1. Thanks Jason for bringing this up. Fascinating.

Posted at 12:09PM on May 1st 2008 by Tzachi

2. glam argument, but it underestimates in a somewhat contrived way the value of passive entertainment. it's not just about tv. look at storytelling. is a child lying in his bed listening to mom reading him a story suddenly outdated? is literature as we've known it for millennia bound to make an exit, because there is no mouse, because it's a canned product? i'm not convinced the change we are experiencing is in the nature of things. i see it more as a learned behaviour. if i grow up around things that have a mouse, i will expect a mouse. not because i need it, but because i don't know any better. in this context it's just another instance of producing more so you can see how much of it i will consume. as the speaker says, generally, i'll be up for the challenge. this doesn't mean the cognitive surplus has been channeled towards higher purposes if i'm pretending to be an elf rather than watching desperate housewives. it's just been wasted in a different way. the truly interesting experiment, possibly more conducive towards societal progress, would be one in which no collaboration (e.g., gaming) is available as a distracting factor. let's see what happens then with the cognitive surplus and where it may lead you and me and him and her. and only afterwards us.

Posted at 7:12PM on Jun 4th 2008 by oana uiorean