November 2009
16 posts
Education is about sorting, not remembering, says...
I watched Eric Schmidt from Google be interviewed on CNN this morning. He said that children should no longer be taught to know things. Now that computers can do our knowing for us, education is about teaching young people how to interface with computers. Check out the transcript:
ZAKARIA: And we are back with Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google. You know, I wonder about how we educate kids. I...
the wrong side
me: i just got the corniest email from XXA. "XXA is working on a new project with XXB, wherein XXB is going to donate millions of dollars in the near future to visionaries with plans to improve their communities. XXA is creating content around the project, mostly in the form of what XXA does best: showcasing the efforts of young, smart, people who are making the world a better place."
James: hey
what dont you like about that
me: i don't like sponsors who "collaborate" on content. i guess it's a kind of political litmus test, in a way ... whether you see a project like this is "selling out" or corporate greenwashing, or whether it's worthwhile
James: do you think because the content is corporately sponsored its less relevant? arent all publications corporately sponsored through advertising? how are we to know how much of a role they are playing in what actually gets printed with the stuff XXA does
me: in traditional publications there's a difference between the areas of the page that are "content" (what an ugly word) and the areas that are advertising.
this publication erases that distinction
and i think it's an important distinction
James: they arent the first one to do this
me: of course not. it's a little like those OUCH booklets
James: monocle right now is probably 1/3 sponsored content
they have a pretty good guide to running a small business that is sponsored by nintendo, although youd never know it save the stuff at the ned.
trust me i know what you are saying
but the argument could also be made that at least now its clear who is sponsoring what
when before it was all behind the scenes
me: that's true
James: and its not really advertising i dont think, at least not for a product specifically
i mean you know this, the brand is just tryign to align itself with a ceraain lifestyle whatever
me: and magazines as engines of consumerism are nothing new.
James: right
me: i guess the really depressing thing is the attempt, by brands, the align themselves with certain values
"cool" in the case of ouch
"benevolent/green" in the case of XXA
James: thats something ive been thinking about too.
me: the depressing thing is that their money is smart money, and they're probably getting good value for it, because the values of the readers run fairly shallow.
James: its it really impossible for a company to have values and want to promote those values through how they spend their money on?
me: do you really think a company like XXB could ever become part of the solution?
James: ha no.
me: then why did you ask that last questino?
James: but we sort of collapse the entire system
sorry let me start over
me: ok
James: not all companies are XXB.
id have to look into it more, but im sure at some point in time
a threshold was crossed when corporations lost all connection to human scale
i just dont know what the system looks like without the corporate / cultural collaboration
or at least the stalemate of sorts
that we are in
i dont know how one can exist without the other, without being marginalized, at least in the case of culture
like where would the money come from
thats what i meant about hte system collapsing
me: tangent: i don't hate all companies. i think "evil" happens when people get used to 15 percent-plus annual returns ... and then refuse to accept 5 percent returns during the lean years ... and then fire people / encourage overconsumption / exploit workers / exploit nature
James: yes id agree with all that
me: RE what you said
the money should come directly from the audience/community
or maybe there should not be so much money
circulating around the creation of culture
James: what happens when the audience doesnt care
me: then in become a question of whether the creator cares enough to do it anyway
James: big/old/church/royal/power/ money has sponsored art for a really really long time
me: yeah, and they've made excellent stuff
the ouch booklet is never going to be in a museum
Monocle is not art
they had taste
that's the problem
i guess now institutions handle that end of things. museums/grants etc.
James: well the american idol judges desk is in the smithsonian
me: ha
i didn't know that
ok, you win then
from some blog
The Washington Post reports that a Google spokesperson posited the pic’s high ranking might be the result of people linking to it to condemn it.
from wikipedia
It’s also interesting to note that exit need not be physical, but can be mental or emotional. For example, under communism, many could not physically exit the country, but did not want to participate in the system either. In these cases, citizens could be said to exit from civic or political participation, as they were neither loyal to the party nor were they willing to voice their...
yeah, i'd buy this →
more ninevah
“There can be no question that a great many men do deteriorate very much morally when they go to Albany.” - Theodore Roosevelt, American Ideals
important soundtrack for biking up sixth avenue on...
flight of the valkyries
fanfare for the common man
rhapsody in blue
it takes two
for the love of money
we used to be friends
hey there fans
send some fan mail
