Friday, October 5, 2007

Knowledge (and technology) is not static

Since the printing press was created, dissemination of information has never been the same and has been in a constant state of change. There has been nothing to stop that change, that craving for newer, better, faster ways to get information from experts, peers, or even some stranger who claims to have " a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies, a Master of Arts in Religion, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Theology."

New technologies will always have kinks and people who feel the need to abuse it. Does that mean it is worth less than the standard, unimaginative, non-expanding, out-dated current technology? No, because even the current technology had to start out as a new technology.

I think it all comes back to fear. Academics seem to fear losing their elitism and prestige to free accessibility. Instead of embracing what will bring them into a new technology era, they fight it to remain somehow above it? To what end? Looking crotchety and stubborn?! That isn't helping anyone. I took a literature course that discussed the Southern Gothic genre and along with it stagnation. In an "Old South", stagnation would lead to deterioration and a breakdown of what once was bright and vibrant. It's a movement to go forward that brings life back to an "Old South."

We all need to be open-minded to the new technologies that will come. They may last forever and make a great and successful change, but there is also the chance someone will completely miss the boat. Either way we learn something new and refuse to fall victim to stagnant knowledge and the elitist academics (I don't believe all academics are elitist, just sayin'...).

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