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True about education and ethics. We’re seeing improprieties from the not-so-various sides in politics, business and academia.

One interesting related study might be that of Vaclav Havel and nonpolitical politics (Czechoslovakia), for those who can find the information without the common whitewash. And Poland. That, with the austerity ahead for many of us in mind (maybe with a dash of re-study of micro-situations during the Great Depression). Personal savings and technical studies (repairs, food, energy, etc.) would also be wise for the near future. Sooner or later, most of us are going to straighten up.

"I’ve seen ethical misdoings that would curl your hair. IQ is no clear delineator of ethics. Unfortunately."

I didn't intend for my previous reply to you to seem so laissez faire. Sorry. I do see what you mean (and where). It's a little surprising that some federal offices or contractors have turned to social pathologies. Similar things have been happening at the lower levels in education. Did do some sub'ing long ago at a school in an area of tourism in the mountains--disgusting experience at times with a few other teachers and administrators.

I try to offer solutions--what meager solutions occur--for individuals caught up in the paradigm of violations of privacy and hard economic times with a view toward possible future opportunities for remedies (austerity, ingenuity, technocracy of the truly technical kind). I do little home heating experiments among other things (extreme cold agriculture, other energy stuff) in the middle of cold nowhere (low cost, low pressure, low temperature, drain-back designs). It's about saving money and not so much about environmentalism. That's also why I bother with certain computer operating systems (embedded for watching transducers, etc.).

There's no money in such low cost, labor-intensive builds (a struggle to get by, actually--not even trying to sell the work), but there might be other rewards. Residents, local governments and contractors wanted expensive systems with less thought behind them (expensive closed loop, high pressure, high temperature packages regulated from labs in places like Florida). They are more concerned about social politics/environmentalism and avoiding variations (complications) than with keeping costs down.