[p2p-research] newsweek on The Creativity Crisis

[Ted Smith]

On Mon, 2010-07-19 at 09:36 -0500, Ryan Lanham wrote:

> 
> 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.

Would you consider the public-key cryptosystems that make secure
communication over the internet possible "valueless"?

If "pure research" into number theory and prime numbers was quashed
years ago, those cryptosystems would not exist, and our world would be a
noticeably worse place.

I don't see why you are assuming that neo-liberal capitalism in any way
values creativity. Capitalist incentives are a horrible way to create
creativity, and the "creator"/"consumer" dynamic that capitalism aims to
achieve despises creativity.[1]

> 
> 3. ... Instead, people sit glued to mass consumption media and allow
> themselves to be passively entertained as opposed to actively solving
> problems.  ...

This is what neo-liberal capitalism has optimized for. The current
system does not value a population of creative, productive individuals,
it values brain-dead wage slaves.

[1] <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc> (and any intro psych
textbook)
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