🎧 Prescient Predictions: 1984; Brave New World; and Network (Future Tense)
The dystopian best-seller 1984 was published exactly seventy years ago. Its influence has been profound. But does it really speak to today’s politico-cultural environment?
The dystopian best-seller 1984 was published exactly seventy years ago. Its influence has been profound. But does it really speak to today’s politico-cultural environment? Broadcaster Scott Stephens believes Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a closer match.
Also, author and New York Times journalist David Itzoff talks us through another prescient piece of fiction, Paddy Chayefsky’s 1976 original screenplay Network.
Antony Funnell leads a discussion into three dystopian predictions. The argument made is that although 1984 captures the challenges to truth and the surveillance state, The Brace New World captures the attention economy.
I was inspired by a recent episode of Future Tense looking at Dystopian futures to read Brave New World. Rather than preferring one over the other, it feels like they both provide a particular tangent, without showing the whole circle. It is interesting to think about how Dave Eggars The Circle combines both of these perspectives.
For a different take on the novel, CBS Radio Workshop did an abridged version which featured Huxley as the narrator.
Welcome to another month of Read Write Respond, a newsletter of ideas and information associated with all things in and out of education, mined and curated for me and shared with you.
Although July started slowly with the mid-year break, it certainly made up for this at the end with everything seemingly happening at once.
On the family front, Ms 3 has taken to letter and number recognition with gusto. There has been a lot of eye spy this letter or that. She then scowls all the visible words for traces. Ms 8 on the other hand has been asking a million questions about rocks. This has stemmed from her fascination with Minecraft. She is also translating this into the physical world, with an interest in getting outdoors to explore.
At work, I was inundated after the break with schools inquiring about attendance and reporting. Although it would be nice if they asked earlier, it is still good that they are asking.
Personally, I was inspired by Future Tense to read Brave New World. I listened to Thelma Plum’s debut, Beyonce’s Lion King inspired album, Of Monster and Men’s return and Bank’s continued brooding.
In regards to my writing, I posted a reflection on what constitutes ‘real’ work:
I also documented a recent exercise using Google Sheets to collate and curate data across teams:
Here then are some of the links collected from around the traps:
Learning and Teaching
What does success look like? card-playing edition
Dave Cormier asks the question, what constitutes success in education and how does this relate to intrinsic motivation?
Reading Lessons
Irina Dumitrescu reflects on her experiences with reading overtime. She explores how it has developed and changed based on different situations and circumstances.
Island Survival: A Cooperative Game
Emily Fintelman shares an activity around survival designed to help students work collaboratively.
Expand Your Horizons
David Truss celebrates the world of anywhere, anytime learning and what impact this has both in and out of education.
What Marathons and School Have in Common: repeated choices
Joel Speranza explains how larger choices are in fact a series of smaller choices combined. He provides a number of strategies to support learners with appreciating this.
Education is not broken. Teachers do not need fixing.
Deborah Netolicky pushes back on Mark Latham’s call for performance-based pay for teachers, arguing that what we should focus on trusting and empowering the profession.
Technology
Building trust helps the most in keeping our kids safe online
Dan Donahoo argues that rather than focusing on safety designs and managing screen time, we need to build trusting relationships with our children.
TADA – A New Look At ‘DATA’
John Philpin takes a dive into the world of data. He discusses some of the dangers, articulates some of the complexities, pushes back on various analogies, and argues that data is best understood as a form of energy.
The Internet’s Carbon Footprint
Manoush Zomorodi explores the environmental impact of the internet.
On TikTok, Teens Meme the Safety App Ruining Their Summer
Louise Matgakig looks into the work of Life360 and the culture of surveillance that it supports.
Interoperability: Fix the internet, not the tech companies
Cory Doctorow makes the case for interoperability as a solution for fixing the internet. Rather than focusing on breaking up the platform capitalism, Doctorow argues that we need to open up applications to more engagement from the outside.
Reflection
In Patriarchy No One Can Hear You Scream: Rebecca Solnit on Jeffrey Epstein and the Silencing Machine
Rebecca Solnit discusses the culture that often surrounds and supports rape.
The Invention of Money
John Lancaster looks at the invention of money and its influence on today’s economy through two historical figures: John Law and Walter Bagehot.
50 years after Apollo 11: what will we do in space for the next 50 years?
Bryan Alexander celebrates fifty years of since man first landed on the moon by wondering what the next fifty years might bring.
The art of noticing: five ways to experience a city differently
Rob Walker shares five strategies for noticing more in the city.
Tell the World
Sophie McNeill reports on the rise of the surveillance state in China to suppress the Uyghur people in western China.
Mark Ronson’s Songs of Pop Perfection (Take 5)
Mark Ronson gives insight into what defines a perfect pop tune.
Read Write Respond #043
So that is July for me, how about you? As always, happy to hear. Also interested if anyone has any thoughts on the changes I made. Rather than including a range lengthy elaborations, I have taken to providing a short summary and links to my bookmarks. Does this work? Feel free to let me know.
Cover Image via JustLego101
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