When I was in early school grades, a common question in math classes was "Why do we have to learn this, when we can just use a calculator?"
The best answer was "How do you know when the calculator is wrong?", for example when a miskey was entered. Same goes for AI, except knowing enough to spot mistakes or hallucinations takes a foundation knowledge.
I wonder if there was a period of time where people who were inclined to do that were able to dedicate themselves to exploration instead of working to pay for healthcare.
I know that's a gross oversimplification, and that quality of life is better now, but when it came to academic pursuits was it more feasible in the past?
Or am I just subconsciously reacting to constant negative economic news and wondering if the grass was greener on the other side of the timeline?
Yes. Read up on "gentleman scholars" from before the 20th century. An astonishing amount of all our foundational knowledge about the universe comes from wealthy dudes (or with wealthy patrons) exploring science for the sheer hell of it.
And when I say astonishing, I mean it. Almost all the foundations of every field were built this way.
I think that in some senses it was easier in most of the previous century simply because there were fewer distractions. A young person (or indeed any person) interested in science, engineering, literature could spend hours at the local public library digging into whatever subject interested them without that nagging feeling that they were missing out on something all the time. We didn't have that firehose of interesting stuff just a click away from us all the time.
A good chunk of early science was basically funded by nobility sponsoring scientists as sort of… conversation pieces, basically, right? I’m not sure if that gig is still available.
One could argue all science is still funded that way. My team is funded by a philanthrophist. NSF "royalty" re-distributes the peasant's taxes to do science. Etc.
The majority of early explorers and researchers sought philanthropist to support their desire to explore. They sold the dream to pay for their plan. The frontiers are more specialized now. Getting funding to "explore Africa" would be a hard sell.
This was also National Geographic’s modus operandi. They kickstarted exploration. Much of it would have happened eventually but it’d nice to have historical glimpses of what used to be.
Contracts were heavily affected by cuts in federal programs that are critical to some rural regions, and uncertainty caused by inconsistent messaging about the future of such programs. Some areas are very dependent facilities that can only survive with public funding.
For example in nursing categories, CNOs (Chief Nursing Officers) would be requesting more staff, but CFOs would block those requests due to changing budget forecasts. The unpredictability of the fed is causing chaos downstream.
There is also a continuing trend to "realign" staff levels post-COVID, but that now is much easier to forecast for compared to the political chaos. In 2026 healthcare, that would not be a reason for attrition at these levels.
I can't speak to the time frames for the article, but I know that the current administration and its policies had a significant negative impact on our business across CY2025.
I ran the team that maintained our business analytic data, and was also on weekly calls where feedback from our clients about the situation was discussed. There was direct correlation between uncertainty and both a decline in new job postings, as well as a lack of renewing existing job contracts.
When comparing our numbers to those of our publicly traded competitors, all the data showed the same trends.
Not everyone was laid off immediately in the government. Some people were given 6 months notices, etc. Then the local authorities started to discuss the gap in their budgets. In my town they stopped hiring first and then they decided to cut some positions starting from 2026.
I'm in publicly funded mental health...federal cuts are starting to cause states & counties to either immediately slash what CBOs thought was solid funding for essential services, or to let us/them know to expect significant cuts starting in the next fiscal year.
I don't see why we should believe any of the data in the first place. At best, I assume good people have been let go and proper procedures are falling by the wayside. At worst, it is being manipulated (even perhaps incompetently).
The right answers are usually something in the middle. Don't email spreadsheets (i.e. make copies that drift), don't use K8S unless it is a technical requirement.
For some reason, this middle ground gets the smallest population.
airfare: $500, 5 nights (sun -> thur) in a hotel, fully costed: $250, per-diem of $100 6 days (fri is a travel day) is already $2350. If you rent a place that thousands can show up you'll be in for at least $5k.
The best answer was "How do you know when the calculator is wrong?", for example when a miskey was entered. Same goes for AI, except knowing enough to spot mistakes or hallucinations takes a foundation knowledge.
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