[MD] A fine mess

[X Acto]

Khoo:
What a wonderful idea; the notion of an examination where candidates may
prepare for to advance according to their capacity and capability. But while
the Chinese Imperial examination system may have been the model for the
western churches of reason when it came their turn to provide a system of
calibration for their graduates into society at large; the examination
is now reduced to be the vast instrument of compliance for the Western based
SOM intellectual community to impose its worldview on hapless populations.

Without it and the paper qualifications they yield, you dont get a job, feed
your familiy or have even a chance of advancement. Without it in Communist
China, you do not get appointed to the plum positions in the bureaucracy and
their various arms. If ever there is an avenue for an idea to be imposed
upon the world in the most brutal effective sense its the examination
system.

Unless of course you are ready to make your way into the world in the much
less regarded world of crafts and commerce, which require less of the
intellect and more of the social skills and streetwisdom.  Bill Gates by
this measure far overcompensated for his initial shortcoming.

Before examinations held such sway, you learned your craft through
apprenticeships and became good enough when your master said so or when you
were simply good enough.

It is this internal compass for Quality that is missing from the equation
and I thought both ZAMM and Lila highlighted that absence in the education
system today. Our bearings for Quality come outside the education system and
we have to reach into our direct experience with the world and the universe
in general to acheive a proper balance.

Where the intellect and its systems fails us, we make up for it with
commonsense.

Ron:
I really think you have something here and it relates to what I was speaking about
in regard to an intellectually based social caste elevating to and in some cultures
replacing the aristocratic caste in social value and overshadow the artisan.
This caste is trained to be objective and through this objectivism wealth
and celebrity are attained.
What was missed is why the aristocracy achieved high social value.
The public works and philanthropy, adherence to codes of conduct
not merely the acquisition of power and wealth. Values of Codes of conduct
reduced to the value of meeting objectives resulting in a type of near-sightedness.

The desire for all the earmarks of high social value with none of the responsibility.