Saturday, February 18, 2012

amazed by education


Are you not amazed by the beauty and power of education? Since I was young, I always thought what a pity it is when people cannot have the wonderful chance I have been given to go to school, learn, read, and now access the internet and watch documentaries and educational lectures, and of the sort I simply adore British ones. Because they seem to be done for the listener to be able to grasp and learn, rather than for the speaker to show off.
This is not a common concept in the Italian system, and surely not in the Italian television. And if it has ever been, not any longer, after the ridiculous decline provided by the media empire of a ridiculous middle class dwarf empowered by mafia collusion and black money.
Maybe not in some parts of the world, maybe not in younger generations, but in Italy, and amongst people of my age, and sure amongst older people, television is still the main source of information, or I should say opinion, cheap entertainment, and trash.

Enjoy some quality lectures here: http://www.richannel.org/

Sunday, February 5, 2012

changing perspectives


It's all about changing perspective. So little we learn about changing perspective, seeing things with different eyes, through the experience and viewpoint of someone else, through critical thinking, untrusting our judgments, with curiosity and open mind.
We live in a prescriptive society, where all is driven by processes and procedures, by rules and templates. And all those are based on experience, and allow us to be guided through the world. 
But when we get stuck in them, and become unable to think and innovate, then we fail to handle crisis, which is indeed the world we live in.
And if we change out time perspective, we realise how crisis really has been the routine. Only at different time scales. And we may not be able to restore the backup.

A nice documentary: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/time-machine/

Saturday, February 4, 2012

playing demiurge



Systematical use of trial and error (evolution) has made us, stubborn beings, interested by displays and keyboards, curious and addicted to bricolage. Some more stubborn and perseverant than others, some more systematic, some just better organised. And of course, we all love LEGO. And alchimia.
You mesh it all up, and a web of intricate logic sprouts into existence. And we play demiurge, with life as the coach, and topic, of the lesson. Isn't that fantastic ?
With open source, and a growing registry, it's all out there for artisan biologists and computer addicts to play with http://partsregistry.org/.
The outcomes ? I'd say ... 42 !

A glimpse here: http://documentaryheaven.com/playing-god/