By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Crossing the Chasm: Reflections On the Future of Education and Participatory Culture
I always wonder about statements like this: "None of us really knows how to live in this era of media convergence, collective intelligence, and participatory culture. These changes are producing anxieties and uncertainties, even panic, as people imagine a world without gatekeepers..." Is this true? Can this be true? I saw the founder of YouTube in a restaurant a few days ago - he seems to know how to live in this era. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates - they don't seem to be struggling. For that matter, without too immodest, I seem to be hanging in there reasonably well. I'm not challenged by convergence, I'm not threatened by collective intelligence. When someone writes, ""None of us really knows..." what they realy mean is "You don't know, but I do, and let me tell you..." Don't let writers tell you that you are stupid, that you cannot cope, and the rest. More...