Quote Originally Posted by Shivan View Post
Interesting. The problems I see with simulation as described above is that we cannot replicate the social-cultural and religious norms and rituals learned natively, beginning in the crib; nor the language issues that "wm" raises above. ...

Simulation/immersion is great, and will go a long way toward reducing mirror imaging and cultural ignorance, but it can only do so much.
Agreed. One of the most surprising revelations to me as I was working on that essay was the artificial roadblocks that CIA has in place in terms of their hiring practices. Lack of qualified translators is a serious issue for them, yet they reject applicants who are, in fact, from the Middle East because they don't have a four-year degree, or because they're gay (which is even more ludicrous).