Amen Stephen – Connectivism
| Stephen Downes | |
| What I am saying is that learning is instinctive, and that people will pretty reliably emulate the role models they are given.That’s why one fanatic, given the chance to control a child’s environment, breeds more fanatics, why one holocaust denier breeds more holocaust deniers.When looked at from the perspective of a social network, yes, it is true that holocaust deniers can more easily find each other on the net, and that, working as a network, they have a louder voice.
But so do the rest of us. The danger we face – that we have always faced (and the holocaust is a blunt reminder of that) – is that one voice, or a small elite, will assume the role of arbiter of value, specifically to prevent people from learning the wrong things. The appalling frequency with which such individuals fail utterly in such roles demonstrates the need to allow all of society, and not a few privileged individuals, to adjudge truth and falsehood. Autocratic rule almost never produces an enlightened society, while democratic rule almost always does. The protections against slanted information, as described above, are, in my opinion, the properties that characterize successful networks: diversity, autonomy, openness, and connectedness. |
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