We need to teach kids Operacy- that is, how to function effectively, how to operate as a human being. Bodily functions are rarely a problem. Cognitive functions are a lot more difficult to handle, perhaps because most of us aren’t very good at much of that either!

Everybody should be taught basic logic. Not vicariously through other topics- it should be a subject by itself. People who fail should be branded like livestock and made to wear a special hat so that people know not to argue with them. (I’m kidding… I think.) It should be split into practical “daily life” logic and abstract logic. Perhaps we could have a score database that could be accessible to anybody you give an access code to. (This is a great idea with regards to STD testing- to prove to your potential partner that you got yourself tested and were certified safe as of “insert-date-here”). I think it would be fun to know a person’s logic score. Perhaps we’d have logical elitism… but that’s not very logical, is it? 😛

Not everybody who scores well in these logic tests would necessarily do well in life, but I think it would be a step forward. People should develop immune systems that fight off logical fallacies and flawed arguments- protecting themselves against exploitation, and making better decisions for themselves and others in the process. Perhaps the topic could be “Thinking Skills”, and it could be split into topics like “Basic Logic”, “Practical Decision-Making”, etc. I know that it seems like something ridiculously obvious and redundant, but there are so many people who are terrible at it!

Equally important is the practical study, understanding and appreciation of emotion. Logic, in the practical day-to-day sense, is inseparable from emotion. Logic is a tool that helps us choose the most valuable option- emotion is the source of value attribution. The logical choice is ultimately the one that we place the highest value on. We often take this to be self-evident. Most of us tend to value our lives, so any act meant to preserve life seems to be logical- but only because we have that emotional attachment to living. Sometimes we may value something more than life, and in those instances, sometimes sacrificing life is the logical thing to do. Taking a job with higher pay is logical, for example, because we have an emotional connection with money and the options it brings- but a person can logically decide to choose not to, because she has a stronger emotional connection with something else.

I remember reading about how people with brain damage inhibiting emotions had trouble making decisions- they could logically weigh out all the pros and cons, but they were unable to decide even on the most trivial of things. I think that’s an incredibly valuable insight- often if we struggle with a decision, what we need is not better logic, but a better understanding of how we feel about things, and perhaps why. Logic is a system, a process of navigation- but it requires emotion for it to go anywhere. Not everyone is aware of this!

First, we ought to study and understand our own emotions- to pay attention to how we act differently when influenced by different moods, despite being “perfectly logical” every time. (Serial killers are often wonderfully logical, but with disturbing emotional connections.)  Once we understand our emotions, we can manage them- dulling or tuning out unpleasant, negative emotions, and focusing on the positive, empowering ones.

Parallel to this is others-awareness and others-management- understanding and “manipulating” the emotional processes of others, knowing how to handle them in an appropriate and effective manner to achieve desirable outcomes. Some call this practice Machiavellian and politicking, and it receives a lot of undeserved flak- it’s really amoral- a tool that can be used for any end.

The two work in tandem- we understand ourselves better by observing others, and we understand others better when we reflect on our own processes. This tends to work best at a one-on-one level- if you want to go higher than that, then we’re looking at a broader sort of social, situational or organizational awareness- understanding and managing groups of people. A lot of sociology, philosophy and political science is dedicated to such study. Good leaders develop a tacit and practical mastery of such concepts, even if they aren’t consciously aware of it- kind of like how sportsmen unwittingly become superb physicists, analyzing multiple accelerating bodies on the fly.

The next skill we ought to learn is management, or Operacy. I think it’s a naturally emergent phenomena from the first two- or it could be perceived as a broader whole which includes them within itself. Specifically, we’re looking at things like managing one’s finances, relationships, emotions, time, resources of all kinds. How to make the most of what you have to help you get from where you are to where you want to be.

Let’s start by talking about money. Money, in the form of paper and coins, is technically worthless. It emerged from simple bartering to become an abstract denomination of value- and since then it’s been getting so complex that it’s practically impossible for a layman to understand how it works in the context of larger systems. (I’d like to get around to studying and understanding this.) But we can keep it simple, and work at a pragmatic, day-to-day level. Spend less than you earn, and have savings. Specifically, build an emergency fund- it’s a huge source of peace of mind. (Which money can buy!) Develop and maintain a sustainable lifestyle. Avoid unnecessary credit at all costs- if possible, avoid all credit altogether. It’s the devil.

I believe that credit cards should come with warnings bigger and bolder than the ones on cigarettes- debt destroys lives, marriages, families, communities. It drives people to crime, suicide, and worst of all, a miserable existence. That makes debt worse than drugs, in my opinion. Do not live beyond your means, whatever the creditors tell you. Insure yourself against the unexpected. Once you’ve saved up enough to make you feel safe and prepared, work on building residual sources of income. Create value.

You gotta learn to manage your time too, which I still struggle with (but I think I’m getting better at!). Time is more valuable and important than money. We all have an incredibly limited amount of time on this Earth, and it’s vital that we make the most of it. But how do we possibly do that? We have to refer to point 2- figure out what we want, and feel strongly about it, enough to feel compelled to act. For me, that means contributing beyond myself, helping others, learning, appreciating the beauty of the universe. Ensuring I’m able to sustain such a lifestyle financially. To me, that is a life well lived, time well spent.

What else do we need to learn? We need to learn how to appreciate and respect one another, we need to learn the value of trial and error, of being wrong, how to learn from our mistakes, to discard what doesn’t work and to try again. The value of serendipity, of conversations. We need to learn how to appreciate the beauty that is around us. We need to learn how to enjoy the time we spend alone. We need to learn how to learn. We need to learn to dare to dream- or rather, we need to unlearn the fear and anxiety that stopped us from dreaming. We need to learn to communicate with one another effectively. We need to learn to appreciate how small and inconsequential we are in the grand scheme of things, and how we owe everything we have to chance, and to others that came before us. We need to learn to appreciate things that aren’t familiar to us, that are outside our comfort zones. We need to learn to be compassionate, to see the good in people, to make changes when we need to.