Learning, we can probably agree, is a good thing. That is a huge problem. People will not pay for good things. They will pay a king’s ransom for vice. Thus, to promote learning we have to dress it up in vanity and greed. No group in society is more vain, as a group, than academics (except perhaps the military), and no houses of learning are more enthusiastically received than those that are marketed with all the spin of the drug company cartels.The man or woman who is to spend their life researching the age rings in fish’s ear bones or the use of modal verbs in medieval English may have much to contribute to the weft of civilization, but it is a contribution hidden to all but the initiated. To sustain their lonely and often mocked preoccupations they may have to persuade a small group of followers that they are indeed special, and wrap their public faces in deep, or should we say, pompous mystique. Once this temple of mystique is built, of course it attracts swarms of wannabes, refugees from cubicle slavery, who have neither the curiosity of a true scientist, nor the cunning of a street merchant. They simply want a comfortable and respected life, which is an expensive wish. They therefore hire the marketeers. Meet modern education.
-
Recent Posts
- 277. Democracy – Comment on a Proposal
- 276. The Mental God Bot
- 275. Live and Let Live
- 274. Come the Revolution
- 273. What Is Going On Here?
- 272. God, defined
- 271. Security & the Neo-feudalists – One Dimensional Chess
- 270. King Kong and Big Data
- 269. Almost the same, almost forever (but not quite)
- 268. Trouble with the Sock God
- 267. All hidden truth to bring to light
- 266. Pity your neighbour’s cat
- 265. The Limits of Education
- 264. Evidence – The Alchemy of the Ages
- 263. When an Arm is not an Arm
- 262. The Factory Makes Six Million Left-Footed Shoes
- 261. Boo! So What Are You Afraid Of ?
- 260. Trust
- 259. What is Your Greatest Weakness?
- 258. From Small Beginnings …
Archives
- April 2014
- February 2014
- December 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- December 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- May 2010
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- January 2009
- July 2008
- May 2008
- July 2007
- April 2006
- January 2006
- May 2003
- May 2002
- March 2002
- April 2001
- November 1999
- November 1991
Categories
Pages