[p2p-research] newsweek on The Creativity Crisis

[Ryan Lanham]

On Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 9:20 AM, Samuel Rose <samuel.rose at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 2:44 AM, Michael Gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> This could be right. I recall I believe it was Michel that pointed out
> on this list a few months back that when the "cold war" ended in the
> US, government funding for culture also dried up. The government
> funded culture (public access television, arts, theatre, etc in
> communities) as part of the "cold war"
>
>
> quote:
>
>
> examples:
>
> http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/10/17/051017crat_atlarge
>
> (looking for other that are more objective)
>
>
>
My own view of why creativity is falling is threefold:

1. There is a glut of funding for schools and research such that real value
is mocked and avoided.  Somehow the idea of "knowledge" as an end became
morally acceptable.  Such academics strike me as people nearly as immoral as
some of the worst criminals.  They choose to waste their lives studying the
valueless.  Consequently, University funding needs to fall by 75% from
states.  We need huge private sector investment to get actual productivity
from schools at all levels.  Nearly all state schools at all levels should
be privatized.  Fortunately, the UK and several US states are moving rapidly
in this direction.

2. People remain mired in metaphysical and religious dreams that dissuade
them from improving life on this planet.  Too often this allows poor people
to accept their lot and seek a dole rather than an active means of solving
their issues.

3. And most importantly, we don't have the maker centres and technical play
centres available to societies to build and explore garage-level innovation.
 Instead, people sit glued to mass consumption media and allow themselves to
be passively entertained as opposed to actively solving problems.  This is
even worse amongst the theorizing/observing set who really produce almost
nothing while carrying in many cases a decent mind that could actually solve
some real world issues.
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