Agree with everything you've added, mr mischief. In fact, the ability to move from one level of abstraction to another is sorely lacking in today's world. Schools do not teach kids to think of associations and context, and so they're crippled when it comes to analyzing a situation or problem.

There are some efforts to teach kids about patterns and sets, but they're so limited. The vast majority of 'education' is rote skill practice and regurgitation, and that's leaving our kids stuck in the muck.

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