[MD] academia

[ian glendinning]

Gav,

I think of you and your 2005 paper every time I engage in "Friends of Wisdom".
http://www.nick-maxwell.demon.co.uk/
Their whole agenda is that formal education is going to the dogs, and
that is the root of so many bad decisions on global issues. The aim is
how do we bring "Wisdom" back into play.

You'll find a lot of Pirsigian / Zen sympathies in there. Recently the
Granger / Dewey / Pisrig paper was picked up there too. Their mail
exploder discussion group is not as active as this one though.

Ian

On 10/7/06, David M <davidint at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi Gav
>
> One of the things that I found depressing
> about university was that most people
> saw it as a career step, they wanted
> good grades, a degree, any degree, and had very little
> interest in the subject they were studying.
> Even the tutors did not seem to enjoy
> their subject very much, although I was
> very lucky to be allocated a top drawer
> old Oxbridge prof as my personal tutor
> who thought university education was
> going down the pan but had a serious
> passion for his subject.
>
> Ta
> David M
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "gav" <gav_gc at yahoo.com.au>
> To: <moq_discuss at moqtalk.org>
> Sent: Saturday, September 30, 2006 11:51 PM
> Subject: [MD] academia
>
>
> > hey dan,
> > i think we have to very careful re: academia.
> > the nature of the beast just doesn't sit with MOQ and
> > mysticism in my opinion. it is based on individual
> > evaluation and evaluation is the SOMitic murder of
> > value.
> >
> > the neo-darwinian nature of the classroom -
> > competition over co-operation - is low quality;
> > although i have noticed more and more that classes are
> > becoming more like discussion groups than didactic
> > lectures: this is a good sign.
> >
> > at the moment uni still reinforces the ego and the ego
> > is the biggest impediment to being a genuine
> > individual. in other words, the ego is the social
> > level trying to usurp the intellectual and dynamic.
> >
> > but i think bob sees mucho value in academic
> > acceptance of the MOQ, and i think i agree. i just
> > think that such an acceptance implies a transformation
> > of university and education generally, which in turn
> > means: slow process. but that's okay, all lasting
> > change is gradual.
> >
> > i tried uni again this year and loved the dynamic
> > discussions but was pushing against the grain when it
> > came to assessment. it all felt rather childish to be
> > honest. now i am still technically enrolled (don't
> > want give up that student card) but my actual
> > participation begins and ends with the student
> > philosophy association. this is an offcial uni club
> > that my friend and i have total control over. it
> > includes uni students from various faculties and
> > people from the general community also. this is
> > suiting me at the moment.
> >
> > i think those going back to uni later in life are
> > often more immune to the social level bullshit of uni
> > - the status and propriety and assorted wank. my
> > advice would be to not take the grading side too
> > seriously, cos it isn't about that. what it is about
> > is mutual intellectual evolution, sharing ideas and
> > experiences and also having a lot of fun. after all
> > uni is an island, relatively insulated from the
> > pressures of 'the real world'. that is probably why it
> > can be so hard to leave.
> >
> >
> >
> > ____________________________________________________
> > On Yahoo!7
> > Fuel Price Watch: Find the cheapest petrol in your area
> > http://au.maps.yahoo.com/fuelwatch/
> > moq_discuss mailing list
> > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc.
> > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org
> > Archives:
> > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/
> > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
> >
>
> moq_discuss mailing list
> Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc.
> http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org
> Archives:
> http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/
> http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
>