Zak Stein: "Values, Education, AI and the Metacrisis"

<p dir="ltr">On this episode, Nate is joined by philosopher and educator Zak Stein to discuss the current state of education and development for children during a time of converging crises and societal transformation. As the pace of life continues to accelerate - including world-shaking technological developments - our schools struggle to keep pace with changes in cultural expectations. What qualities are we encouraging in a system centered on competition and with no emphasis on creating agency or community participation? How is unfettered technology and artificial intelligence influencing youth - and what should parents, adults, and teachers be doing in response? What could the future of education look like if guided by true teacherly authority with the aim to create well-rounded, stable young humans with a sense of belonging and purpose in their communities? </p> <p dir="ltr">About Zak Stein:<strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Dr. Zak Stein is a philosopher of education, as well as a Co-founder of the <a href="https://worldphilosophyandreligion.org/">Center for World Philosophy and Religion</a>. He is also the Co-founder of <a href="https://civilizationresearchinstitute.org/">Civilization Research Institute</a>, the <a href="https://consilienceproject.org/">Consilience Project</a>, and <a href="https://lecticalive.org/">Lectica, Inc</a>. He is the author of dozens of published papers and two books, including Education in a Time Between Worlds. </p> <p class=""><a href="https://thegreatsimplification.squarespace.com/s/TGS-122-Zak-Stein-Transcript.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">PDF Transcript</a></p> <p class=""><a href="https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/122-zak-stein">Show Notes</a></p> <p class="">00:00 - Zak Stein <a href="https://www.zakstein.org/publications.html">works</a> + <a href="https://www.zakstein.org/">Info</a>, <a href="https://civilizationresearchinstitute.org/">Civilization Research Institute</a>, <a href="https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30254530951&amp;dest=can"> Education in a Time Between Worlds</a>, <a href="https://worldphilosophyandreligion.org/">Center for World Philosophy and Religion</a>, <a href="https://amplifypublishinggroup.com/product/nonfiction/politics-and-current-affairs/general-politics-and-current-affairs/first-principles-and-first-values/"> First Principles and First Values</a> </p> <p class="">03:24 - <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/No-Child-Left-Behind-Act">No Child Left Behind</a></p> <p class="">03:56 - <a href="https://qcnr.usu.edu/directory/tainter_joseph">Joseph Tainter</a> + <a href="https://youtu.be/undp6sgCIX4">TGS episode</a></p> <p class="">03:53 - <a href="https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-iatrogenic-2615180#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20definition%20of,%22caused%20by%20a%20healer.%22"> Iatrogenic</a> </p> <p class="">05:30 - <a href="https://civilizationemerging.com/about/">Daniel Schmachtenberger</a> (<a href="https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdc087VsWiC5YxTILWB68HaQyFl-Krtd7">TGS Episodes</a>), <a href="https://www.shambhala.com/ken-wilber/">Ken Wilbur</a>, <a href="https://www.marcgafni.com/">Marc Gafney</a></p> <p class="">16:01 - <a href="https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-023-01166-7"> Effects of screens and social media on teen mental health</a></p> <p class="">16:54 - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_McLuhan">Marshall McLuhan</a></p> <p class="">17:20 - <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03004430902981512">The importance of adult boundary and limit setting for children</a></p> <p class="">18:17 - <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7366944/">How social media affects the brain</a></p> <p class="">19:06 - <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/magazine/the-not-so-hidden-cause-behind-the-adhd-epidemic.html"> The rise of ADHD in the 90s and effects on education</a> - <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/documents/Timeline.pdf">a timeline</a></p> <p class="">19:58 - <a href="https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/education-competition-index-quantifying-competitive-pressure-americas-125-largest"> Hypercompetitive primary education systems</a></p> <p class="">20:20 - <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5657619/">High level of stress and cheating in primary education</a></p> <p class="">22:28 - <a href="https://scanmagazine.co.uk/the-scandinavian-education-systems-education-with-human-values/"> Scandinavian school systems</a></p> <p class="">26:27 - <a href="https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/younghistorians/2016/oralpres/22/#:~:text=The%20Cold%20War%20era%20had,U.S.%20as%20a%20world%20power."> Cold war effects on the education system</a></p> <p class="">26:35 - <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/history/sputnik/index.html">Sputnik</a></p> <p class="">27:25 - <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90900166/tech-social-media-protection-children"> Tech elites don't give their kids tech</a></p> <p class="">28:35 - <a href="https://unherd.com/2023/06/will-the-elites-ever-behave/">Elite overproduction</a>, <a href="https://peterturchin.com/">Peter Turchin</a></p> <p class="">34:10 - <a href="https://www.uniqueselfinstitute.com/about-the-book/">Your Unique Self</a> </p> <p class="">37:28 - <a href="https://channelmcgilchrist.com/home/">Iain McGilchrist</a> + <a href="https://youtu.be/dogVQDydRGQ">TGS Episode</a></p> <p class="">38:02 - <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-relativism/">Moral Relativism</a></p> <p class="">43:27 - <a href="https://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/ads/amadv.html">Foundations of advertising </a></p> <p class="">47:07 - <a href="https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/standardized-testing-still-failing-students"> Negatives of standardized testing</a></p> <p class="">47:22 - <a href="https://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/57140.html"> Donald T. Cambell</a> - <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/campbells-law/">Campbell's law</a></p> <p class="">48:57 - <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/books/review/unique-david-j-linden.html"> Nature vs Nurture Debate</a></p> <p class="">49:20 - <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14416-8">Cooperation and competition</a></p> <p class="">52:10 - <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1113996/full"> Effects of a competitive school environment</a></p> <p class="">55:02 - <a href="https://blog.concordiashanghai.org/how-good-teachers-impact-student-success#:~:text=By%20nurturing%20the%20potential%2C%20good,benefits%20in%20their%20adult%20life."> The effects of an above-and-beyond teacher</a></p> <p class="">55:42 - <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/003465430298489">Legitimate teacherly authority</a></p> <p class="">59:55 - <a href="https://www.all4kids.org/news/blog/why-the-first-5-years-of-child-development-are-so-important/"> Importance of the environment in the first 5 years of life</a></p> <p class="">1:02:20 - <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Dewey">John Dewey</a></p> <p class="">1:10:31 - <a href="https://www.collaborativeclassroom.org/blog/best-way-to-learn-something-is-to-teach-it/"> The best way to learn is to teach</a></p> <p class="">1:11:40 - <a href="https://davidgraeber.org/">David Graeber</a>, <a href="https://davidgraeber.org/books/bullshit-jobs/">Bullshit Jobs</a></p> <p class="">1:15:25 - <a href="https://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/news/research/college-access/admissions/the-role-of-standardized-tests-in-college-admissions"> How standardized testing increased high education access</a></p> <p class="">1:16:08 - <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-civilian-conservation-corps.htm">Civilian Conservation Corp</a>, <a href="https://www.c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/lawrence_arthur_cremin.html"> Lawrence A. Cremin</a></p> <p class="">1:17:02 - <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/New-Deal">New Deal</a></p> <p class="">1:22:07 - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA1sNLL6yg4">Risks around artificial intelligence</a></p> <p class="">1:24:58 - <a href="https://time.com/6257790/ai-chatbots-love/">Rise of relationships with AI</a></p> <p class="">1:28:41 - <a href="https://web.njit.edu/~ronkowit/eliza.html">First Chatbot ELIZA</a></p> <p class="">1:30:01 - <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ai-boom-could-use-a-shocking-amount-of-electricity/"> Electricity use of AI</a></p> <p class="">1:37:30 - <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Future+of+Human+Nature-p-9780745694115"> The Future of Human Nature</a></p> <p class="">1:41:19 - <a href="https://read.realityblind.world/view/388478403/137/">Peak Oil</a></p> <p class="">1:42:29 - <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/trend/archive/fall-2023/americas-mental-health-crisis"> Mental Health Crisis</a></p> <p class="">1:46:35 - <a href="https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2024/03/01/long-covid-decline#:~:text=Overall%2C%20the%20researchers%20found%20that,who%20had%20never%20been%20infected."> Correlation of COVID with IQ loss</a></p> <p class=""><a href="https://youtu.be/zFVoearUvP8" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Watch this video episode on YouTube</a></p>