Seeking To Build Knowledge Rationally Amid The Constant Din Of Chaotic Misinformation

Well, folks we find ourselves a new wilderness, one we have only recently constructed. It is a technological jungle we live in now and we are told that it improves life minute by minute and day by day. Instead, if you look around, you might observe how technological progress has begun to enslave us. In the words of e. e.cummings :

I got involved with microcomputers while working as a public school administrator and educator. Later the school I administrated went on to be part of the Apple Global Education Network. This was a personal catharsis. A whole new world opened for me and the children under my care. Certainly, it was a wilderness to explore with care and caution but it was indeed an exciting place. Along with a few dedicated colleagues, we were able to start building this new world. We were pioneers. Canadian school children were able to converse and work with children on an island in Norway. Here, was an wonderful opportunity to explore without having to physically travel. The AGE network relied on the use of Apple's propriety software Applelink. The Internet with its antique architecture originally designed for military industrial purposes had yet to emerge as the Force. AGE, by today's standards, was crude but filled with promise.

Then the World Wide Web struck and swallowed everything. Triviality was profitable. Technology was extremely profitable. The pursuit of the almighty dollar overcame reason. If it made money, it was good. Schools, like tortoises retreated into their shells. In business and industry data processing began to enshrine information. Systems based on algorithms began to replace humans as decision makers. Opportunity was everywhere. If you had no enterprise, you could simply make one up and sell it. You were then an entrepreneur even if your enterprise was worthless. There were no checks and balances. There are no checks and balances.

The nation state as an economic, social and political entity is probably a thing of the past and national governments have been superseded by global enterprises that are beyond the law. People as a whole are probably incapable of conceiving membership in a global sense. Although loyalty to nations is still maintained through citizenship, the fabric of most is torn. Instead we have begun to retreat into countless populist tribal groups focussed on perceived issues, real or otherwise. In these smaller groups, we can belong and according to each group's propaganda can have an impact in maintenance and change. The result is political chaos with each group striving to achieve fanatical loyalty to "the cause". Active groups form alliances with similar groups to protest just about everything. The obvious end to all this: anarchy. Conflict is everywhere. Violence and warfare lurks in the shadows

This site, then, is designed to simply be a gathering place in the new wilderness, a haven for those who seek to raise the endless global electronic chatter of: cellphones; tablets; texting; Facebook and Twitter above the level of mind-numbing triviality to a level where reason might prevail. Rational thought is still possible and it is essential.