This essay can be read in my 2020 book, Essays on Free Knowledge. Perhaps ironically, it is no longer free.
UPDATE: I’ve posted a very long set of replies.
UPDATE 2: I’ve decided to reply below as well–very belatedly…
This essay can be read in my 2020 book, Essays on Free Knowledge. Perhaps ironically, it is no longer free.
UPDATE: I’ve posted a very long set of replies.
UPDATE 2: I’ve decided to reply below as well–very belatedly…
An observation, thought currents are cyclic. Historically, the pro and anti-intellectualism/elitism movements have been consistently occurring and have shown to be interchangeable.
A correct approach is to accept them for what they are: cultural movements.
With each major scientific breakthrough, geo-political, religious, demographic and economic shift, there has always been a reaction to how intellectualism is perceived by the masses, highly dependable on their access to life-supporting resources.
In my humble opinion, the internet and the geek generation are mere footnotes in the human cultural movement and evolution dynamics, and -in lack of more convincing arguments- a convenient scapegoat.
To give some examples, the Middle age European culture vs the late Middle age Renaissance.
The Communist cultural movement of the mid to late 20th century vs the Western culture.
– my apologies for my limited English-
As a final comment, I suggest -if we haven’t done so already- to re-read Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.
Experts and intellectuals have always represented a limited and marginalized group of given social group, and in this sense there has always been a long debate about their merits, or the merit of their values.
In the end, we can all die stupid and with no regard towards knowledge and ‘organized’ education , since -if I may put it this way- one does need more than one book keeper to preserve the library.
And animals need not ‘books’ to live a happy and well fed life.
“Better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.” -J. S. Mill
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I sure hope you don’t think ALL “geeks” are this way. Because if you do, you are simply [i]wrong[/i]. There may be SOME that are — but ALL?
Anyway, what we need to do is find a way to make REAL education available to everyone of every socio-economic level.
Never mind that one — I just saw your replies post.
Is there a new geek anti-intellectualism?…
Here is my blog answer (https://larrysanger.org/2011/06/is-there-a-new-geek-anti-intellectualism/), which kicked off a wide-ranging debate: Is there a new anti-intellectualism? I mean one that is advocated by Internet geeks and some of the digerati. I t…
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