We can start with Aurelius' musings on stoic philosophy: "Nothing happens to anybody, that he is not fitted by Nature to bear" and "Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears" might go some way towards bumping off this awful victim culture that so many people, especially in the media, seem to value so highly. Much learning does not teach understanding (Heraclitus of Ephesus). Aurelius also knew that his son would rule Rome as a deranged megalomaniac in the style of Nero (and he did) but couldn't muster the courage to cut him out of the equation. So nothing more than a sentimental old fool in the end. These are the sort of things that a well-supported aristocrat who wasn't being subjected to systemic social inconveniences would say, probably shortly before shouting at one of their slaves to hurry up with the wine. . Applied to the population in general, the idea that your pain is always, and only, your problem and you have no business making a fuss about it is as ridiculous as it is dangerous to a functioning democracy.

Most people believe there are often two ways of looking at most of life's misfortunes. They are either 1. Somebody else's fault or 2. Your fault. Option 1: will tend to make you angry and bitter and full of hate. It's an easy option which requires little effort. Option 2: assuming it is your fault (even if it bloody isn't!) will tend to motivate you to work harder next time. I'd recommend Option 2. You'll be happier and more successful. As for myself, I believe there’s a third option because everyone's pain is not always a result of them not working hard enough. Option 3: Educating yourself to understand, where your difficulties are, in fact, your fault and when they are in fact someone else's fault (for example, the result of iniquities in the political, social and economic situation) and in the latter case taking action in solidarity with others to remedy the problem.

I was born male and white in a 'developed world' country to non-poor parents who emotionally and materially invested in education as well as my psychological and physical health. I had control over none of these factors but it would be blind to pretend they didn't, in a global sense, put me three seconds from the finish line in terms of trying to achieve anything I actually wanted to do. Yes, it is possible to squander such an advantage but you really have to work at it. The world has forgiven me lapses that would have destroyed someone in different circumstances, and rewarded me for less effort than others may well have had to make. I have enough to eat, spare time and private space - incredible riches on a global scale - but if I start pretending I 'deserve' any of it then I am ignoring the iniquities of the system that put me here.

Education has become a process to try to cram skills and knowledge for work. I think beyond the basics, especially Maths, Portuguese and Science it is a futile exercise. Jobs are too diverse and specialised for a general education to manage to teach a useful amount of that knowledge. We should instead teach how to think and learn well. Maths is a systemic expression of a certain kind of philosophy, discuss. It's an expression of lots of different kinds, depending on how it is done, and how it is talked about by those doing it. Briefly, mathematics is an incredibly powerful and revealing tool that has many applications. We can start sat on a comfortable chair in our living rooms from simple mathematics and end up with a clear understanding of space-time, gravity, the inside of atoms , black holes, the beginning of Time and our universe, etc etc. Mathematics is the tool of scientists, economists, statisticians, archaeologists, and so many more.

There are benefits from studying critical thinking. Since critical thinking is merely based on reason-based thinking it always loses out whenever belief is bought into question. Discomforting facts will be studiously ignored by the believing brain. [Once partisans had come to completely biased conclusions -- essentially finding ways to ignore information that could not be rationally discounted -- not only did circuits that mediate negative emotions like sadness and disgust turn off, but subjects got a blast of activation in circuits involved in reward -- similar to what addicts receive when they get their fix]. If your Maths falls prey to your political beliefs then so will critical thinking or philosophy. Confirmation bias wins.

Mathematics proved the existence of many, many things long before they were discovered by experiments. ( )

Craig Adams 'six secrets of intelligence' are deduction, induction, analogy, reality, evidence and meaning. Adams provides the definitions and examples of the basic concepts and shows how this knowledge is useful in spotting and dismissing illogical statements. The second half of the book deals with the modern education system and how it fails to teach the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric). There is some interesting stuff in this book, but the organisation is a bit erratic with too much repetition and not enough examples. ( )