I remember that when I was in school, teachers hated my ever-present netbook laptop and the disinterest I had in their classes. Which were already repetitious and not very exciting to me.

To see it half reversed now - every student must have a laptop and use it, not listen to the teacher - and yet somehow be so much worse is really sad.

For me, the computer was a portal to worlds and experiences and time spent doing things school had no way of offering me. For a kid to grow up hating their laptop because this is what it offers them, when we have so many incredible things sitting just out of their reach, is infuriating.

I'd really like to know how and why the school hasn't responded to the parents' complaints, if they're so frequent and unanimous. Maybe they're locked into a contract?

On the other hand, a while ago I was picking up takeout at a restaurant and a little girl, the daughter of one of the owners, was doing homework and it turned out to be a simple JavaScript-like programming assignment. I helped her learn how to write a for loop to make a fox jump over some obstacles. It was fun! It's not all bad.

> If it's not dark and edgy, it's not profound.

I think this is exactly it, and it's frustrating, because some of the most profound works of science fiction are things like Star Trek, which are idealistic and hopeful. They still raise questions about humanity and morality and philosophy that are deeply interesting and worth engaging with.

I'd really enjoy a return to classic space opera. I think a world where technologies like AI actually work out okay to some extent is a) closer to fiction than the alternative, and b) more interesting than another dystopia.

I'd enjoy a swashbuckling noblebright adventures-in-space thing way more than yet another treatise on Technology Bad right about now.

That said, I don't know that I think sci-fi as a genre is dying per se. There are a lot of really prominent and popular science fiction pieces coming out today. Shows/books like Black Mirror and The Expanse, for example.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_strikes_on_Irani...

> In this situation it is a fair request by the US to sign a nuclear deal that heavily restricts Iran's ability to enrich, and as Iran due to ideological reasons refused, and IMO miscalculated this will be a win-win, as losing will quell the protests, the only thing really left is the metaphorical stick

Didn't we have one of those a few years ago? I wonder what happened to it /s

Seriously, though: how can Iran both be so powerful we must avoid it becoming a blackmail state, and so weak and feckless it's not a threat to anyone?

And didn't we already attack them to stop them from getting nuclear capabilities?