There is a difference between the true outcome and what is measured. Many of the things we measure are not really what we measure. We may select young people because they have an excellent range of extracurricular activities and are popular. However, these activities can keep people busy, Too busy to be educated. Busy enough that they cannot develop wisdom, and see the activity they do as leading to education, not the quiet thinking that leads to wisdom.
The school, such as the one my son goes to, that insists and lauds extra curricular activities while cutting the core periods of each subject to the bone (four periods a week per subject, which is not enough for an experimentally based discipline such as chemistry or physics, is either run by fools or following a foolish curriculum. The real outcome is that young men leave educated, Not that young men leave for professional rugby teams.
11Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skilful; but time and chance happen to them all. 12For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. Like fish taken in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them.
13I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed important to me. 14There was a little city with few people in it. A great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege-works against it. 15Now there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16So I said, “Wisdom is better than might; yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heeded.” 17The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one bungler destroys much good.
1For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. 4You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.
7You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? 8Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. 10I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. 11But my friends, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!
13For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. 14For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
Now, disaster cannot be anticipated. Three years ago, we did not predict that the second city in NZ would be flattened by an earthquake. It was seen as safe despite being flattened as frequently as the capital (which is on a fault line). The consequences of this include a strain on finances for the church (we have to now rebuild all our churches to meet modern earthquake standards). It means that my town has a bunch of refugees from Canterbury. It also means that we are over estimating our GDP because repairs count as economic activity — but repairs are not going to earn more income.
In March, the Wesley Church in Wellington was packed for the funeral of a great New Zealander, Sir Paul Callaghan.
As well as being a brilliant physicist and science communicator, Paul Callaghan thought deeply about the future of this country.
In his book Wool to Weta, Prof Callaghan lamented that “New Zealanders choose to be poorer than other nations because we choose to work in low-wage activities”.
He fretted about the emigration of so many talented young people, including both of his own children.
In his view, there is an urgent need for New Zealand to supplement its traditional land-based economy with high-technology companies based on research and development.
The potential is clear, because New Zealanders have a fine record of innovation based on scientific knowledge and research.
Hi-tech companies are relatively immune from two great handicaps for New Zealand manufacturing: the tyranny of distance from major markets and the lack of a large population on our doorstep.
Hi-tech companies can achieve efficiencies which are not so dependent on scale, and they may win a unique market position.
Yesterday I finished some contract work I do with a colleague. I will need to review it tomorrow, before shipping it (by email) to the funder. In the US. This brings in but a few dollars, but the work done for drug companies with contracted laboratories brings in a lot more. And that, although not fashionable or flashy, is the kind of knowledge based work that NZ can and should do.
The trouble is… that doing high-tech, knowledge based projects requires a few things that we do not seem to value in the NZ education system. You have to spend a considerable amount of time researching and studying the area of concern, writing proposals. and at a work bench or laboratory refining your ideas and making them consumer-proof and marketable. This has very little to do with being a good sportsman, or raising funds to charities, or setting up the school ball. It has a lot to do with being knowledgeable, wise, and creating knowledge based products.
We need to create real products, not cheer-lead proposals to make products. Our outcomes should not be the easily measured, but those that identify what we are really interested in. Which is wisdom.