Things people should know

[Guybrush]

Hey gang!

What are some basic skills or knowledge that you think everyone would be better off knowing (or at least people to whom it would be relevant)? We can probably leave out reading and writing and the most basic of maths, so I'm thinking more of stuff people might not encounter during a basic education.

Here's a random few - and not all of them relevant to everyone, but at least to most living in the south of Norway:

• Making an improvised outdoor shelter and building a fire (for people who might hike)
• Cooking a tomato pasta sauce
• Changing a tire (at least if you drive)
• Driving a boat
• Playing chess
• The English language

I won't judge you if you're missing some of these 😄 maybe I'm missing some of your picks?

[Lexi Darling]

Ooh, I like this topic!

I can do all of those things you listed except for the boat and the outdoor shelter/fire ones. But I'm fine with that as neither of us are particularly outdoorsy people.

Honestly I'm not sure I want to speak for other people, but as someone who is now an (almost) full time homemaker, I definitely think a grounding in domestic skills is something a lot of people could use even if they aren't staying at home like me.

I have friends who are a lot less organized and don't know much about cooking or don't do laundry properly and whenever they make flattering comments about my homemaking skills, I always feel a bit awkward because I feel for those who work full time or more and don't have the time or the energy to learn these skills and put them into practice. And of course I respect people who can live exactly the way they want without learning some of this stuff, I don't mean to speak like my way of life is the best one for everybody.

In preparation for entering my current arrangement I learned a lot of new skills and got a lot more in depth with the skills I already had. I'm still learning, I don't mean to speak as if I am an expert on all of this. But here is a list off the top of my head of some of my responsibilities to my home and my lifestyle that I think are valuable skills.

Cooking, sewing, laundry, ironing, stain removing, dishwashing, cleaning, home organization and aesthetic design, lawn care, leaf raking, hygiene, budgeting, knowledge of hardware and tools, knowing the water and heating systems, car care, designing and sticking to schedules, bed making, secretarial stuff like keeping track of appointments and keeping organized notes, data entry, drink mixing, making tea, hosting and entertaining, baking, plant care, pet care.

I think that's most of the stuff I can think of that isn't related more specifically to my relationship.

[Guybrush]

Yes! Good call, @Mrs. Waffles . There's something about learning how to be an independent, responsible adult that should include basic house chores like washing clothes and taking care of yourself and an apartment / house in various ways.

Some basic understanding of economics is also really good, I think, like how to be reasonably smart with money.

[Lexi Darling]

Yes! Good call, @Mrs. Waffles . There's something about learning how to be a, independent, responsible adult that should include basic house chores like washing clothes and taking care of yourself and an apartment / house in various ways.

Some basic understanding of economics is also really good, I think, like how to be reasonably smart with money.

Yep, definitely. I admit that's one area where I lack a bit. I've never been the best with money. Currently I'm fine as the mister is largely the one who handles our budget and finances as he is the one bringing in the money, I stick to the budgets he sets. But it would surely be a valuable skill for everyone, including myself should our situation change. So that's a good shout.

[Psy-Fi]

Lessons in personal finances should be mandatory in school. It ties in with mathematics and is so important to daily life.

Basic first aid lessons should also be mandatory in school.

Learning how to read a map and use it to navigate. GPS is fine but if you don't have it for some reason, knowing how to read a map is very useful.


I'm sure I can think of more but those three just came to my mind.

[Guybrush]

Lessons in personal finances should be mandatory in school. It ties in with mathematics and is so important to daily life.

Basic first aid lessons should also be mandatory in school.

Learning how to read a map and use it to navigate. GPS is fine but if you don't have it for some reason, knowing how to read a map is very useful.


I'm sure I can think of more but those three just came to my mind.

I an agree with all these 👍

Somewhat more complicated subject and probably predictable coming from me, but I feel like a good introduction to the Theory of Evolution is essential to understanding the fundamental answers to some of those big questions that are floating around 🤔

It's part of most curriculums worldwide, I hope.

[grindy]

Critical thinking, cognitive biases and the scientific method.

[Guybrush]

Critical thinking, cognitive biases and the scientific method.

Now we're talking

Couldn't agree more.

[Lisnaholic]

Here's a random few - and not all of them relevant to everyone, but at least to most living in the south of Norway:

• Making an improvised outdoor shelter and building a fire (for people who might hike)
• Cooking a tomato pasta sauce
• Changing a tire (at least if you drive)
• Driving a boat
• Playing chess
• The English language

^ I can only tick two boxes in this list, so would not survive long in southern Norway, with little more than rudimentary chess skills to keep me alive. Theoretically I can change a tire, but have usually failed because of strength or tool problems. Still, I have my moment as a hero: one winter there were three carloads of us driving up into the Alps, and I was the only person in the group who could work out how to put the snow chains on our cars.

Critical thinking, cognitive biases and the scientific method.

^ Yep, good call, grindy!
I didn't have such precise words as those, but was thinking about those sorts of skills in my list of abilities:-
i) distinguishing valid ideas from crazy 
ii) learning to follow a path through complex processes to reach your goal. It's a useful skill for navigating through bureaucracy, modern technology and some work environments and health issues.
iii) social skills are super useful too imo

Psy-Fi raises an interesting, related question, with his phrase "should be mandatory at school". Which skills are important enough to justify classtime? I'd say no to snowchains, no to social skills, and no to most of Mrs. Waffles's, where I think a learn-as-you-go or learn-if-you-want approach is fine. 

[Lexi Darling]

Yeah, I would think most of what I listed would be skills to learn if they are relevant to your living situation rather than the more essential baseline for adult life. I didn't have to use a lot of those while I was living in my old apartment. And I know a lot of people use paid services that do some of that stuff, the general mantra of our household is to use as few of those as possible even if it means more work for me. I go a bit overboard on it, but I do also pride myself in keeping up our home.

I can't claim to be an authority on what should and shouldn't be taught in schools, but I do think "social skills" covers a lot of stuff I think is very lacking from our modern, digitally connected society. I think things like empathy and compassion and openness should be emphasized as we grow and learn, as well as how to better recognize bad actors and manipulative people. We live in a society, not a single-player video game, and I think being able to live with others in as much harmony as possible is something I'd consider very important.

[Lisnaholic]

We live in a society, not a single-player video game

^ That makes a great quote, Mrs. Waffles !!

It's weird how useful skills vary over time. Here's a couple of items that spring to my mind:

As a woman from an earlier generation, my mum refused to imagine that she could put a three-pin elec plug on an appliance - that being outside her area of expertise. My brother tried for years to show that it was easy, but it was something she never did; if she bought a lamp, she would wait until one of her children put a plug on it for her. These days, people don't need this skill, afaik: every appliance comes with some molded one-piece plug, ready fitted.

Here's another skill, already disappearing from young students of mine: the ability to read the time from a traditional clock face. Admittedly not often, but I've met teenagers who can only read the hours digitally, like "10:55". I wonder how they would react if asked to do calculations with a slide rule:-


I was taught this essential skill in my Maths class, age 12, because those teachers wanted us to grow up with cutting-edge skills for the modern world. lol.