Although this logos holds forever, men ever fail to comprehend, both before hearing it and once they have heard. Although all things come to pass in accordance with this logos, men are like the untried when they try such words and works as I set forth, distinguishing each according to its nature and telling how it is. But other men are oblivious of what they do awake, just as they are forgetful of what they do asleep.
-Heraclitus as quoted by Sextus Empiricus in Adversus Mathematicos Tr. Charles Kahn
In his much acclaimed book Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman levels a sharp critique of Sesame Street. His argument is that Sesame Street and its fast-paced, visually stimulating format undermined traditional learning. He goes on to say that the short segments and catchy jingles prioritize engagement over deeper understanding and conditions children to expect learning to be fun and effortless which, in turn, fosters a superficial approach to knowledge…a problem he believes is endemic of a broader cultural shift where serious discourse and education is sacrificed for entertainment.
Postman points to, amongst other examples, The Count. Under the guise of being an educational tool, the Count ‘teaches’ math to children. However, because consistent viewership cannot be expected and because the show vies for viewer’s attention, the lessons are ‘catchy’ and never move past single digit arithmetic because continuity in viewership cannot be expected. Also, children can walk away or change the channel whenever they get bored or tired which is a habit they will bring with them to the educational pursuit and later on to knowledge and life itself.
Education is replaced with entertainment at an early age and when young people encounter actual education they find it, prima facie, dull and impenetrable having learned poor learning and thinking habits from such a young and formative age. Postman argues, I believe correctly, that shows like Sesame Street are, in large part, the cause of the modern inability learn and think. What we lose when we lose difficulty is the ability to be great. As Kierkegaard puts it, a “task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted.” Education has lost its classical value and we now see it conforming to John D. Rockefeller’s vision when he created the General Education board and said “I don’t want a nation of thinkers, I want a nation of workers.”
With this in mind, the following are some tips for reading this website which should help the reader make the most of it as, despite hoping for my readers enjoyment, I have no intention of substituting out difficulty for entertainment and any value this website provides will require some work on the part of the reader.
I will begin by saying that, to the best of my ability, I carefully considered everything on this website. There is nothing here that is without meaning or purpose. Many years ago when I would read The Far Side in the newspaper I learned that if I didn’t find a particular cartoon funny, the odds that I was missing the joke were far greater than the odds that Gary Larson dropped the ball. With this in mind, if there is a quote, a picture, a watermark, work or anything that seems superfluous I will assure you it is not. Just send me a message and I will be happy to tell you why I put it there. It may be the case that it is something that doesn’t land or that I am wrong, it may also be the case that it is a typo, but it will never be the case that it was unintentional.
The best way to start will be to read the top level menu links such as “About This Project,” “About Me” and “Sections and Topics” before going into the first essay post.
The articles posted will be categorized with keywords. The first keyword in the list will be the keyword that links a particular article to the series of articles of like kind and will be released on the same day of the week every week. The best way to think of articles which fall under the same primary keyword is as a connected series, not dissimilar, even if there is a marked difference, between the series of essays and the chapters in a book.
The best way to follow along with this website will be to read the articles in order. The easiest way to do this is to read them as they are published. Of course, this isn’t always feasible. With this in mind, clicking on the first keyword of any essay or article will bring you to the list of all articles under that section heading which you will be able to view in publication order.
My plan to go the website route rather than writing a traditional book was carefully considered. Amongst the benefits of a traditional book the main one, I believe, is that you can direct the reader through the flow of your thought from start to finish. It is much more difficult to make a long sustained argument with a website, especially when that argument is a deep analysis of the cognitive framework of man and his co-evolution with God over the last sixteen thousand years.
The loss of that advantage is paid for by the ability to produce multiple shorter articles to be published on a weekly basis which, I believe, will mimic the process of teaching a graduate seminar in preparation for the writing of a book. The problematic nature of the website can be diffused by the reader by following along with the website as a serial and, hopefully, coming to understand the thoroughgoing themes, analysis and arguments which will present themselves over time. In short, for this to be a successful project it will require some effort on the reader’s part.
This is not going to be an easy read. As Postman argues, the pedagogical project, transformed into mere entertainment, treats the entire endeavor no different than a rock concert where the audience is there merely to absorb and enjoy. This stunts people’s ability to learn and to think. I do not believe that passive entertaining reception alone is enough…not for serious questions or serious minds.
We will have our fun for sure and I hope we all have a few laughs together. I am enjoying the process of making this website and writing these essays more than I could ever possibly describe and would like to, even before this site goes live, express extreme gratitude for everyone who is responsible in facilitating my ability to begin and anyone in the future who interacts with what they find.
With this in mind, and I cannot stress this enough, please use the contact page on this website for any questions. I love this material. I love thinking about it and I love talking about it. I will respond to each and every email and, should I get enough, add new sections where I answer the emails on the site. The material here is for everyone, but not the way the clouds are for everyone. With a little patience and some work I believe that anyone who is honestly curious and open will find something of value in the essays to follow.
The primary tool a reader will need in order to come along on this journey is intellectual curiosity.