Thanks, Arthur. A very useful article to consider!
In "Small change", Malcolm Gladwell writes an article introducing a
powerful social innovation (the revolutionary potential of the
Internet/Twitter, etc) and then argues against those such as Clay Shirky by
saying "the revolution will not be tweeted"! Gladwell concludes that
networking is only good for networking but, because it is a lateral
activity, then it's good for nothing else. A monumental non sequitur.
Let me start at another point which I've frequently mentioned on
FW. Ninety-five per cent of all new key ideas throughout history occur to
people under 30. We now know the reason why. The frontal lobes of sub-30
year-olds are still growing millions of new neurons. Their brain networks
are not yet largely taken up with the conventional culture and beliefs
around them. If there are to be any solutions at all to the problems of the
Western industrial-consumerist age in which joblessness (among the young
particularly) and welfare dependency (among the over 50s particularly) are
not steadily growing, then it's going to be sub-30 year-old brains that are
going to supply it. The odds are 95:5 against the possibility that the
post-30 year-old brains of economists, politicians, civil servants or any
other pundits are going to supply them. And, of course, it is the young who
are by far the most enthusiastic users of mobile phones. It is they who
will be networking promising ideas and, it is to be hoped, the results of
practical experiments among them.
(Interestingly, the other theme on FW -- that of the CERN reactor -- for
which we currently have to thank the impressive contribution of Pete
Vincent -- is the product of young people. Questions about antimatter, the
"God particle" (Higgs boson) -- two of the principal items being explored
-- are due, respectively, to the 26 year-old frontal lobes of Paul Dirac
and those of Peter Higgs, also 26 years old when he first suspected it.)
Keith
Read more
<http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell#ixzz15o4SyQas>http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell#ixzz15o4SyQas
At 21:23 19/11/2010 -0500, you wrote:
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
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For those of you interested in 'networks' -- and their link to social
media and social activism -- enjoy this article!
<http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all>http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all
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Keith Hudson, Saltford, England
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