[Edu-sig] Recanting

[kirby urner]

On 7/25/06, Arthur <ajsiegel at optonline.net> wrote:

> What I take away from the 20th century is something about
> dehumanization.  I see hero worship as a form of exactly that.  It seems
> to be important to you that every school child know the name of Fuller,
> and Guido, and Kay. Pata Pata was built on the "shoulders of giants",
> indeed.  Thousands of them content to write and contribute their device
> drivers, and move on - metaphorically speaking.

I respect the right of young people to do their own R&D, follow their
own hearts in their studies.  Even my closest family doesn't get
earfulls about Bucky very often.  Dawn's like "just show me the
green."

However, if they should come across our Fuller School, I want them to
find a tidy operating environment, well equipped for many purposes.
It has a "getting work done in a design studio" flavor.

We want you to have a lot of useful tools, other artifacts.

But that doesn't mean every kid has to linger here, worship here or
whatever.  Why?  Just take what you need and get going.  Come back and
visit someday, or don't, we'll be here.

> I resent this Genius thrust, and particularly resent being resented it
> for resenting it.
>
> Art
>

I hadn't really tuned you in as resenting hero worship in principle,
as the hallmark of the 20th century's deep ills, but now that you've
furnished this puzzle piece, I shall keep it in mind.

I think you're suspicious of my earlier statement, that I'm into
bringing some of this information to places of apathy or even active
diswelcome.  Sounds likes religious prostelytizing perhaps, which my
brand of Quaker is actually not into.

But more I'm claiming my right to use public channels, such as
satellite transponders, like Rupert Murdoch does, first and foremost
to serve his faithful fellow believers, like on Fox News, and
secondarily to air some wonderful cartoon shows the rest of us might
enjoy.

Our Fuller School stuff is already out there, already propagandizing
(Montreal Skeleton, Epcot MouseHead).  But it's more the eerie ghost
town look, fatiguing, with turn back signs for tourists (you've
probably been on this ride -- Disney is good at it, comes from a Wild
West meme pool).

Still, despite all this apathy and/or even antipathy, we have a right
to the public systems, and shout "Make Way" "Make Way" as we haul our
Queen through some Icey Reception Forest.

This may seem to conflict with my earlier, welcoming "design studio"
talk, but it isn't.  People have a right to feel negative towards our
School, in which case there's a "shields up" aspect to it, in which
case said Narnia imagery or whatever (more in my blog).

I assert my right to go public with my data.  How the cookie crumbles
I don't need to control, but in a healthy democracy, I would expect
many to take exception to this that or the other my school puts out.
And if you wan't to be one of those, why not?  Doesn't mean we have to
disagree on everything else down the line.  We both admire and respect
Klein at least.

But I'd think with your interest in geometry, you'd already appreciate
the utility of our Couplers and our Pythonic math-like approach to our
god (Athena, temple in Nashville).

Kirby