Author: Quevedo

In response to Ivan Illich’s chapter on “Learning Webs,” I would like to offer my defense of a certain materialist mysticism inherent in deschooled pedagogy, i.e. life. Illich states, as a criticism: “Schools are designed on the assumption that there is a secret to everything in life; that the quality of life depends on knowing … Continue reading In defense of a certain materialist mysticism inherent in deschooled pedagogy

Just a few nuggets inspired by “Personal Dynamic Media”… The essay, of course, is incredibly prescient. Conceiving of the personal computer as a “metamedium whose content would be a wide range of already existing and not-yet-invented media” is a perfect description not only of the current incarnation of the Dynabook, i.e. the laptop, but also … Continue reading Toddlers, Tablets and Black Boxes

One of my favorite things about Ted Nelson’s 1965 essay “A File Structure for the Complex, the Changing, and the Indeterminate” is that he begins with an honest and demystified assessment of the writing process. His writing process, in turn, becomes the criterion for his file structure design. It got me thinking:

I had forgotten what a clear, concise, and talented writer Turning was. His prose bursts with energy, even when his is deep in the weeds of logical arguments against theology. Turing’s concept of science was broad enough to include the speculative imagination, and his statement about the need for conjecture as a motor of scientific discovery … Continue reading A Few Brief Thoughts on Turing’s Computing Machinery and Intelligence