QUOTE(WhispersOfWisdom @ Tue 25th September 2007, 5:02pm)
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In his book about this very topic, "the cult of the amateur", Andrew Keen builds an awesome and well detailed case against our current internet culture, and the devastation it is causing, citing WP as an example, and the long term effects of human beings moving toward the "mean" and mediocre (i.e., where the vast majority of people on earth are simply not experts or masters at anything.) He describes a frightening rude awakening for all of us, albeit, I think, this subject matter is an essential element of many philisophical discussions I have with friends and family.
In the field of music, it is becoming more apparent than ever that the vast majority of young people are learning more about following, rather than leading, and it is much easier to simply steal music than pay for it. There are more people learning to play "guitar hero" video games than actual musical instruments. (IMG:
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Well the issues are with computing and the interent and wikipedia is merely a symptom though at least more intellectually demanding than say facebook or my space, very popular sites where people (from my middle aged perspective) do precisely nothing. With Microsoft promising us computers that know exactly what we want and give it to us without having to think about it (the only thinking necessary being for those who object having to fight against their own computer's softwares) really these are issues that strike at the heart of where we are going as a society. One of the biggest problems we see, and particularly on wikipedia, is some big-mouthed kid treating a mature adult as if the adult were the kid and the kid the adult, and until that issue is resolved (obviously by not allowing anyone who cannot prove they are 42 to have admin rights) wikipedia will continue to be a magnet for young wannabe trolls who have nothing to lose, neither money nor reputation. Give me one SlimVirgin over 100 messedrockers, essjays and pascal tessones any day, kids and youths who think they are adults without having gone through the experiences that turn individuals into adults are your classic wikipedian trolls, Squeak (IMG:
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