We spend countless hours learning things that ultimately aren't much value to us and it seems like subjects that are paramount to our survival get glossed over, if covered at all.
It got me thinking about whether or not there is potential for an "Essential Guide to Life on Earth" and how it might be implemented in countries where reading is a luxury, knowledge is lacking and surviving is improbable.
We can't fix everyone though and that mentality needs to end. We can't swoop in with our white savior, western ideology, foreign God missionary tactics and save the day. These people need the opportunity to save themselves. They need divergent thinking, design concepts and autodidactic learning to flourish in their communities.
Teach a person who embraces divergent thinking to fish.... and they'll design a fish trap so they can spend time facilitating other needs.....
They need unbiased (as much as possible) education, resources, and techniques. They need biocentric, biomimetic, humanistic, and scientific models of learning. They need access and supplies. They need us to remember that they are capable and like every other human with access to the collective understanding of mankind before us, have unlimited potential to achieve greatness.
So this is something I'm thinking about. Researching and hopefully one day, implementing.
Here are some inspiring TED Talks that got me thinking about how this could work.
What we're learning from online education.
My wish: Build the Encyclopedia of Life.
Permaculture:
It's already been done in terms of living technologies through the advent of Permaculture (of which I am currently obtaining a degree that will give me more specific skills like soil remediation, plant specifics and calculations - but the concepts of which fell under my Environmental Design BA)
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In the Essential Guide to Life on Earth: The study of viruses and bacteria is paramount. These are concepts we should all comprehend, not just for the current or next pandemic but because this is the invisible world in which all life operates dependent upon and symbiotically with. In addition, understanding that world can only open doors to biomimetic solutions to some of humanities greatest challenges.
Check out MIT Open Courseware in Virology - Complete course and study materials available for free! I've completed a few and they're amazing! This is just the virology section, the subjects are endless.
Check out basically all the TED Talks on bacteria and the nano world.
Other Virology Information covered in our Covid-19 Facts blog:
Understanding zoonotic viruses.
Know what a wildlife wet market is and how they increase the likelihood of zoonotic outbreaks. Know this can happen anywhere from less exotic species.
Understanding the science of viral reassortment, phenotypic mixing, recombination and complementation.
Understanding the difference between viral infections and bacterial infections.
Understanding herd immunity.
Understanding the mechanisms of viral mutation.
Avoiding future outbreaks - The Virome Project is cataloguing viruses in the wild, allowing us to be more proactive in protection. http://www.globalviromeproject.org/
Vaccines. Good news for all the anti-vaxers. There's work being done to inoculate the source of rabies outbreaks for instance.
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