Shift Happens

If I were to take our current bout subject, education, and make a mash-up with Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat, I very well might come up with this thought-provoking video. Of course, I didn’t come up with this; credit Karl Fisch, and The Fischbowl Blog, who originally compiled it to present to high school teachers thinking about the world our students are entering and wondering how best to help them prepare…

Besides the myriad thought-provoking blurbs in the video, here are some other interesting nuggets to consider (taken from the original presentation but cut from the above version):

• In 2002 alone, Nintendo invested more then $140 million in R&D; by comparison, the U.S. Federal Government spent less than half as much on R&D in Education.
• It’s estimated that a week’s worth of New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.
• The $100 laptop project (OLPC) is expecting to ship between 50 and 100 million a year to children in underdeveloped countries.

A Judges Scorecard

We compile everyone’s feedback at the end of a bout.  There will be a majority opinion and dissenters can write a minority report.

The Debate continues…

Clearly too few men in America are well enough exposed to literature in their formative years to appreciate the completely different experience of reading Hawthorne, Hemingway, Crane, Steinbeck, Rand, Vonnegut, Robbins and other actual Writers and to recognize those living today among the racks and racks of Grishams, La Carres, and the 300-page feature news articles on the non-fiction tables at the front of Borders.  (And there is some question in my mind as to what really makes these writer perspectives “non” fiction.)  I look forward to finding some essay that will impress the men of letters who comprise our club and need only a fresh exposure to remind them about the art of writing that inspired or cultivated some of the great aspects of the nation, including the creativity of its barons as well as the constructive dissent of its patriots.

The Debate- Fiction v. Non-fiction

Competition? Another Fight Club? “Bouts” between halves? Read on…

From Canada.com

EDMONTON – Women read fiction – men read magazines. OK, some men read novels, but most read non-fiction, manuals, information texts, and newspapers – but novels? Not so much.

Why is that?
“Fiction doesn’t appeal to me,” shrugs a male colleague.
“I can’t sit still long enough to read a book,” another male friend explains. “It’s not exciting enough. In sports, you’re cheering for a team. If you’re reading a book – you’re just reading a book.”

Interesting. My husband likes to read about business, world leaders and health. He buys Time and Maclean’s. But a novel? Nope. No interest.




Free Culture follow-up

As part of our discussion during the last bout on Free Culture, we touched on the current issue of saving Internet radio. On my drive home today, I listened to a fantastic podcast regarding this- This Week in Media (TWiM), Episode 52. The five-man panel made up of industry insiders, including a big wig at Pandora, does a great job of explaining the history and reasoning on all sides of the issue.

If you have any interest in this subject, want clarification, or enjoy insightful discussion in the form of a podcast, I highly recommend this one!