carlos@jplpro.JPL.NASA.GOV (Carlos Carrion) (12/18/87)
My previous article dealt with the idea of a Knowledge Gap between the have's and the have not's. I've received many intersting and thought provoking responses. Here are some thoughts on those responses: Most people responded with the idea that "well, when cars were invented people were afraid sure, but everyone drives a car nowadays, most people have computers, and color TV's, and there has been no rebellion..." One can't assume that technology will become stagnant. New technology is constantly being introduced to the world, and it seems to me that those who understand technology now will be better equipped to understand NEW technology tomorrow. As far as the technology "users", every time they or should I say "we" acquire a new piece of wizardry we're put deeper in the "slave to our possessions" quagmire. People tend to get the idea that they have a right to new technology and when it is deprived they react..sometimes violently. Sure kids in school have access to computers, VCR's, video games, Usenet, BBS's, etc... but the majority?? I don't know about that. In California the dropout rate in high school is very high. And when kids drop out of the educational system, the size of the "vernacular drift" increases. They ask themselves, why should I break my head hitting the books for X years to become a Y earning $ZZZ/yearly when I can sell crack on the streets for $1000/week. Sometimes I have problems verbalizing/explaining this problem because the extent of the problem is incredibly HUGE. How many kids want to be engineers, architects, lawyers,... when they grow up? How many kids want to be movie stars, TV stars, rock singers,... when they grow up?? Who do most kids admire most?? Maybe I'm getting off the track and maybe its natural for kids to admire semi-talented effeminate musicians. I think I've just discovered something that a lot of you have known for a while. I've discovered terms like "number illiteracy", "vernacular drift". One in five americans are illiterate. Kids see athletes on TV who are idolized but cannot read. It's true that a lot of the responsibility remains with the parents, but look what they have to overcome! What should I say in conclusion? Thank you for listening to me, and for your responses. Unfortunately, we'll all give this discussion some lip-service, give it the old "hey lets do lunch sometime..." routine, and put it in the back of our minds. And you are probably right, there will be no mass rebellion. But it seems so defeating to see so many people who are led by the nose and "forced" voluntarily to take the easy way out. ========================================================================= Carlos Carrion, MS 301-250D, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA 91109 .. cit-vax!elroy!jpl-devvax!jplpro!carlos =========================================================================