6-13-15 Hodgepodge

Out Just in Time, by the Looks of It

In the valedictory post of The Sweden Report, a blogger describes a nation with a ... limited time horizon. Among many other things:

Since there is a delay in the changes in the school system, it is only in recent years the full impact of the knowledge-averse "progressive" school system is starting to be felt. Hard facts are largely irrelevant; the important thing is to sit in a group and discuss things until a consensus is reached. But with no hard facts to base the conclusions on, it becomes an exercise in futility because it's all random assumptions and opinions. As a university-level history student (!) was quoted as saying in newspaper Svenska Dagbladet the other day: "Why would all these dates matter? Who cares in what order things happened?"

That's not exactly fertile soil for creating the researchers and engineers of the future.

The "About" page of the blog sums things up as follows: "As an American citizen currently living in Sweden, I find that the simplistic view [of Sweden as some sort of mixed economy paradise] is rather outdated." I'll forgive the author for saying "outdated" when he should have said "deluded". There was never a time when food and poison could be mixed safely.

Weekend Reading

"[P]ressuring yourself to remember something actually interferes with the recall process." -- Michael Hurd, in "Exercise Your Memory!" at The Delaware Wave

"You don't have to impose yourself on others, but you don't have to fake it, either." -- Michael Hurd, in "Make Your Relationships Real" at The Delaware Coast Press

Zimbabwe to Corner Market on Wallpaper?

I see that Zimbabwe is finally scrapping its hyperinflated currency, for which I long ago calculated an exchange rate in Mardi Gras doubloons:

Bank accounts with balances of up to 175 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars will be paid [five U.S. Dollars]. Those with balances above 175 quadrillion dollars will be paid at an exchange rate of $1 for 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars.

The highest -- and last -- banknote to be printed by the bank in 2008 was 100tn Zimbabwean dollars. It was not enough to ride a public bus to work for a week.

The story also notes that some Zimbabweans sell notes to tourists.

-- CAV