Optimism
Every year, the Edge Foundation poses a question to some of the world’s top minds. This year, the question was: “What are you optimistic about?” See what leading thinkers had to say and feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments section below.
I’ll go first. I am optimistic about the long-term potential that the Internet has in breaking down all kinds of barriers, but particularly those of class. For a very long time now, all mass media has come from wealth and power, and people just accepted that because there had never been any other way. But the Internet makes possible the creation of networks between people, and the construction of meaning from a variety of perspectives. Even in the infancy of the World Wide Web, we’ve seen such user-driven communication tools as message boards, peer-to-peer file sharing, weblogging, podcasting, video posting, and social networking websites. As the current generation of technology-savvy children become the developers and thinkers of the adult world, society itself will be reshaped in the image of this most democratic medium.
I’m not filing this under Predictions. As I said, I’m particularly optimistic about this one.
What are you optimistic about?
January 11th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
My friend Annalisa and I were JUST talking about this and we agreed. I’m also optimistic that critical thinking will expand in the new generations. I think it will be interesting by product of how kids interact in history classes with some of them being raised on The Daily Show or Olbermann while others may be raised on Fox News or Rush Limbaugh. A common hegemonic force will no longer be the present and passed from those in power. Alternative voices of every kind abound…