mikecarroll

One skill that I've found to be especially useful in investment and business -- often because others are so bad at it -- is to make good determinations on the value of any given thing (i.e., what others will pay for that thing).

Being able to find and take into account available data and, in the context/absence of such data, make a best guess based on "intuition" has been highly valuable in everything from freelance contracting to negotiating salary and equity to determining pricing for our startup's products.

Now that I have a child, I find myself a bit surprised that there isn't more literature out there on how to teach/develop this skill for children. Does anybody have good resources or experiences to share on teaching children to reason through determining the value of concrete and abstract things?

If anybody wants to use this template to send a similar message, this is the URL (zipcode 48915 is in his district and will get you past the submission filter): http://mikerogers.house.gov/contact/

(Here's the Guardian article I refer to: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/31/nsa-top-secret-program-online-data)

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Congressman Rogers,

I apologize for misrepresenting my zipcode to get to this page to send you an e-mail, I live in Brooklyn and am not in your district.

However, as an American, I feel that you owe me and the rest of the American people an explanation for your statement in reference to Edward Snowden and his claims about low-level analysts being able to spy on ordinary Americans with little oversight. You said of Snowden and his statement: "He's lying. It's impossible for him to do what he was saying he could do."

In light of today's article in the Guardian on the NSA's XKeyscore program, it is clear that your statement is clearly misleading, if not outright meant to mislead.

As an American, I sincerely hope you can justify this choice to misrepresent the NSA's programs to me. Seeking to undermine the credibility of a whistleblower that has acted on his conscience and to stifle public discussion about the constitutionality of the actions of federal agencies are serious violations of the trust of all Americans place in their public servants. If there is some explanation you can provide that would show that you have upheld your oath of office and the good faith I and your constituents have placed in you to defend the interests and the values of our country, I would love to hear what you have to say.

I await your reply.

Sincerely, Michael Carroll