culture

i gave the big presentation two days ago. twice. overall it went well although there were some challenges. i find it to be the height of irony that i was giving a talk that required use of the internet on the one day that the wi-fi went down. i worked around it. there were lots of little technical glitches that were out of my control. i didn't let them get in the way.

one of the things that stands out for me, is the fact that i was still revising my talk right up until the drive to the hilton. it occurred to me when i woke up that morning that every ethnic and religious culture the world has known has been passed down from the elders to the youth. there are traditions to be learned and rights of passage to survive, all under the watchful eye of those who have passed the tests themselves.

but if my premise is true, if the information revolution is in fact spawning a new culture peopled by children whose brains process information in a way that is different than adults, then we have helped to create a culture with no elders. there is no guidance, no tradition, no framework. it's no wonder that a good portion of youtube is reminiscent of lord of the flies.

it was a pretty good talk, well received. i'm glad it's done.