[p2p-research] In the future...the cost of education will be zero...Mashable

[Michel Bauwens]

Hi Ryan,

Every one is the realist and utopian to somebody else ...

So, while you consistently decry the utopians, I'm sure plenty of people
would find this phrase the summum of utopianism, i.e.

<I certainly have, at times, shared this view.  But I doubt it is true at
present.  My guess is that, in the main, people do not cling to bad
systems...they rationalize the good they do and wait for proof of
alternatives to show they are not contributing fair value.  In the end,
people mostly acquiece to obsolescence.  It's hard, but it happens.>

Clearly, my wish is that you'd be right ... but ...

My experience is pretty much the opposite ... i.e. people will cling to bad
systems, until they really can't anymore ... Otherwise, why would we accept
global warming, world hunger, medications costing 5 cents in Cuba costing
$120 to uninsured poor people in the U.S. etc...

Change is hard ... not easy,

Michel

On Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 10:38 PM, Ryan Lanham <rlanham1963 at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 11:10 PM, Kevin Carson <
> free.market.anticapitalist at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 7/27/09, Ryan Lanham <rlanham1963 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > http://mashable.com/2009/07/24/education-social-media/
>>
>> >From the perspective of the people running the present system,
>> unfortunately, the overhead (the administrative personnel supported)
>> is the whole POINT of the present system.  And a low- to no-overhead
>> system that competes with them is the primary thing to be avoided.
>> They'll rig the game by every available means, just like the
>> proprietary content industries, to avoid having to "compete with
>> free."
>>
>
>
>>
>> I certainly have, at times, shared this view.  But I doubt it is true at
>> present.  My guess is that, in the main, people do not cling to bad
>> systems...they rationalize the good they do and wait for proof of
>> alternatives to show they are not contributing fair value.  In the end,
>> people mostly acquiece to obsolescence.  It's hard, but it happens.
>> Universities have historical value.  We gain validity from their past
>> students and the accomplishments they achieve.  It is a giant prestige
>> network.  Education and learning have little to do with prestige.  The
>> challenge is to divorce the two...learning isn't prestige, and prestige
>> isn't learning.  So, my idea is to turn old universities into social clubs
>> that award membership (fellowship) based on social achievement.  Degrees are
>> no longer very real metrics of anything meaningful, but learning is more
>> important than ever.  So, split up the prestige component of degrees from
>> the earstwhile learning component.
>
>
> Ryan
>
>
>
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