all of this push to make things easier is simultaneously making society dumber (and i’m saying this out of the goodness of my heart; i’ve witnessed it get worse over the past few years)

some things we are trying to make easier are actually hindering core parts of human development

eg: online classes (coinciding with the growing use of AI).

now, i’m not saying they’re bad. i’m saying most people lack the necessary skills required to take an online class. there’s a difference.

since majority of those taking online classes would be high school age to college age, i’m particularly pointing out all of high school and then early college (if you’re older, fine — you know yourself well enough. do what you want). most people learn and retain better with a person face-to-face. psychologically speaking, recall is better in environments where something can be associated with the material you’re learning. often, that can be your instructor or professor or simply the classroom itself.

— i’m afraid in online classes your computer is not going to be recognizable as an object of learning specific enough to the class you’re taking. it simply doesn’t work like that.

but not only that, online classes make it SO easy to cheat, and this is tempting for the burnt out high school seniors or even the college freshman. it’s especially sad for college students—because you’re paying for that class—and you’re passing off your critical thinking skills to an AI bot or a web engine that could give less of a damn about your future.

listen, i’m all for efficiency, but learning how to critically think is a critical pillar of a developed society. i don’t want to go backwards; i want to go forwards.

thanks for reading my essay in notes ☺️💛