Jeff wrote in response to a discussion on the Pc list about why Permaculture courses are so expensive: >It seems to me we have an ideal educational tool right in front of >us. The only thing needed is to share ideas and information. There >are numberous web pages with information and many discussion groups. > >Also, encouraging local libraries to put Permaculture books on the shelves >will help others as well as ourselves. Although I agree with your point that the web is a great possible resource of information, it made me think about its limitations. I recently read an article that pointed out how dangerous it might be to rely too heavily on the computer (and books, etc.) as our source of information, especially in schools. "The media is the message" thinking here. We begin to see only information, seemingly unbiased, and get the idea that all we have to do is down load it into our brains. This ignores the processes of discrimination and adaptation, syntethic thinking and constructive thinking. The questioning that often goes on with teacher / student, master / aprentice systems helps encourage students to question the information and sources of it, as well as their own thinking. Jeff wrote earlier on this list: > What bothers me is that no one seems very interested in > personal philosophy, individual action, and recognizing > cultural conditioning. Am i missing something about what > is important? Why do we have so many books about problems > and so few books with answers? > > If i look at the thousands of discussion lists on the > internet, this is the only one i can find that talks about > individual action, visions of the future, cultural > conditioning, and how all this fits together. Why? As Jeff has pointed out, people seem generally unwilling to question and discuss certain things. Perhaps these are signs of the limits of the internet, or of our education system. Will people left to their own use the internet well? Will they learn well? Do we care how well others learn? No answers here, just questions. I know Jeff likes the topics of communication and language, so I expect a rant, or an essay at the very least ; ) Eric:
