Will knowledge become obsolete? I have no idea. But I do believe we're going to have to face the problem of how to educate young people in a world in which nearly all knowledge is available to everyone, instantly, ALL THE TIME. (By the way, do you know the phone numbers in your speed dial, or has a gadget let you not have to know?)
1:28 PM * PERMALINK * 3 comments
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Comments:
you must still need knowledge to be able to make relationships between things.
the good news is that you have a vast source of information ready to use.
You also will need some knowledge base to know where and what to look for.
>.. how motivated will they be to sit there and memorize state capitols and other such trivia? How motivated will schools and teachers be to force this on kids?
I too can see little use in memorizing ancient Roman temples to Jupiter. However, thoughout the article you make the common and rather silly error of equating "information" (facts provided about something) with "knowledge" (facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education).
I deal everyday with university science students who have access to the internet. In my experience I would say that, on balance, ready web access leads to internet dependence, characterized by a lack of intellectual curiosity and deteriorating problem solving abilities. Unless and until precise thinking, problem solving and rational analysis become obsolete or useless skills, I beleive there will always be a reason to make an effort (no, not "sit there") to develop their minds through traditional methods like learning and thinking about facts, ideas and things.
Elsewhere you assert that 20 years ago almost no-one had heard of the "internet" (international computer network providing e-mail and information from computers in educational institutions, government agencies, and industry, accessible to the general public via modem links[Oxf.]). On the contrary, in 1988 a great many people were using email forums and transfering files and ideas via the internet. I had already been doing so at that stage for 10 years. Of course, if you are talking about the hyperlinked version - the WWW - then naturally no-one had heard of it because it was only created in 1989.
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