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Comment Re:Not comcast (Score 5, Interesting) 235

As a former tech support rep at a call center, I can absolutely vouch that the first people you talk to are going to be idiots reading off a card.
I wish there was a menu option you could select in the phone tree system that says "I hereby declare myself to be competent in the topic at hand. I have tried the routine troubleshooting to no avail, and believe the problem lies beyond my control to fix. I agree to pay a $50 surcharge if you prove me wrong and I should have stuck with the regular support staff.

Comment Re:This is what's wrong with private healthcare. (Score 5, Informative) 646

This is so wrong. The majority of those providing care to the terminally ill know it is pointless and don't want to do it, even for the money. Their hand is forced by legal requirements and family members.There are plenty of other things to be done that will make a difference, but they get pushed to the back because they aren't considered "life-saving".
Often the effort to extend the terminally ills life another day/week/month is written off and not paid back in full. The profit margin at that point of life is very slim. Even procedures that aren't lifesaving and are becoming more routine have slim margins. For example, there is no (ie, zip, zero, nadda) profit on total knee or hip replacements at the hospital where I work. We have to do them because of legal requirements, but insurance won't pay more than a certain amount.
Profit could be maximized much better if the vast quantities of manpower and resources dedicated to saving those already dead were instead allocated to those who will live to pay.
As a healthcare worker, it pisses me off to see people ranting about the costs/quality of the US healthcare system without knowing anything about it other than their own pocketbook.

Comment Re:Interesting... (Score 2) 420

But is that conscious recollection or subconscious understanding?
I am also a very fast reader, but often when reading new material I skim through it quickly and later will go back and reference if needed. Those times I do need to reference for more details, I know exactly where it is on the page, but I can't remember exactly what it said. Similarly, I couldn't tell you what I just read, but if you ask a question that was answered in it, I will just *know* the answer without being able to tell you exactly where I read it.
Example. Long email that says Sallys birthday party will be at 5pm on Saturday. A while after reading if you asked what it was about all i would be able to tell you was that it was about Sally's bithday, and it would take a moment to remember the exact date/time. However, if you asked when Sally's birthday was without mentioning the email, I could tell you without hesitation.
It makes intellectual debates a pain because I remember everything, but can't remember where from so I can't cite a source. Sorry about the formating. I think the mobile app I'm viewing this through stripped the tags.

Comment Re:You Did It to Yourself (Score 1) 659

Growing up there was nothing but farms and cows to look forward to. I had no resources to study on my own other than the family encyclopedia set, which I took to school and read for the "Accelerated Reading" program in 3rd grade. The internet wasn't around back then to surf Wikipedia. I could hardly ask my teachers questions, as I was correcting them during lectures. Take any child prodigy, put them in an island, and deprive them of reading material and resources to experiment with, and they will all become bored.
Learning requires study. Study requires books. Books cost money. We had none.
So ya. I was lazy. I admit that, but take any prodigy and put them in the situation I was and the results are going to be similar. Even Edison had his chemistry set to experiment with, all I had was a 100-piece Erector set.
Like I said, I've come to terms with it. I have no desire to be a world famous genius. I study for pleasure now and enjoy my job.

Comment Re:Some Anecdotes That Don't Make the News (Score 2, Insightful) 659

Here's another anecdote for you. I was what many considered to be a child prodigy and genius. My parents living in a small farming community there was nowhere for me to go and nothing for me to do. My parents intentionally avoided teaching me to read before starting pre-school because they didn't want me to be "different" from the other kids. I didn't know anybody who could get me into prestigious colleges and programs at an early age, although I could have understood it. Instead I was put in public schools and learned to despise everyone there. I became cynical, anti-social, and lazy.There was no reason to try when there wasn't anything on the next level.
Now here I am a decade later, widely accepted by almost all my friends, coworkers, and supervisors to be one of the most intelligent persons they have ever met, but I have nothing to show for it. I graduated from the local community college at 17, but because I was lazy my grades sucked and I couldn't transfer anywhere. I have over 200 credits from that school now, but few 4-year schools will look at me. Not that I could afford those that do. As a single white male with two AA degrees, I'm not eligible for any financial aid.
tl;dr version. I was a prodigy ruined by forcing me into public schools. I've gotten past it and am quite happy with my life now, but for this kid I say let him run as far and as fast as he can so what happened to me doesn't happen to him.

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