it seems like ctu would support an outright ban if they truly cared about educating the students
This is a contract negotiation year … I will certainly ask.
Excellent article. There should be more like it. Perhaps there would be if it didn't go straight for the jugular of capitalism. At the least, it's uncommon common sense. I'm glad there are finally studies to confirm it. Children who have seen that horrible cartoon Charlotte's Web do not want to read the wonderful book it was torn from. Their language development and cognition suffer as a result. As for Trump people, they're much worse than impaired. They're haters. The few I know personally have high IQs, good educations, are prosperous, and not fooled one bit by sensory stimulation. They are greedy and racist. They hold fascist beliefs. They are just bad people. They love Trump because they are just like him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_Alone#:~:text=Bowling%20Alone%3A%20The%20Collapse%20and,the%20United%20States%20since%201950.
Evil haters- that's even darker than thinking they're just ignorant... it's pretty obvious that CEOs and the top 1% support him just for the tax cuts and regulation breaks; you'd think they'd have a care for their children and grandchildren inheriting a barely inhabitable planet.
Bravo! Great article. My husband and I have been involved in educational development for quite some time. His PhD disertation was about how people learn and what tests indicate. We aren't arm chair quarterbacks! Each month, it seems "things" can't get much worse and yet, day after day, there is ral evidence to support your writing. People ARE getting less educated by the day. However, it's not just lack of knowledge needed to pass a test, write a paper or give a speech but also, how to deal with ambiguity, how to express oneself and certainly the total disregard for civility
It seems the bell shaped curve is flattening! So, what do we do about this? Unraveling ignorance is tough. We need better informed parents to develop a childs full potential and that's not done by watching tv or playing online games. We need better teachers to EXPAND the knowledge of each student so they will become better parents. So, where do we start? Rules matter! Separation of church and state matters. Investing in public schools matters. Forget private schools because they are just a front to hide bigotry and religious fanaticism. Invest in teachers, not in Bulliten Board 101 but in philosophy, history, literature and science. We need braided minded people to become a "thing" again. Thanks for your words Sabrina!
Sabrina is right that many voters are voting against their own interests. History suggests it is not because of low IQ but rather the fact that most Americans are financially traumatized.
Before WWII Europe was an intellectual powerhouse with Jung, Freud and Einstein. Europeans did not vote for fascism because they had low IQ. It was the financial trauma of the depression that created a free floating anxiety that allowed a strong man to appear to be a savior. This is were dictators come from. The traumatized are looking for a way to feed and house their loved ones today in America as many Europeans were before WWII.
https://youtube.com/@CommonSpiritualGround?si=0Xp3Bf6rWgFssX88
I listened to you on Thom Hartmann, and was motivated to read your Substack. I’m a grandmother of a nearly 15 year old grandson, and have noticed the lack of ability to use logic to figure things out. I’m no genius, but it worries me how I can figure things out more quickly than he. This is a kid who was identified as GT in around 2nd grade. After years of being exposed to video games, etc, I’m afraid that is no longer the case
alarming for sure. we're sleep walking into morbid stupidity.
No bright lights; No bright colors; No loud noises.
The Egyptians embraced that philosophy, and even offered women
special quiet places to give birth.
Up until the age of six or seven, when the soft spot in the head hardens,
the child was to be closely held and protected by its mother. They said that this is the period when the child's emotional self was developing (the so-called etheric body), and that to disturb it would have life-long traumatic effects on a person...drastically limiting their ability to learn, and to achieve mental and emotional balance.
In the early 1900s the Austrian intellectual, Rudolph Steiner, resurrected these ideas and formed them into what we know today as Waldorf Education. More than 150 of these schools operate in the U.S. Thousands more exist worldwide. What they do is absolutely amazing.
I personally cringe when I hear booming stereos from cars, then see young children in the back seat. Those kids don't have a fair chance.
Hi Sabrina,
I'm a philosopher at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne Australia. I teach a course on the history and philosophy of information technology which teaches students how to create a more mature relationship with tech. The problem you identify well here is something I have been warning of for some time. Here is a link to a paper I published in 2012 on The Triumph of Virtual Reality which you might find interesting as context. https://cosmosandhistory.org/index.php/journal/article/view/292/1190
I'm also on Substack and will follow your articles.
thanks Glenn I look forward to reading your article- does it recommend a course of correction? I will also subscribe...
…what a fucking pathetic our country is… we went from front runners for civil rights movement of 60-70s to politically passive and finally politically impaired people, NAZIS taking our country state by state and school district by school district WITHOUT ANY RESISTANCE and only NAZIS on the march while democrats applauding Biden and waiting for a “blue wave”, we can’t just live in a democracy from election to election we have to sustain its progress, there’s no such thing as “status quo” in political climate, shit either goes “up” or “down” and we are in a such a deep hole that only delusional people can think elections alone can fix the country
https://www.idea.int/news/voting-no-longer-enough
Agreed. it's exhausting.
You nailed it sister. I listened to you on Mr. Hartmann's program and though I generally agree with Thom, as an intellectual, I disagree with his assertion that television was not the advent of intellectual decline. It was/is called the idiot box for a reason. When one "watches" as opposed to listens, parts of the brain are shut down. Music videos are a perfect example. For instance, when I listen to Reelin in the Years by Steely Dan, I imagine certain things: "your everlasting summer and you can see it fading fast..." I think of what my adolescent summers looked like, smelled like. Ergo my brain is active. On the other hand, if I see fixed images of those words, my brain becomes narrowed and limited.
Sorry to nerd out, but great piece. I wasn't hip to you before Thom had you on; I'm a subscriber now!
yes, we are in agreement on this one for sure. re TV, the complexity of the plot line has also degraded, almost to grade school level.
Glad to have you aboard! I’m fairly new on Substack, so I’m grateful for the subscription. My plan is to continue doing it free of charge until the election- after that I’ll go do something constructive😉
You are already doing it.
Our content @LookingNWords is free as well (most of it). I leave it up to those who support my work to do so financially if they choose to.
cool beans. I subscribed to you just now, but unfortunately, I don’t generally pay for subscriptions sunce I don’t charge for my own. Not looking to make money, but I can’t afford to lose money either. Keep up the good work looks like we’re both in the resistance.
Well, Ms. Haake, I don't think Thom will take issue with my divulging that he is a mentor of mine. In fact, though I had listened to him prior to the Ferguson uprisings, it was during that period when I regularly called into his radio program. The fury of almost half a century being a Black Man in the United States (and having lived a very, very unusual, almost unbelievable, life) simultaneously exploded and imploded.
Thom Hartmann gave me an outlet; people responded. In an irony of ironies, I have an interesting background in the Administration of Justice (pertinent to your resume) as well as a considerable time in corporate America. Suffice it to say I've been writing all of my life, but from a very sterile place. I am non-partisan, because I am an intellectual.
Nonetheless, Thom and I became kindred spirits as intellectuals and, if you will pardon my forward language, the M.F. is a brilliant thinker (damn his politics), author and historian. A direct result was his encouragement and, indeed, tutelage in my becoming a better writer...and thinker. And though I appreciate and thank you for subscribing to LookingNWords, you'd best know: it ain't for everybody. Because it is not about a group grope, echo-chamber or star chamber. It is about the goddamned brutal, ugly T-R-U-T-H.
totally looking forward to reading your stuff. I’ve had an unusual life as well, my Mother’s Day post to survivors (from Saturday) pretty much lays it out. glad to make your acquaintance and look forward to chatting going forward after I’ve had a chance to read your stuff.
I read the Mother's Day piece.
Thanks for all of the new subscribers, Sabrina. It was a wonderful surprise when I opened my email today. My work and that of my colleague, Arran Gare, who co-hosts my podcasts, is filled with solutions. As philosophers our focus is always on making the invisible, visible and available for reflection and critical engagement. This is how addictions are also addressed and it's not rocket science. What we are up against, however, is tech being designed to be less and less visible so people can be unconsciously integrated with it. The business model is to create addictions. This is creating a post or anti-philosophical world which makes our job teaching students the history of human thought more difficult every year.