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    1. What are the Big Problems?

      What are the Big Problems? I'm leaving this open-ended, there's no specific criteria for responses. I'm interested in both your list and the reasons why. Submitting your suggestions before reading...

      What are the Big Problems? I'm leaving this open-ended, there's no specific criteria for responses.

      I'm interested in both your list and the reasons why. Submitting your suggestions before reading others' contributions would be preferred.

      Optionally: who is (or isn't) successfully addressing them. Individuals, organizations, companies, governments, other. How and/or why not?

      I've asked this question periodically on several forums (G+, Reddit, HN, Tildes) for seven years now.

      I've written fairly extensively on my own views, reasonably findable if you wish, but my interest here is in gaining fresh input, resetting my own biases, and not colouring the discussion overly myself.

      27 votes
    2. IOS app to train super basic (pre)algebra skills. Free or freemium.

      I know those are easy to find on children's education materials, but the keyword here is simple. Anything kiddie, requiring too many clicks or that takes 3 seconds is off the table. I kinda need...

      I know those are easy to find on children's education materials, but the keyword here is simple. Anything kiddie, requiring too many clicks or that takes 3 seconds is off the table.

      I kinda need to brush up on my super basic reasoning. In part, because a grown man should know the time table by heart, and in part, because I wanna convince myself that I did not get brain damage after being hit by a car (there's really nothing indicating that, I'm just paranoid).

      I'm looking for something simple that presents me with the multiplication table and or simple calculations to answer under a time frame. The requirement for iOS is that my computer is broken.

      And it really can be super simple, even something I open from a mobile web browser or transfer to my Kindle.

      Additionally: there is no need for if to be an app. A huge list of exercises (with answers) would be greatly helpful.

      Thanks!

      6 votes
    3. TV Tuesdays Free Talk

      Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here. Please just try to provide fair warning of...

      Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

      Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

      8 votes
    4. When should you consider it a good idea to delete your comments?

      (I'm tagging as ask.advice and ask.discussion because while my motivation to make this comes from my comments I'm not the only one who this could apply to and deleting coments is very much a...

      (I'm tagging as ask.advice and ask.discussion because while my motivation to make this comes from my comments I'm not the only one who this could apply to and deleting coments is very much a general topic.)

      So basically, I wrote this comment, noone agrees with it and the contrary takes all are upvoted, so should I delete it? If noone agreed with what I had to say and upvoted contrary answers, then what I said wasn't valuable to anyone, and so I should delete it, right?

      This also applies to quite a few comments I have written that have 0 votes like this, this this and this.

      In the other hand, measuring a comment's value by how many people voted on it isn't that great and leaving clarifications and tecnical/minor details and if someone replied, even if only to point out your comment as wrong or not so unlikely, so other than the third comment, you can argue they aren't entirely bad. (And leaving someone's answer without a question is pretty bad if someone comes later since they wouldn't know why that answer was there.) So where does one draw the line?

      11 votes
    5. Fortnightly Programming Q&A Thread

      General Programming Q&A thread! Ask any questions about programming, answer the questions of other users, or post suggestions for future threads. Don't forget to format your code using the triple...

      General Programming Q&A thread! Ask any questions about programming, answer the questions of other users, or post suggestions for future threads.

      Don't forget to format your code using the triple backticks or tildes:

      Here is my schema:
      
      ```sql
      CREATE TABLE article_to_warehouse (
        article_id   INTEGER
      , warehouse_id INTEGER
      )
      ;
      ```
      
      How do I add a `UNIQUE` constraint?
      
      5 votes
    6. How are schools preparing in your country?

      Primarily non-US, as there's been a lot of discussion for various places in the States. In my country (Croatia, EU), nobody knows anything, including the government, and the school year starts in...

      Primarily non-US, as there's been a lot of discussion for various places in the States.

      In my country (Croatia, EU), nobody knows anything, including the government, and the school year starts in three weeks. With the govt change this summer, and the new ministers enjoying their summer vacations, they only created a "task force" last week, which only met today for a few hours and concluded "there are challenges ahead". The minister in charge "thinks" schools will start normally, and "thinks" masks won't be required, with no straight answers or plans.

      Teacher associations, individuals, parent groups have been calling for development of some kind of strategy for weeks (as a tourism-powered 2nd wave hit us), but there doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency on the part of govt.

      This leaves parents (we'e gor one kid in primary school, other in kindergarten) in total fog, there's no way to prepare. Our family is better placed to handle this due to grandparents around to help and flexible schedule (self employed), but the online school from this spring was a disaster and I don't see a chance of the fall doing any better.

      Even with preparations it would be hard, right now looks like it's going to be a disaster.

      How is your country (not) coping with these challenges?

      (edited to clarify the school year start)

      7 votes