Computer Lib / Dream Machines

Computer Lib / Dream Machines

Ted Nelson

Education in America

Nelson talks about new media and the education system in America.  The latter topic is one which deserves much more attention than it actually gets.  I think it gets put off because it involves so many facets that nobody wants to touch: economic systems, individual expression, socialization, other peoples' kids (no pun intended).  Suddenly K-12 home schooling doesn't seem like such a wheatgrass fed idea.  But it may not even be the best idea.  Despite having no intimate knowledge of "learning theory" or any knowledge of education beyond my own parochial background, I can almost definitively say that experience is the best teacher.  But the experience has to be memorable in either direction in order for it educate.  That's why the classroom experience often fails.  Because the powers that be work so hard to keep it mediocre, the students put up with it, and are left with vacuums for a brains by the time they leave, meanwhile everyone else connected to the Dept. pulls a healthy pay-check and fat benefits package.  I propose a new education system where students are required to do work / study from 8th grade on.  This wouldn't be like an internship.  It would be like hard labor, but not as bad as the gulags.  Kids would be put out in the fields picking produce, helping experienced craftsmen build stuff like furniture and machines, and assisting in research, basically doing anything manual that is available to them on a cottage industry scale.   First give them a basic orientation of how the world works, and then work up to analyzing McCluen... if they want to.  They may choose to stay on a fishing boat, or they may choose to unlock the mysteries of the universe.  Leave it up to them and I'm quite certain many more of them will shoot for the stars.  But I digress...

Computer Assisted Instruction is the subject of Nelson's piece, "No More Teachers' Dirty Looks", in "Computer Lib / Dream Machines".  He does a nice job of questioning the merits of such a system as designed and warns against educational roadblocks like boredom.  Pop Quiz:  Is there a correlation between educators' laziness, Microsoft PowerPoint ™, and Bill Gate's wealth? If Nelson only knew how bad it would get when he wrote this in 1974.  He probably did.

A Modest Proposal

What Nelson is proposing in 1974 is learning system where students follow their passion through a network of hyperlinked documents and facilities, essentially computer applications which are used as tools.  This is a fantastic proposal for learning, and for many of us today this is our primary means of learning outside the rare opportunity of informal one to one education.  The internet provides the opportunity to know about anything in an instant.  What is falafel?  -"Falafel is a fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans." But wouldn't it be better to have this explained to you by an Egyptian, one who speaks emotionally about the comfort food of his or her homeland?  Of course it would.  This is why I think the hypertext learning that Nelson describes is an excellent replacement to classroom learning, with the exception of the few very skilled lecturers, who have the ability to put your wrist in a sling for the amount of note taking they inspire. Do this and get the kids out in the world.  Unless you don't want them to know about the world, for some reason...