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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)
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(´・ω・`) Offline
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Post: #1
On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

As some of you may recall, in October of 2013, my brother attempted to commit suicide to get out of school. Well, in a long and bumpy series of events that I should no doubt summarize some other time, he got out in the beginning of Nov. 2013.

Normally, that would be a cause of joy to me, as it was quite obvious he was being mentally harmed by being confined there, but a problem has arisen. Since he was let out of school, Lets Plays (which he was already a devoted fan of) became his obsession. And no, not one of those sissy obsessions where the guy only does it for 8 hours a day. No, it's an obsession to the point where that's all he ever does. He wakes up, boots up the computer, watches some Lets Plays, eats, watches some Lets Plays, uses the bathroom, watches some Lets Plays, and gets to bed.

Needless to say, this has me and my family very concerned. I already told IRC this, and they've been proposing several possible solutions and workarounds, but I want your input. What the heck should I do? I am really at my wits end here.

Feel free to ask any questions if need be, and if you want to talk it over with me personally, on Skype or G+ Hangouts, PM me, and we can arrange that.

--Ivo

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SoulRiser Offline
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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

Well, according to how unschooling apparently works, it makes sense that he would need some time to just do whatever... in theory, he should eventually tire of it and do other things.

Now, if he's constantly watching it using speakers, I can understand that would get annoying... in which case tell him to use headphones or GTFO. Razz

Have you asked him why he watches that in particular? What does he get out of it? I think trying to understand his reasons would be better than getting concerned and trying to make him change.

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gore goroth Offline
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Post: #3
RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

He needs a hobby.

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03-04-2014 11:28 PM
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RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

(03-04-2014 10:17 PM)SoulRiser Wrote:  Well, according to how unschooling apparently works, it makes sense that he would need some time to just do whatever... in theory, he should eventually tire of it and do other things.

This is the theory. However, I think it's worth asking what steps can be taken to support learners and provide a meaningful learning environment. It's entirely possible for people to get caught up in compulsions, or "echo chambers" that they may spend huge amounts of time stuck in... and then, perhaps, later say "why didn't you do anything?"

I think this question is also worth posing in Lisa Nielsen's Unschooling/Homeschooling group on FB. I know some people there would respond with "let him do his thing..." but I think there's more to this particular situation that's worth considering.

For one thing, most enthusiastic unschooling parents probably offer a certain "something" that might not be present in all families. In Ivo's case, they're effectively doing "forced unschooling," where the parents know school-as-usual is bad, but they aren't necessarily taking any steps to support or encourage interests (beyond providing the equipment, of course.)

(03-04-2014 10:17 PM)SoulRiser Wrote:  Now, if he's constantly watching it using speakers, I can understand that would get annoying... in which case tell him to use headphones or GTFO. Razz

The nuisance factor there is a problem all its own. Apparently, he refuses to wear the headphones he has, because they're uncomfortable. Telling him "GTFO" will initiate serious conflict.

This gives rise to a question: how do people learn things like respect, perspective-taking, empathy, and how to have a joyful learning environment, as opposed to a hostile one, where everyone is busy getting their own, short-term mental survival needs met?

(For example, their need to be left alone and avoid the conflict brewing under the surface of every interaction.)

This gets into one of the causes of compulsions. Sometimes, people get heavily invested in one pattern of behavior, not just because of its benefits, but to numb themselves or avoid sources of distress... even the distress of thinking or feeling, in some circumstances.

It's worth asking if that's what's going on. If it is, that's not the same thing as "unschooling is awesome, just let people do their thing, and they'll learn!"

Here's another way to consider that point: it's possible, even for older, experienced learners, to get stuck in routines, and not really getting anywhere on their goals. I've been there. Usually I do get bored and change up how I do things, but there's a question of how much time gets burned through in the meantime.

It's also worth noting Ivo's brother seems interested in doing things beyond watching let's plays... including making his own... which I think is the interest-based solution here, for helping him move from passive consumption to active creation.

(03-04-2014 10:17 PM)SoulRiser Wrote:  Have you asked him why he watches that in particular? What does he get out of it? I think trying to understand his reasons would be better than getting concerned and trying to make him change.

Great questions. These are something to pursue. Part of the challenge is that asking all of those questions, and discovering the answers, can require a fair amount of work. "Forcing" change is probably not the answer, but I think encouraging and supporting those underlying interests can be done in more active ways than just leaving learners totally to their own devices.

That leads to an argument for "learning guides," mentors, and/or some kind of circle of others who have shared interests. The Internet is one way to connect with others, but it poses a few issues (beyond Eric's reluctance to step back from watching his Let's Plays.)

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Insert long discussion about predators, trolls, mean people, and the question of how to find a supportive environment, when supportive environments get overrun with people stuck in "flame wars are fun" and "posting garbage is fun" and "empathizing with people is stupid" thinking.

Then, get into a discussion of the role of professional mentors and learning guides... but the problem of how they get paid (unless what they do is purely voluntary and part-time) when they may not be certified teachers, therapists, or accredited schools.

Beyond all that, I think the next step is to help him pursue his stated interest of creating lets plays and putting them online (even if with a limited audience.) The result of that is, potentially, getting comments and having an opportunity for discussions that could even lead into other interests, and certainly away from passive consumption mode.

One problem Ivo has raised regarding that is how "the Internet" would respond... including things like trolls and verbal abuse. This leads to the option of sharing content with a limited audience, and/or heavily moderating the comments.

Any thoughts on all that, Ivo?

Is it feasible to get an emulator working with voice recording, and/or identifying what hardware is needed for screen capture? And... beyond that, are there issues and concerns to discuss regarding putting the resulting Lets Plays online?

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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

Maybe he's analyzing all the Let's Plays, so that when he eventually gets to making his own, the first one will be perfect, because he knows exactly how it works? xD

(Though, that rarely works out in practice).

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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

Let's plays, those 45 or so minute videos where someone plays a game??

He watches those all day?? LOL

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03-05-2014 03:22 AM
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Potato Offline
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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

^ikr just pirate the games and play them yourself

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03-05-2014 03:25 AM
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gore goroth Offline
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RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

Your brother is hypnotized by Pewdiepie.

confirmed.

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03-05-2014 03:38 AM
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RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

(03-05-2014 03:02 AM)SoulRiser Wrote:  Maybe he's analyzing all the Let's Plays, so that when he eventually gets to making his own, the first one will be perfect, because he knows exactly how it works? xD

(Though, that rarely works out in practice).

Personally I think the entire point of a Lets Play relies on the maker's talent and charm and wit.

Maybe I should do some. It's nice to comment on what you think as you play Smile

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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03-05-2014 03:51 AM
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RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

I think I should address all this insight in separate posts, but first, a few words for gore goroth and Potato.

Quote:Your brother is hypnotized by Pewdiepie.

confirmed.

No. He doesn't even like Pewdiepie. He's more likely to watch the likes of direwolf20 and chuggaconroy.

Quote:He needs a hobby.

Good luck finding one for him.

Quote:^ikr just pirate the games and play them yourself

Hardware is a huge impediment to that, as is his mother.

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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

Hardware problem? Makes more sense he watches Lets Plays then. When I was in Turkey, for a while I couldn't use my laptop(didn't have the proper outlet plug). So I just watched videos of people playing video games to make up for it, using my phone(as I did have the plug to charge it).

There are a lot of hobbies one can pursue. Personally I'd love to wargame(with paper) but there's nobody I can do it with and the closest gaming place is 4-5 cities over(and thus not within reach). Making models of stuff can work as a hobby. Drawing or writing could work too.

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

Gee, why didn't I get informative replies instead of "I have the same problem :(((" when I have a similar problem? Except it's nothing to do with LPs and just being addicted to the internet in general. I can watch only one LP a day at most...because they are so time consuming and can get tiring. Usually playing the game is more fun. Except if it's a shitty game, it's fun to see their reactions/wit. Then again the frequency of of my watching them entirely is at most twice a month.

Usually, watching and listening to something isn't the same fun experience as with creating it. You can become so obsessive of reaching to the result that you get bored of the process. Or you get frustrated that you can't get something right. It happens to me and it's very frustrating.

As a result, the thought of being "productive" becomes something that usually makes me feel like shit. It makes me think about the people who tried to help, but it's the same stuff I already know, and I'm still in the same place where I am before. That I get impatient trying to reach the results I want, and it's a shit approach to creating things. Or I just get frustrated that I can't create anything, even after a long time. I can't shake it off very easily.

Hell, even getting asked about future plans is intimidating. I don't know what will happen anymore. I can't rely on humans anymore...we are unreliable people with habits, nothing is ever guaranteed.

TL; DR: Creating and consuming is usually a different experience, but you can learn what you like from consumption.

Sometimes the thought of creating can be daunting, even if you have ideas. I've been like this with the thought of creating videos and music for years. What I think about pursuing in, my parents say the same ol' tired "No it's good" or "I have no experience in that". I think my dad gave up on me. Mum's thoughts is more or less the same.
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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

I don't know...consuming things tend to make me want to create them. I just lacked certain means to make, since creating requires a bit more than consuming.

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

Quote:Well, according to how unschooling apparently works, it makes sense that he would need some time to just do whatever... in theory, he should eventually tire of it and do other things.

As xcriteria touched upon up there, this isn't exactly a voluntary, "unschooling is the best so we do it" situation. And furthermore, you said "eventually", which implies he'll quit at some future point in time. However, he's been doing this for 2 years with no signs of respite, and I really don't see him deviating from it any time soon.

Quote:Now, if he's constantly watching it using speakers, I can understand that would get annoying... in which case tell him to use headphones or GTFO.

Yeah, he watches it without speakers. And trust me, if I could tell him to GTFO, I would. It's completely annoying having to be deluged in the sounds of lets plays (often with profanity), every waking moment. It's part of why I'm a night owl, is to try and maintain an opposite schedule from his.

Quote:Have you asked him why he watches that in particular? What does he get out of it? I think trying to understand his reasons would be better than getting concerned and trying to make him change.

I don't know, actually. I tried asking him, but it usually comes to his catch-all excuse "I have nothing else to do." And indeed, he does nothing else, despite having many other things available to him.

But eh, you deserve better replies than this, so I'll try harder when I've got some sleep.

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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

looks like your brother shares with you the trait for tending to get obsessed about little things like you and your shooting games it's a trait common in autistic people and there is no real effective treatment for that

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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

Lol, "Nothing else to do". Does he even realise that he's wasting too much time? What is he going to do with his future? Did failing school make him think there's no longer hope?
03-06-2014 03:04 AM
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RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

Quote: looks like your brother shares with you the trait for tending to get obsessed about little things like you and your shooting games it's a trait common in autistic people and there is no real effective treatment for that

Look Potato, are you really going to try and say that I'm fascinated with shooting games in the same way as Eric is obsessed with LPs? No, I'm not obsessed with shooting games. I'm fascinated and enthralled by them. I can, and do go weeks and months without playing them. I can, and do go weeks without seeing them. I can barely go days without hearing the incredible music that some of them possess, but that's another topic entirely. Eric on the other hand, can barely survive 3 days without Lets Plays, and even then, that's during a power outage.

I really don't want to talk more about this, so please Potato, just drop it.

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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

School, it seems, has taken its toll upon your brother.

It's no secret to us that an environment like that can cause or aggravate mental problems within people...but these problems do not go away upon leaving. It gives men and women from all walks of life different diseases of the mind, and I believe the one in question here may be some form of compulsion.

Tearing him away from Let's Plays cold turkey won't do him any good. Neither will making him feel bad about it. He can only get help if he requests it, and right now he is in no position to.

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RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

(03-06-2014 09:39 AM)IvoTheMagnificent Wrote:  Look Potato, are you really going to try and say that I'm fascinated with shooting games in the same way as Eric is obsessed with LPs? No, I'm not obsessed with shooting games. I'm fascinated and enthralled by them. I can, and do go weeks and months without playing them. I can, and do go weeks without seeing them. I can barely go days without hearing the incredible music that some of them possess, but that's another topic entirely. Eric on the other hand, can barely survive 3 days without Lets Plays, and even then, that's during a power outage.

I really don't want to talk more about this, so please Potato, just drop it.

you're the one who's gona have to drop it by not responding.

and autistic spectrum disorder is hereditary, as sibling/twin studies have confirmed. a bunch of genes have been identified to be able to cause autism, and the more of them you have the more likely you are to be autistic, but you generally need a lot of them to be autistic. and it is a spectrum, you're obviously not as far down one end as your brother. but it makes sense that you would have similar personalities.
http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/scie...-half-sibs

and idc if you think facts are insulting

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03-06-2014 10:27 AM
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On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

what is this I don't even

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RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

(03-06-2014 03:47 PM)Hawkbit Wrote:  what is this I don't even

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RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

(03-06-2014 03:53 PM)IvoTheMagnificent Wrote:  
(03-06-2014 03:47 PM)Hawkbit Wrote:  what is this I don't even

*facepalm*

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03-06-2014 08:47 PM
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Post: #23
On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

How long was your brother in school? Generally, the rule-of-thumb is 1 month of deschooling per year of traditional school. Also, if he refuses to wear the headphones he has because they're uncomfortable, wouldn't the problem be solved by him getting more comfy headphones?

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03-06-2014 09:19 PM
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RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

(03-06-2014 09:19 PM)Trekkie_Aspie Wrote:  How long was your brother in school? Generally, the rule-of-thumb is 1 month of deschooling per year of traditional school. Also, if he refuses to wear the headphones he has because they're uncomfortable, wouldn't the problem be solved by him getting more comfy headphones?

Yeah, this is a worthwhile angle to consider. He's only been out of school a few months. Then again, I think it can also help a lot to find ways to support people's interests.

Re: new headphones... and having hardware that can let him create Minecraft Let's Plays recordings... the main bottleneck is money.

And that raises a big question about unschooling: even though it can be done quite inexpensively, and provides freedom, it's missing some of the elements school does provide.

What does school provide?

One of the basic functions of school is a feedback mechanism for parents to feel confident that their kids are on the right track. Traditionally, this comes in the form of letter grades on a report card, along with tracking attendance, a.k.a, "seat time" in a teacher-managed classroom.

[Image: photo.jpg]

As much as many students dislike grades, they do serve a role in the minds of parents. Interest-based learning is harder to quantify... and even very specific literacies (like how to have a productive conversation, or how to get to know people) aren't part of the traditional handful of school subjects people traditionally get grades in.

And, part of Ivo's situation is that his mom, in particular, is uncomfortable with the lack of quantifiable progress, particularly in traditional school subjects.

And, it's not just Ivo's mom.

The result is a big gap between those traditional expectations, the promise of learner-centric, interest-driven learning, and the on-the-ground reality in many cases of people's "interests" being focused on perceived leisure activities, like absorbing media, playing games, or chatting online.

What's wrong with playing games, absorbing media, or chatting?

That's a very good question! In fact, there's a lot to learn from all of those things, and even as pure leisure activities, there's certainly a place for them. But, how do those things relate to (1) "traditional school-based learning," and (2) "life-relevant learning and experiences" that one will look back on as time well spent?

Quite a few people do see connections and overlap between these things. In the following two videos, a young learner, and a professional researcher, talk about how games can be valuable sources of learning:

From a learner:



Watch on YouTube

From a researcher:



Watch on YouTube

That all sounds very promising, doesn't it?

But, how do those arguments relate to Ivo's concern that his brother is caught in a sort of Lotus-Eater Machine -- a an apparent personal paradise, that's actually a sort of Matrix-style fantasy, relative to life beyond the "cave" or "echo chamber" one is stuck in?

DoA's post, School and the Allegory of the Cave is relevant here, as is this video explaning of Plato's famous Allegory of the Cave:



Watch on YouTube

School as the cave? Or games-and-media as the cave?

DoA argued that school is a real-life form of Plato's allegorical cave, while Ivo sees a different form of this in his brother's focus on watching Let's Plays.

Interesting contrast, isn't it?

This reminds me of a talk by anthropologist Michael Wesch, where he summarizes Neil Postman's thoughts on two dystopian visions:

(1) The Orwellian vision, depicted in the novel 1984, about a bleak world where authoritarian control, censorship, and surveillance had taken over.

(2) Huxley's inversion the novel Brave New World, where people were effectively "amusing themselves to death."

(The whole talk: The Machine is (Changing) Us: YouTube and the Politics of Authenticity.)

Arguably, Orwell's vision parallels what many experience in school, and what DoA wrote about in his thread, while Huxley's vision parallels the problem of getting stuck swimming in a sea of drug-like entertainment.

I can also see adding a third variation on those two: being in a scenario of boredom, meaninglessness, and nothing in particular providing control, immersion or anything worth pursuing. Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot depicts such a state of being.

And a forth variation comes to mind: the dark vision philosopher Thomas Hobbes described in his book Leviathan... a state of hostility and anarchy in the form of a "war of all against all." (Hobbes proposed solution to that: authoritarian control.)

Surely, there must be more to life than those alternatives, or some muddled combination of them! But for many people, life consists of apparent choices between versions of those four states of being.

So, what about worthwhile alternatives to all of that?

One starting point is to consider the question of choice and autonomy on the part of the individual learner. One's choices are limited in part by one's situation and environment, but also limited by one's inner map of the world and one's behavioral repertoire (including when it comes to ways of thinking.)

One term that's useful for thinking about that is behavioral cusp (Wikipedia.) That term was coined in the context of behavior-oriented psychology, but it's relevant to the bigger question of one's inner mental world, and how that relates to how one interprets and navigates the circumstances they find themselves in.

In the hero's journey paradigm, there are points where the protagonist enters a new world, a different world from the one they know. This can be a change that happens in one's inner world, or a change that happens in observable space, like walking through a gateway into a new and different environment. Or, it could be some combinations of those things.

(See crazyguy's thread, "Creative" writing, for more on that topic.)

It's possible to apply these ideas to thinking about people's real lives as well. What kind of journey are they on? How will one's life play out? And, how much does that progression depend on the person themselves, and their identity, choices, and reactions, vs. how much does it depend on the identity, choices, and reactions of others in their world?

It's possible to hold very different beliefs when it comes to those questions. Some see themselves as passive participants in a world beyond their control. Others see themselves as in control, even when they might not be. (The psychological term based on those two options is Locus of Control. But maybe it's more than an either-or thing... and maybe there are some moments in life where one has more potential to influence events than others.)

That leads into another key psychological concept to consider here: Learned helplnessness.

[Image: m42t084f5.gif]

It's not hard to see how learned helplessness relates to being a prisoner in Plato's cave...

[Image: wxiuAJc.jpg]

So, how does this all connect back to Ivo's brother...

So much of making sense of situations, and figuring out what to do, comes down to how you frame the problem. This short clip from the Crash Course in Creativity MOOC sums up this point very well:



Watch on YouTube

This applies just as much to understanding people's lives playing out as real-life, interconnected stories. For each person in a family, for example, who are they? What do they want? What do they not want?

Each of us has a sense of who others in our lives are, but sometimes these mental models, a.k.a, schema, are incomplete or distorted... especially when it comes to understand the minds and lives of others.

Having a better understanding of people in a scenario can go a long way toward identifying and pursuing "win-win-win" outcomes. However, how does one develop a better understanding of others?

Conversation is one possible answer... though this is difficult when people in a scenario aren't particularly skilled or interested in having substantive conversations.

If people are stuck in modes of avoiding conversations to maintain their sanity, or lashing out as a typical mode of interaction, then what's going on?

Psychologist Sherry Turkle gave a TED talk about this question of conversations, and whether perhaps technology is interrupting people's development of that skill. I think the question goes beyond technology (and media) though such things can certainly end up replacing people's desire to communicate in any depth... especially if they haven't experienced many examples of worthwhile, productive interactions.



Watch on YouTube

Fortunately, technology can also provide tools have have much more substantive conversations than many people are used to in day-to-day life. This is one of the key promises of so-called connectivist learning.

What is connectivist learning?

Connectivist learning is based on sharing stories, asking questions, collaboration, and feedback... even of people are long distances apart. A key part of this form of learning is developing a personal learning network, or PLN.

Lisa Nielsen talks about that concept in this clip from a documentary about homeschooling:



Watch on YouTube

But, how does this apply to a person who's not particularly interested in connecting with others?

And, what about the challenge of actually finding others who are worth interacting with, in a sometimes hostile, chaotic, and "immature" online world.

This is where finding one's way to existing personal learning networks can be useful. So can finding (or helping to build) communities have an atmosphere of support, substance, and sustainability.

Fortunately, I think we have a good start to both of those things. We can build on that. But, again, what are the steps forward for Ivo's brother?

Next steps

It seems that his brother is interested in creating lets plays, rather than just consuming them. It sounds like this should be possible with their current equipment, at least outputting from emulators. Minecraft let's plays will probably require more equipment. And, the noise problem Ivo mentioned can also be solved with some equipment (new headphones), even if money needs to be found or raised for those things to happen.

So, how about an initial let's play?

Then, there's another question to consider: their parents. And, beyond interest-driven learning, there's the question of traditional school subjects, and live-relevant learning beyond the interest-driven variety. The thing is, some people argue interest-driven learning can lead to all those things.

I have a sense of what the answer might be. But, it'll take some time, and unwinding that problem of learned helplessness will probably be a big part of the path forward.

Thoughts? And... any feedback on that big block of content? Razz

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03-07-2014 06:50 AM
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Post: #25
On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

YouTubers have made money off of Lets Plays before. I myself much prefer the LPs I can find in the Something Awful archive, but if Ivo's brother is for better or worse deeply involved in LPs then I think he should pursue making them. It's hard work at times, though. I tried to make an LP myself a while ago. I still want to do LPs, but they are also time-consuming. I'd suggest recommending it to him.

Kudos to xcriteria for another quality post, as well. I still remember the feeling of helplessness I encountered more and more in public school. I've included a short story, which I've hidden here:

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In the middle of the 7th grade, I usually stayed after-hours to do my homework in the school library, until 4 PM. My mother would pick me up from school (even if I could and should have walked to and from school; I was pretty messed up). Depending on whether I even had homework to do, or if I finished the work early, I often called my mother on the school phone to arrange pickups. I eventually decided to increase efficiency by coming up with a scheme to automate the process somewhat; I can't remember the exact details but it involved me not having to call 4 times a week and worry about whether she'd be there or not. Then I got three detentions in a row (at this point in my school career I was fairly restless and insubordinate) that fouled up the plan so badly I was shaken to the point of tears. I was forced back to how I did things before, likely due to learned helplessness. Public school had made mincemeat of my efforts to survive it that much better.

Also related: the strict social studies teacher I had eventually started slapping me with double detentions whenever I acted up because he was apparently at the end of his tether with me. I still remember him telling me that I was smart, I had potential, but I was wasting it by being angry and disobedient. Another reason good support communities are necessary: this was in early 2009, when School Survival was pretty shitty and frankly less mature. My head was dancing with thoughts of armed rebellion courtesy of RebelNerd and his stories, and I was too bitter to realize the site environment was rather toxic at times. Not exactly great for trying to maintain a healthy state of mind and keeping one's head low.

It will take time for him to recover from public schooling, because I myself went through much the same process, with the internet and video games in general. It helped foster my interest in certain video games and video game development, and I did appreciate the amount of freedom I had, but at the same time I wasn't taking good care of myself, just as I hadn't in school. Instead of suffering mental anguish, sitting around classrooms, eating unhealthy ala carte lunch and then going home to use the computer/Xbox for most of the rest of the day, though, my day was almost entirely dominated by computer/Xbox usage, and most of it wasn't that productive. I was even less active, I wasn't hydrating myself properly and my diet was mostly frozen foods. My family had to move in the fall of '09, and while things got worse from there (and probably mentally affected me as well) it helped me find and define who I am as a person and what I might and should do in life. At least I'm posting here again.

(03-06-2014 10:27 AM)Potato Wrote:  
(03-06-2014 09:39 AM)IvoTheMagnificent Wrote:  Look Potato, are you really going to try and say that I'm fascinated with shooting games in the same way as Eric is obsessed with LPs? No, I'm not obsessed with shooting games. I'm fascinated and enthralled by them. I can, and do go weeks and months without playing them. I can, and do go weeks without seeing them. I can barely go days without hearing the incredible music that some of them possess, but that's another topic entirely. Eric on the other hand, can barely survive 3 days without Lets Plays, and even then, that's during a power outage.

I really don't want to talk more about this, so please Potato, just drop it.

you're the one who's gona have to drop it by not responding.

and autistic spectrum disorder is hereditary, as sibling/twin studies have confirmed. a bunch of genes have been identified to be able to cause autism, and the more of them you have the more likely you are to be autistic, but you generally need a lot of them to be autistic. and it is a spectrum, you're obviously not as far down one end as your brother. but it makes sense that you would have similar personalities.
http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/scie...-half-sibs

and idc if you think facts are insulting

I won't deny the autism spectrum is hereditary, but I will say that you're passing pretty hasty judgement on Ivo and his brother here. Maybe it's a part of the problem, but we don't know for sure. The autism spectrum is more complex than fake psychologists from 4chan who claim to be able to detect it over the internet (when it's not immediately apparent, anyway, and even then it's not always clear-cut) give it credit for.

Autism Speaks is a bad organization to begin with. Which shows how much you know about the disorder, I suppose, if you link to it.
(This post was last modified: 03-14-2014 08:31 AM by Trar.)
03-14-2014 08:04 AM
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Post: #26
On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

lol this guy is trolling no one watches fucking let's plays all day

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03-14-2014 08:23 AM
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Post: #27
On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

^Not sure if serious.

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03-14-2014 08:25 AM
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RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

(03-14-2014 08:25 AM)Hansgrohe Wrote:  ^Not sure if serious.

i'm completely serious, as soon as I read the op I couldn't stop laughing

he's been constantly watching lets plays for 2 years? no i don't believe you.

edit: or he's just completely fucking autistic off the charts

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(This post was last modified: 03-14-2014 08:59 AM by Stadium.)
03-14-2014 08:58 AM
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Post: #29
On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

As for the hobby idea, would you consider making Let's Plays more productive than watching them? (Personally, I consider watching them a hobby, but too much of anything, including a hobby is bad, and I don't understand why people tell others to get a hobby when they are obsessed with something because 75% of the time, that obsession is debatably a hobby.)

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03-14-2014 10:51 AM
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Post: #30
RE: On my brother. (Or, Unschooling isn't all roses as it seems.)

(03-14-2014 08:23 AM)Stadium Wrote:  lol this guy is trolling no one watches fucking let's plays all day

Pewdiepie makes 500K a year. And not because people watch for 5 minutes and get bored.

I really wish OP was trolling, but I can actually see this happening.

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03-14-2014 12:05 PM
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