Job Discussion Forums

[anonymous_alaska]

I think (and hope) America is going to become even more amazing. I think it's going to have an explosion of geniuses within ten or twenty years. The reason is the internet and its democratic ideal. The people at the top cannot control it(or at least I hope they won't be able to).

I'm hoping to become a math teacher in secondary school. I learned about this math teaching magazine called Math Teacher put out by the National Council of Mathematics Teachers. This organization and magazine have been around since the 1920's. The activities in it are phenomenal.(The British also have a great organization and magazine.) I probably would never have heard about these magazines before the internet, or maybe heard and not concerned myself with looking into it, continuing to be the boring leading the bored.

So I think more and more people will start to contribute interesting and better things to younger generations in all disciplines if the clamps aren't somehow put on.

Hats off to the academics and thinkers of the open society who didn't copyright or weren't able to copyright the whole shebang.

When the sleeper wakes!!!

(Sorry this was a reply to a previous post, but I accidentally hit new post.)

[moonraven]

I don't follow your logic.

What does access to Internet have to do with genius?

Can you express what you are trying to say in mathematical terms?

[Guy Courchesne]

I agree, but more in a generational and international sense. The explosion of access to alternate and mulitple threads of information and ideas via the net can do nothing but produce better communication and hopefully more tolerance and open-mindedness. I wouldn't go so far as to say genius, but I agree with the spirit of what you're saying.

The great thing is, not only the US will benefit, but the whole world. The only problem is the digital divide and perhaps control issues in countries like China.

[lajzar]

There is of course the alternate hypothesis that the Internet has replaced TV as the new idiot box. Consider that the vast majority of web traffic is either spam/viruses, porn, or videos of dubious legality. That doesn't strike me as evidence of an intellectual blossoming.

[moonraven]

I agree that most of what is on the Internet is crap.

The primitive method of operation of the search engines is also not a glowing example of future erudition or even efficient investigation.

And then we need to examine the habits of users--which in the majority are clearly not indicative of the pursuit of knowledge.

[Spinoza]

[leeroy]

[Guy Courchesne]

[moonraven]

Guy--I don't share your opinion regarding the communication on this forum.

[ls650]

[moonraven]

Which, ls650, is why I don't expect the Internet to have any more influence on creating "genius" than MAD magazine did--and perhaps less.

[ChinaMovieMagic]

IF...one entertains
the entertaining hypothesis
...that there's earth life-after-life
a la re-incarnation...
...that we're here not to be judged by the omni-potentate
...but to learn...
...especially from our mistakes...
...to burn out/transcend our attachments/illusions...

Then...the Internet surfing of polluted waters could be seen in another light...

Hyper-drive into Negative Karma...
"Been down so long, looks like up to me..."

[leeroy]

?

[Guy Courchesne]

[lajzar]

And on this forum, a) how many of us are American and directly contribute to America's greatness, and b) how many of us actually contribute to an intellectual blossoming that is enhanced by teh use of teh Internet?

Perhaps this forum, being composed of teachers, has more than a typical share of B, but for the original poster's hypothesis to be correct, both would need to be true for many people, which plainly isn't.