Charles on… anything that comes along

Via a man who tried to fly his model airplane in the road instead of the nearby park, and the Daily Show and Wikipedia, Kieren (yes, him again) offers a tour de force on why the Net won’t make us any more clever - at least not until we admit that we’re stupid.

And he does take in the hype (for that’s what it is) around Windows Vista:

This is what you need to know about Windows Vista. This is what, if the media worked properly, and if people weren’t constantly willing to exchange truth and reality for a brief sense of excitement, you would have read in everyone single news story, and on every television channel that covered the launch today.

“Windows Vista is an over-priced piece of software, inferior in almost every way to its competitors, that had been specifically designed to make it increasingly difficult for you choose anything but the same product again, and which will see you paying significantly more than you need to for a whole range of products from music to films to your own photos, for the next five years.”

However that is not his point. Or at least not his key point, which is about the media. And the education system:

You know we don’t teach children possibly the three most important foundational skills for modern Western life: financial management, logical reasoning, and nutrition. It is no mistake that these weaknesses have provided and continue to provide the largest unjustified accumulation of personal wealth by individuals in our society.

And the largest unjustified accumulation of personal fat. Have you looked at how much sugar is produced in the world, and considered how much we actually need? I’d wager it’s a proportion of at least 100:1; perhaps more like 1,000:1.

“Kieren’s gone into PR!” said a friend the other day. On the strength of the posting I’m pointing to, it’s journalism’s loss. Don’t know if PR is going to feel it’s gained, though the rest of us might. Must.. add.. number.. for.. Icann.. to.. address… book..

These posts might be related (the database thinks..):
• David Hewson on leaving the Sunday Times; and disappearing comments (22 August 2005; score: 38.74%)
• Modern ethical dilemmas: should you edit your spouse's Wikipedia page? (19 June 2007; score: 37.81%)
• Tribute bands are the new classical music: and here's what I'd like to play.. (23 May 2007; score: 34.51%)