Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!sdcsvax!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!hplabs!hplabsz!taylor
From: jdb@dkstar.UUCP (Jon Bennett)
Newsgroups: comp.society
Subject: Re: Education vs. Right Think & Thinking with Hypertexts
Message-ID: <1277@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM>
Date: 29 Dec 87 00:19:04 GMT
Sender: taylor@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM
Lines: 34
Approved: taylor@hplabs

I think that the view of the hypertext as a faster version of what
we have in place now is an excellent idea.  However, when I try to integrate 
in my mind the two ideas that were expressed in your excellent article I run
into some problems.

I think that your views of what the school system is, what it is used for, 
and its ultimate product are very accurate.  I also think that your 
fighting the system for what you perceived it to be (in my opinion correctly)
to be is commendable.

The part about a student who is thinking for himself as being viewed by 
the teacher as a problem to be "dealt with" is also correct in my opinion.

Ok, enough agreeing.

The "Orwellian" observation you made is frightening.  If the hypertext that 
you envisioned (Lib. of Congress sized) existed, it would be easy for the 
"system" to own it, and control its contents.  

If you think that the system views those who think for themselves as a 
menace, and the system has access to the ability to control the hypertext,
then even the ones that don't "power up" in the system as brainwashed would
become that way, or mentally damaged, by having the hypertext controlled by
the system that they are rightly fighting.

I know, I am being a harbinger of death and destruction, but as we live in 
an age where governments have trillion dollar budgets, and a time where 
the technology curve is bending up so quickly that it looks like a wall, 
having a system with access to such a large and wonderful hypertext is 
inevitable, and VERY dangerous.  

This is a wonderful topic.  Lets all carry it further and see where it leads 
us.

Jon Bennett