Tuesday, March 19, 2019

THE PERILS OF SHORT-TERMISM: CIVILIZATION’S GREATEST THREAT


By:  Richard Fisher

Level: ***
BEFORE YOU READ
·         Short-termism is killing us: it’s time for Longpath https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbwJKdwXC7M
NOTE TO THE STUDENT
The following reading task mostly contains search reading questions as the text is a factual text.
QUESTIONS
1.       Why do we neglect to think about the well-being of future generations?
2.       Because the ‘now’ requires so much attention, …………………………….
3.       What conclusion can be drawn from the arguments thus far?
4.       Many thinkers feel what we really need to do is …….because….
5.       What innate capability should make it possible for us to break out of our current frame of mind?
6.       The above is significant in that it means humans…
7.       What inclination which is ingrained in humans has a role in preventing us from breaking out of our current frame of mind?
8.       What does “this” refer to in the phrase “There is nowhere this is more apparent…”
STOP HERE AND WATCH: Cost –benefit interest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mol1yT7tczY
9.       Read the example of Clarissa. Why does she end up refusing to take a decision that would benefit future generations?
10.   The main reason why so little progress has been made in combating climate change is the fact that…
11.   Study the scale of unborn generations: not taking the wellbeing of future generations  is criminal / unethical / unacceptable/ unavoidable. Select as many as fit.
12.   According to Krznaric, the current disregard for the impacts of manmade problems on Earth is similar to the principle of “terra nullius” because ...
13.   What change in attitude is necessary to rectify the above problem?
STOP HERE AND STUDY: https://futuregenerations.wales/
14.   A. Certain places in Europe have started to try and address the above problem and the most noteworthy of them is ……….where …… . The same area has also taken a unique step by….
IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A BREAK, THIS IS WHEN TO DO SO.
15.   Read the account of the meeting of researchers in Sweden.
·         What was the purpose of their research? Why?
·         The researchers based their predictions on the premise that…
·         The status quo scenario is unlikely because….. and because …
·         The researchers are especially pessimistic about the future because  in recently we have…
·         What conclusion can we draw from the flow chart?
16.   The writer is pessimistic about the future because he feels that…
17.   What does “That” refer to in the phrase “That’s the thinking behind one new initiative…” ?
18.   Read the account of the Long Time Inquiry.
·         What conclusion can we draw from the account of the role of art?
·         How do Saltmarsh and Pembroke propose to address the problem of short-termism?  By…
·         The inspiration for the Long Term Inquiry was ......and……….
·         What needs to change for us to be able to deal with the problem of short-termism is…
·         The Future Library and  Longplayer of both examples of…
19.   Read the account of Brian Eno’s endeavors and answer the questions:
·         The story of the dinner invitation demonstrates the current …..
·         Eno disagrees with the dominant world view because he…
·         The purpose of The Rosetta Project and Long Bets is…
·         We understand from the account of the clock that this project is extremely…
·         Why have scientists set about such a difficult project?
·         The BBC Future project set out to corroborate or refute the hypothesis that…
·         People who feel……………………………….may object to the clock
20.   The writer’s opinion that……………….leads him to worry about what he can do as an individual to combat short-termism
21.   How does the writer eventually decide to combat short-termism as an individual? By…
WRITING TASK
Use all the information that you have gathered to write an essay on what short-termism is and what effects it has

THE PERILS OF SHORT-TERMISM: CIVILIZATION’S GREATEST THREAT; KEY AND TEACHERS’ NOTES
This thought-provoking text tackles the issue of short-termism, an attitude to time which colors all our activities in the 21st century and which poses a threat to future generations. It sets out to show that our attitude is unethical and needs to change. The text is rounded off with an account of the current efforts to combat the problem. It is a typical problem and solution text and due its structure can be done in installments.
1.       It’s so far ahead, clouded with so many possibilities, that the route we will take to get to the future is difficult to see
2.       There is no energy left for imagining the future
3.       Short-termism may be the greatest threat our species is facing this century
4.       Break out of our short-termist ways/ the longevity of civilisation depends on us extending our frame of reference in time( – considering the world and our descendants through a much longer lense)
5.       The capability of mental time travel
6.       Have the innate ability, then, to imagine the consequences of our actions in deeper time
7.       Present bias
8.       It is hard to muster empathy for our descendants. (You need to replace this with the phase to see how it fits into the sentence)
9.       Many politicians – and the societies they govern – have a limit to how much cost they are collectively willing to bear for the benefit of people who don’t yet exist. (Read the question and the answer together to see why the answer makes sense.)
10.   The importance of the benefits felt by future human beings in the calculation of discount rates eventually dwindles to nothing. (You need to replace referrals to make the answer meaningful.
11.    Unethical, unacceptable
12.   It is (essentially ) decided that future generations have no ownership rights there, or any say over how it evolves.
14.   Wales /Sophie Howe was appointed  future generations’ commissioner/ writing  into law  the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act,”
15.   To discuss the existential risks facing humanity / They had a moral concern for our descendants / While the future is uncertain, it is not unknown/biology suggests that each mammalian species exists, on average, for roughly 1 million years before it becomes extinct, the time scale is long / we've added a whole host of additional human-made risks into the mix too – from nuclear armageddon to AI apocalypse to anthropogenic climate change. / Our actions in the 21st century could shape which of the future paths we will take.
16.   Our power to destroy ourselves is radically outstripping our wisdom and foresight.
17.   There need to be approaches and arguments that inspire and engage the non-rational part of our brain too
18.   Culture forms the operating system for our society / fostering and encouraging new cultural works about the long-term as well as creating a network of like-minded artists, institutions and intellectuals. / a principle called ‘Seventh Generation’ stewardship and concepts such as Cathedral Thinking / our attitude to death/ the use of art and other symbolic means to provoke people to think longer term
19.   Narrow view or attitude to space – best answer / wants to be living in a Big Here and a Long Now.” / provide a counterpoint to today's accelerating culture and help make long-term thinking more common”. / ambitious / to provoke its visitors to reflect on their place in time / works of art or installations such as the clock can influence people’s views and actions in ways that rational, empirical arguments cannot / riches of a corporation notorious for paying low taxes might be better spent on long-term infrastructure, catastrophe prevention or social programmes that benefit future generations.
20.   We owe an ethical obligation to our descendants to leave a better world than the one we inherited ourselves
21.   Trying his hardest to widen the horizons, empathy and potential of a little girl who can’t yet imagine a world beyond life as a 10-year-old.







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