True multi-tasking is a fallacy. We think we’re more productive when we do multiple things simultaneously, but the brain can focus well on just task at a time. Doing too much at once actually slows you down and leads to more errors. Heck, A.I. confirmed this for me. Anyway, here are a few unrelated topics of possible interest…one at a time…
The local June 13 HI-EMA test alert came and went with little notice. A minor kerfuffle. Perhaps we’re still numb after that January 2018 false missile alert text, but it might have been nice to know a test alert was going to occur before it occurred. It was calming to read that “THIS IS ONLY A TEST”, yet still unnerving. It’s good to know our alert system is working, but a little forewarning could’ve eased frayed nerves on June 13…
28 states now require students to take a course in economics to graduate high school. Hawai`i is still not one of those states. The kinda good news is that Hawai`i does require some economics coursework integration during the high school years, according to the National Council on Economic Education. But no economics/finance courses are required here, there are no standards, and no testing is given on something so essential. Does your 18-year-old understand scarcity, debt, opportunity costs, supply and demand, budgeting, saving, investing, or retirement planning? Shouldn’t he/she?…
For the first time ever, more people in the U.S.A. watched television via streaming in May than watched through traditional cable and broadcast networks. Streaming garnered 45% of total viewership, while cable + broadcast was at 44%. Just four years ago, about 65% of viewing was via broadcast/cable, while just 26% of viewers streamed. The implications of this shift go far beyond the myriad confusing programming choices and bundling services for consumers. The important choices for consumers to find and assess for themselves, including scrutinized, fact-based, down-the-middle news (local and beyond) will dwindle if economic models don’t allow for dependable news sources, such as local TV news.
Over the past 20 years, over 3,000 newspapers have closed or merged nationwide. Fewer vetted news sources mean less reliability, as more browsers/viewers rely on Jimmy’s Really Cool News Blog to get daily news, leading to further polarization via slanted opinions thinly veiled as fact-based news; many entities simply feed their hungry fans, ensuring that the cash registers ring. Not good for many reasons.
Think about it…