What a short-sighted attitude. Colonizing Mars opens the door to a lot of advances in many, many fields. At first it will be difficult and expensive as it has happened with every new advance in the past. Precisely because of it, people will think of ideas to improve all the process and related problems. And presenting those new problems that we aren't facing now can lead to solutions that could be used in other common areas that we are used to and are kind of stuck.
> Nunberg can see how scrolling through AITA might be a “stupendous timewaster,” but he believes the sub has the potential to do some good in the world
I hardly believe so. Reddit is an echo chamber by itself and people's judgment there is way far from perfect. In this subreddit you can see a similar effect than the "fake news" one: present an emotional scenario in which you look like the victim, no matter what you do, and the majority will get on your side. That's why you need to hear all the parties involved in a conflict resolution, otherwise you can be easily manipulated.
I totally agree and I would love to see this idea implemented in many other places but sadly not all the countries share the same mentality that Japan has about social duties.
I really like this idea. You have your personal space (I saw a video in which you even have a small kitchen and bathroom in your room) and then the rest are shared areas. I don't believe it could work in many other countries but in Japan, where people are more concious of colaborating to keep everything clean AFAIK, it could be a great way to fight the feeling of loneliness that is spreading around the world.
Make some groups, teach them an easy method to encrypt messages (like Vigenère cipher) and let them play writing encrypted messages between groups or think about a game in which they need to decipher a secret code. It worked quite well for some adults I taught few years ago.
> The reader must have equal opportunity with the detective for solving the mystery. All clues must be plainly stated and described.
Many TV shows fail on this point trying to surprise the viewer with an unexpected result which ironically becomes so common that ends up being predictable from the first few minutes of the show.
There are some online services like 7cups in which people talk with strangers about their problems just to vent, allowing them to talk freely without being judged. For example, many teenagers don't want to talk to their parents because they feel they won't be taken seriously or they will be dismissed with a simple "that's because you are young". Another example could be when people don't want to worry their close ones (a thing that many depressed people do, to avoid being a burden).
First, it was never stated to do that from a balcony so how would have known that the person to whom it was suggested? But leaving that aside, can you grant me for sure that there won't be any problem? for every place in Barcelona? what about if they people making noise aren't Barcelonian? what if they are too drunk and make even more noise? what if they recognize the balcony from where you screamed at them and start to throw you things as retribution? or ringing at your door? The possible developments of that situation are so many that you can't lightly ignore them, specially when it's another person the one who is going to be in that situation.
You shouldn't recommend people to scream to a group of people "Shut the fuck up" because it's not only unpolite but it can be the source of a lot of problems for that person. Be considerate with your recommendations and aware that you could cause problems to others with them.
Well, when you type "If, for, foreach, switch, GoTo, Resume, Continue, Break..." you are already using English so I would say that if you are able to code, then you are capable of at least, understand a basic level of English (which translates into English being a requirement to even start to code).
If you want to help him, there's something you can do: Try to practice with him those situations in which he struggles. Start with simple scenarios where you pretend to be someone else and give him feedback about what was weird, when you realized he was blocked, etc. All of this without criticizing or judging him. This way you create a safe environment for him to practice without feeling the pressure of a real conversation and with enough time to understand his own interactions and assimilate them.