My moment of gloating

When I was a high school student 40 years ago, our English teacher asked us to write an essay about the future. Luck had it that I had just read ‘Brave New World’ from Aldous Huxley the week before, so my mind was inspired. So I wrote about students using computers to learn at their own pace, without teacher involvement, allowing them to soak up knowledge at their own speed. In the 70-s I had never touched a computer before. I ended up having to read my essay in front of the class, I guess the teacher liked it but I just was a little embarrassed and blamed Aldous Huxley.

I just read an article in the Wired that some people in India are doing this, setting up learning without teachers.

http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/free-thinkers/

I am happy. My musings do end up fullfilled, even if it took a long time. And I had little to do with it, that is the funny thing. We do not have to prove our points by ourselves. My 15 year conviction that we will be able to extend our life span forever is not seeming so crazy now, even though I did receive lots of flak for it. My powers of conviction need improvement I guess. But that would make me a Messiah. I kind of slowed my career since I started taking the long term view. I promised my boss I’d stick around at least 10 years, kind of crazy in Silicon Valley but I figured what is ten years? Now I have been there 13 years and I feel like an idiot for getting congratulated about my 13-th anniversary on LinkedIn. In the normal fast paced world I am some sort of loser I guess. But I think I can see the future. We’ll see… Maybe I am just full of it.

Luckily I have seen one dream of mine realized, unlike Martin Luther King who had to be shot and killed by a low-life who could not handle a just future. Staying under the radar and not giving rousing speeches has its advantages. Ok I admit I have a little MLK envy…

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Deve

October 29, 2013

When is that coming to America? I was talking to one of our instructional technologists about something like that last week and a professor overheard me and scornfully asked, “what planet do YOU live on?” I didn’t want to piss her off, so I didn’t say, “One without teacher unions.” But I wanted to.

Mari' Emeraude

I’m with you on that one

How cool is that?! Do you still have your original essay? I didn’t keep my high school essays, but I did hang on to most of them from college.

Skikkles911

October 30, 2013

RYN: Oh yeah? One of my best Japanese friends used to live in Holland for a little while! 😀 ~~~>

PrincessAzara

November 4, 2013

like.

nice predictions! hm, perhaps I should put Huxley’s book on my reading list. I’m reading classics I havent read before and enjoying them. it does seem that staying under the radar is the smart way to survive. hehe. good job.