Science, Culture and Integral Yoga

Sri Aurobindo's Integral Education in Contemporary Higher Education

Debashish — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:00:47 -0700

Sri Aurobindo envisaged the goal of human becoming as a transformed society and civilization based on the expressions of an integral consciousness. However, in keeping with the collective dimension of this goal, a transformed society was envisaged by him not merely as the end result of individual transformations, but as the dynamically transforming life-context or field which would allow and facilitate individual transformation. Seen from this standpoint, the social discipline of education, meant to “socialize,” “in-form” and inculcate the cultural, knowledge and epistemological skills of the social habitus for individual engagement takes on a changed meaning related to a new phenomenology, epistemology and teleology of human and social becoming. Integral Education then becomes a socially acknowledged and authorized praxis of the Integral Yoga or at least the pedagogical condition for its social possibility and collective transformation.

Though much has been written and several attempts at implementation made to formulate Integral Education as a form of child education, the higher educational possibilities and ramifications of Integral Education have remained largely untheorized. This paper is an attempt to think through some of these possibilties and implementations. Debashish Banerji is the educational coordinator of The University of Philosophical Research in Los Angeles.

Knowledge and Human Liberation - Excerpts from Ananta Kumar Giri Annotated by Debashish Banerji

Debashish — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:46:05 -0700

This is an annotated introduction to the first chapter of a recent book Knowledge and Human Liberation by Ananta Kumar Giri of the Madras Institute of Development Studies. The essay tries to engage Jurgen Habermas and Sri Aurobindo in a thought dialog. The potency of Jurgen Habermas (1929 - ) in a postmodern era has sustained itself due to the questions of human liberty, equality, ethics and understanding he has prioritized over those of knowledge, identity or experience. Habermas’ most powerful contribution to contemporary thought has been in the theorization of the “public sphere.” In elaborating its implications, Habermas focuses on what he calls “communicative reason.” Communicative rationality, according to him, is "oriented to achieving, sustaining and reviewing consensus - and indeed a consensus that rests on the intersubjective recognition of criticisable validity claims.” This discipline of intersubjective practice restores the lifeworld from its fragmentation under ideological or economic (commodified) alien consolidations. Thus Habermas’ communicative speech acts operate under an implicit faith in Human universality and its inevitable collective experience as social and individual knowledge, a continuation of the Enlightenment ideal.

A discplined intersubjective praxis of creative communication can very well be seen as a part of the social realization of an integral spiritual ideal in a plural field. Usually this has not been clearly described or prioritized by scholars and practitioners of Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Non-Dualism, the emphasis having been directed towards the articulation of a universal (integral) Psychology, in terms taken from Sri Aurobindo’s own writing. But such denotative asocial descriptions have tended to subjugate phenomenological variety and social/cultural/personal experience. As a consequence, the danger of a totalitarian epistemology in the name (nomos) of Integral Theory has asserted itself with its own institutional disciplinary agents, who have increasingly tended to police out (violently if necessary, as the contemporary controversy related to the recent biography, The Lives of Sri Aurobindo, alarmingly and overwhelmingly demonstrates) all subjective interpretation of the way to this goal, and thus to the possibility of a plural realization of the Integral Yoga.

Against this background, the comparative and cross-cultural dialog between Habermas and Sri Aurobindo initiated by Ananta Giri is a salutary intervention. Using each to critique the limits and possibilities of the other, Giri shows how the rational assumptions of knowledge in the Enlightenment ideal lead to aporia which have been amply documented by postmodern thinkers, but which receive a higher validation through the transcendental ontology and praxis of Sri Aurobindo; just as the susceptibility to ontotheological abstraction and totalism of Sri Aurobindo’s phenomenology and praxis when reduced to an Integral Psychology, Integral Theory or Integral Religion can be safeguarded for a plural space through disciplines of intersubjective communication as developed by Habermas.

The Incorrigible Dr. Berlinski

koantum — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:54:11 -0800

The keyword of the earth’s riddle is the gradual evolution of a hidden illimitable consciousness and power out of the seemingly inert yet furiously driven force of insensible Nature. Earth-life is one self-chosen habitation of a great Divinity and his aeonic will is to change it from a blind prison into his splendid mansion and high heaven-reaching temple. (Sri Aurobindo, Essays Divine and Human, p. 161)

The scientific theory is concerned only with the outward and visible machinery and process, with the detail of Nature’s execution, with the physical development of things in Matter and the law of development of Life and Mind in Matter; its account of the process may have to be considerably changed or may be dropped altogether in the light of new discovery, but that will not affect the self-evident fact of a spiritual evolution, an evolution of Consciousness, a progression of the soul’s manifestation in material existence. (Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, p. 868)

There can be hardly any doubt that the scientific account of evolution has to be considerably changed or dropped altogether. Dr. Berlinski (not a Christian, by the way) explains why.

'Reflections on Machine Consciousness,' by William Irwin Thompson

Ron — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:57:32 -0700

I've taken the liberty of typing in all of Chapter 4 of my copy of this important book, because it powerfully addresses one of the main themes of SCIY, the manifold relationships between science, culture, and consciousness. (ron)

"It is a paradox of the work of Artificial Intelligence that in order to grant consciousness to machines, the engineers first labor to subtract it from humans, as they work to foist upon philosophers a caricature of consciousness in the digital switches of weights and gates in neural nets. As the caricature goes into public circulation with the help of the media, it becomes an acceptable counterfeit currency, and the humanistic philosopher of mind soon finds himself replaced by the robotics scientist. ...

"Both the mechanists and the mystics say that we are now at a great bifurcation in human evolution. The mechanists like Ray Kurzweil, Danny Hillis, and Hans Moravec prophesy that we are at the end of the human era, and that 'nanobots' are about to be embedded in our bodies until our antique organs of flesh are entirely surrounded by a new silicon noosphere of networked computers. Like ancient mitochondria or chloroplasts surrounded by the gigantic eukaryotic cells, we are about to be engulfed in the next evolutionary stage. So the mechanists see noetic technologies surrounding human culture and consciousness and compressing it into an endosymbiont in a larger and swifter and more elegant evolutionary vehicle. ...

"Mystics flip this literalism over to see technology as a system of externalized metaphors that derive from pre-existing ontological modes at play and at large in the universe... For the mystic — be she Cabbalist or Sufi — an angel is a 'Celestial Intelligence' — a form of cosmic noetic organization that does not require a detour through animal evolution. So when Kurzweil claims that by 2030 implanted nanobots in the bloodstream will enable humans to turn off to the outside world to attune to a virtual reality, the mystic would recognize a literalist rendering of the process of meditation. Kurzweil's vision of the world in 2030 reminds me of Borges's 'Library of Babel'. 'I suspect that the human species — the unique species — is about to be extinguished, but the Library will endure: illuminated, solitary, useless, incorruptible, secret'. [2] And here we need to be sensitive to the full force of Borges's use of the word 'Babel'. ... "

Transition Network: tackling Peak Oil & Climate Change, together

Ron — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:00:00 -0700

...The transition model emboldens communities to look peak oil and climate change squarely in the eye and unleash the collective genius of their own people to find the answers to this big question: for all those aspects of life that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive, how are we going to:

* significantly rebuild resilience (in response to peak oil)
* drastically reduce carbon emissions (in response to climate change)?

Typically, self-determined solutions will involve some flavour of relocalisation. -- We're building a range of materials, training courses, events, tools & techniques, resources and a general support capability to help these communities. ... We're hoping that through this work, communities across the UK will unleash their own collective genius and embark on an imaginative and practical range of connected initiatives, leading to a way of life that is more resilient, more fulfilling and more equitable, and that has dramatically lower levels of carbon emissions. ...

Who's on Top in Tech-Readiness?

Ron — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:42:49 -0700

...the Global Information Technology Report... assesses 127 economies on scores of factors ranging from the cost of mobile phone calls and available Internet bandwidth to the quality of higher education. Not just a catalog of technical specifications, the report weighs these measures to determine which economies are best positioned to compete in the information-intensive 21st century economy.

The conclusion, as in previous studies, finds Nordic countries grabbing five of the top 10 slots, with Denmark and Sweden placing No.1 and No.2 for the second year running. Credit widespread Internet usage, supportive government policies, and good education. The U.S. came in at No.4, up three positions from last year. Although the U.S. gets top marks in innovation and education, it's pulled down by "red tape and rigidities" that stifle its business environment...

Intel Quits Effort to Get Computers to Children (NYT)

Ron — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:09:57 -0800

SAN FRANCISCO — A frail partnership between Intel and the One Laptop Per Child educational computing group was undone last month in part by an Intel saleswoman: She tried to persuade a Peruvian official to drop the country’s commitment to buy a quarter-million of the organization’s laptops in favor of Intel PCs. -- Intel and the group had a rocky relationship from the start in their short-lived effort to get inexpensive laptops into the hands of the world’s poorest children.

But the saleswoman’s tactic was the final straw for Nicholas Negroponte, the former Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer researcher and founder of the nonprofit effort.He demanded that Intel stop what he saw as efforts to undermine the group’s sales, which meant ceasing to sell the rival computer. Intel chose instead to withdraw its support from One Laptop this week.

The project has been a lightning rod for controversy largely because the world’s most powerful software and chip making companies — Microsoft and Intel — had long resisted the project, for fear, according to many industry executives, that it would compete in markets they hoped to develop. ...

One Laptop Per Child Versus Intel--Who Speaks for India and China?

Ron — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:48:28 -0800

Here's an interesting article re the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) Project. I disagree with the article's conclusion (it omits the vast online support to be provided to olpc students), but I think it deserves further discussion here on SCIY. What do you think?

At the Consumer Electronic Show this week, the One Laptop Per Child foundation was supposed to make two announcements—the number of computers it sold under the Give One, Get One holiday program and a new olpc machine made jointly with Intel. But now Intel has pulled out or been pushed out of the project with olpc, depending on who you believe. It’s a mess and a mess of huge dimensions that encompasses a conversation of profit vs. nonprofit, nationalism vs. colonialism, technology vs. pedagogy, rote vs. experiential learning, Western design vs. Eastern design, good intentions vs. bad intentions. It doesn’t get bigger, or nastier. ...

THIRD CULTURE HOLIDAY READING

Ron — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:43:54 -0800

This is the season for year-end lists of books in which the mainstream review media steer literate culture away from deep questions about how our world works and who we are and toward celebrations of narcissism, celebrity gossip, and literary cliques. What I wrote in 1991 in "The Emerging Third Culture", still pertains today:

A 1950s education in Freud, Marx, and modernism is not a sufficient qualification for a thinking person in the 1990s. Indeed, the traditional American intellectuals are, in a sense, increasingly reactionary, and quite often proudly (and perversely) ignorant of many of the truly significant intellectual accomplishments of our time. Their culture, which dismisses science, is often nonempirical. It uses its own jargon and washes its own laundry. It is chiefly characterized by comment on comments, the swelling spiral of commentary eventually reaching the point where the real world gets lost.

Given the well-documented challenges and issues we are facing as a nation, as a culture, how can it be that there are no science books (and hardly any books on ideas) on the New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year list; no science category in the Economist Books of the Year 2007; only Oliver Sacks in the New Yorker's list of Books From Our Pages? ...

Bad Behavior Does Not Doom Pupils, Studies Say

Prapanna — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:06:46 -0800

Educators and psychologists have long feared that children entering school with behavior problems were doomed to fall behind in the upper grades. But two new studies suggest that those fears are exaggerated.

One concluded that kindergartners who are identified as troubled do as well academically as their peers in elementary school. The other found that children with attention deficit disorders suffer primarily from a delay in brain development, not from a deficit or flaw.

Experts say the findings of the two studies, being published today in separate journals, could change the way scientists, teachers and parents understand and manage children who are disruptive or emotionally withdrawn in the early years of school. The studies might even prompt a reassessment of the possible causes of disruptive behavior in some children...

Invitation to participate in the "Aim of Life" Integral Education Leadership survey

Ron — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:18:13 -0800

I just received the following request from my friend, Prapanna Smith, principal of the innovative and very successful Integral Elementary School and Rainbow Kids Integral Preschools in La Jolla, a small oceanside suburb of San Diego, California, USA. I can speak personally for Prapanna's skills and integrity. I recommend participating in the survey he describes below. ~ ronjon

Hi Ron,

Can you please post the request below to the SCIY Blog where people will see it and hopefully participate? I tried, but I was not sure how or where to do so.

Thanks.

Prapanna

**********************************************

I am currently working on a Doctorate (Ed.D) in the Joint Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at UC San Diego and CSU San Marcos. Through some of the research for my dissertation I discovered some really interesting ideas regarding life purpose. In light of Mother's opening in her essay on "The Science of Living" ("An aimless life is always a miserable life. . .") life purpose is a particularly relevant idea in the context of Integral Education research.

Recently I found two interesting surveys on life purpose and sources of meaning in life, which I would like to use as a sort of trial run for the collection and analysis of data. I have uploaded the questions from these surveys to Survey Monkey, a website where one can create, store, and administer research instruments. I am calling this the Aim in Life Survey.

I would be very grateful if we can get as many members of the worldwide Sri Aurobindo community as possible to fill out the survey on-line by going to the link below. The survey consists of six pages and should only take about 15-20 minutes to complete. The survey is completely confidential. My interest in doing this is to validate the survey and then share the findings with anyone here who would be interested in them.

The more participants the better. There are hundreds of people on the SCIY Blog and I need a minimum of 200 respondents to get reliable data. If you take the survey, make sure you complete all six pages and answer all the questions.

If you choose to participate, please click here:

<a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=4i_2fZx0hoAZ7aRGumkXBWPQ_3d_3d">Click Here to take the Aim in Life survey</a>

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thanking everyone in advance,

Prapanna

***************************************************

Prapanna Smith, MAED

Principal, Integral Elementary School

Rainbow Kids Integral Preschool

http://www.IntegralElementary.com

http://www.RainbowKidsSchool.com

Office: 858-450-4321

Cell: 858-204-2096

OLPC "Give One Get One" Video

Ron — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:05:18 -0800

I recommend viewing this short 30-second video about the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) "Give One Get One" project. See the previous article posted to SCIY for more details about this very worthy project. ~ ronjon

US Sales of OLPC "Give 1 Get 1 Program" begins today! - Highly recommended!

Ron — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:05:19 -0800

One learning child. One connected child. One laptop at a time.

Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. During this time, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. ...

Kim and I just placed our order for this. Not only is $200 of it tax deductible, but T-Mobile is also giving you one year of complimentary HotSpot WiFi access with your order, more than a $350 value! I highly recommend this amazing, state of the art computer. ~ ronjon

India supports digital access for all, thanks UNESCO for its support of Auroville

Ron — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 01:16:19 -0700

Shri Arjun Singh, Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) has said that the Government of India is committed towards Education For All (EFA) and has been making strenuous efforts to increase domestic funding of its core programmes. Addressing the 34th session of the General Conference of UNESO, the Minister has said that the General Conference must set the tone for the discussions of the High Level Group on EFA in December 2007. He said, "We are targeting to increase Gross Enrollment Ratio for higher education from the present 10% to at least 15% in the next five years. We are also working towards increasing the public expenditure on education to the level of 6% of GDP over this period. We have in recent years taken several affirmative actions to extend the benefits of education to the underprivileged and deprived sections of the society..."

[He also said] "May I thank UNESCO and its Executive Board for the support it has given to India’s initiative to strengthen UNESCO’s association with Auroville in the context of the commemoration of its 40th Anniversary. UNESCO has been involved from the very inception with Auroville, including the founding ceremony in February 1968, when youth of 124 Member States participated in this ceremony by depositing soils from their countries in the foundation urn to symbolize the coming together of the nations of the World. ..."

William McDonough: The wisdom of designing Cradle to Cradle

Ron — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:33:04 -0700

Here's another provocative TED video. McDonough shares some of his most inspiring work, including the world's largest green roof (at the Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan), and the sustainable cities he's designing in China. -- This blip is 20 minutes.

Al Gore, UN Climate Panel Share 2007 Nobel Peace Prize

Ron — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:18:49 -0700

Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) today won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to publicize and understand human-caused global warming. -- The Norwegian Nobel Committee this morning announced that the former U.S. vice president and the United Nations' climate panel will equally share the prestigious award for "their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."

Gore and the IPCC were chosen from a list of 181 candidates to split the prize, worth 10 million Swedish kronors (about 1.5 million U.S. dollars). -- The award committee, based in Oslo, Norway, said their decision was intended to bring into sharper focus the actions "necessary to protect the world's future climate and thereby to reduce the threat to the security of mankind.

"Action is necessary now, before climate change moves beyond man's control," the committee added. ...

Laptop With a Mission Widens Its Audience, by David Pogue, NYT

Ron — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:52:50 -0700

Wearing a new hat in Galadima, a hamlet in Abuja, Nigeria [photo added by ronjon]

In November, you’ll be able to buy a new laptop that’s spillproof, rainproof, dustproof and drop-proof. It’s fanless, it’s silent and it weighs 3.2 pounds. One battery charge will power six hours of heavy activity, or 24 hours of reading. The laptop has a built-in video camera, microphone, memory-card slot, graphics tablet, game-pad controllers and a screen that rotates into a tablet configuration.

And this laptop will cost $200... It’s an effort by One Laptop Per Child (laptop.org) to develop a very low-cost, high-potential, extremely rugged computer for the two billion educationally underserved children in poor countries...

OLPC slightly turned its strategy when it decided to offer the machine for sale to the public in the industrialized world — for a period of two weeks, in November. The program is called “Give 1, Get 1,” and it works like this. You pay $400 (www.xogiving.org). One XO laptop (and a tax deduction) comes to you by Christmas, and a second is sent to a student in a poor country. ...

The dangers of materialism in education, by Ulrich Mohrhoff

Ron — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 11:51:52 -0700

PACE - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe - has release a report titled "The dangers of creationism in education" (Doc. 11375,17 September 2007, Committee on Culture, Science and Education, Rapporteur: Mrs Anne BRASSEUR, Luxembourg, ALDE).

The report has serious flaws, which are cause for concern. -- To begin with, the report fails to make necessary distinctions. For one, the word "evolution" is used indiscriminately to refer to (i) the empirical fact that evolution has taken place and (ii) the neo-Darwinian theory, which accounts for the empirical fact of evolution in terms of random mutations and natural selection.

For another, "creationist" is used indiscriminately as a label for (i) those who claim that the world was created by God in six days and (ii) advocates of intelligent design (ID), who refer neither to a Supreme Being nor to Holy Scripture but merely put forward the hypothesis that certain aspects of the universe, notably the empirical fact of biological evolution and the structure of physical law, cannot be fully understood without reference to a superior intelligence — an intelligence that is not itself a product of biological evolution. ...

The Revolution That Is Arising From The Earth, by William M. H. Kötke

Ron — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:06:37 -0700

This is, imho, an excellent article -- one that summarizes the psychosocial, cultural, political and economic roots of the ballooning sustainability crisis looming over our beloved planet. I strongly recommend reading it. ~ ronjon

The planetary elite are compelled to continue on their path of growth leading toward planetary domination. The international bankers through their control of the industrial world’s privately owned central banks maintain a tether on the money system through their control of the U.S. dollar as the currency of international trade. One important mechanism that allows this is that the largest item in international trade - oil - is sold in dollars. In order to insure the continuance of the dollar economy, they must be able to choose which currency oil is sold for or control the oil - or both. The center of the empire, the U.S., is maintained by debt as the petrodollars and other dollars come into the U.S. at the rate of at least two and a half billion per day (purchasing U.S. government bonds) in order to continue the cycle, which keeps the empire and its military power expanding As the elite carry out their strategies of domination they are racing against time. The monster trends of Peak Oil and energy exhaustion, climate change which will severely disrupt the seasons of growth in the food supply system, the weakness of the dollar and ecological collapse are pursuing them. An exponentially growing world population with growing material consumption based on dwindling resources and a dying planet won’t work, but they have no other option to maintain their power and profit. ...

Buy a cheap laptop, give one to world's poor kids

Ron — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:39:28 -0700

A computer intended to improve education for children in developing countries is to be offered to western buyers. -- Engineers at the One Laptop Per Child project, based in the US, have built a low-cost computer designed to work in some of the world's most undeveloped areas. Until now only governments have been invited to buy the machines, but in an attempt to jump-start the project, western consumers will soon be able to buy their own version.

In return for spending $399 (£197), customers will receive their own laptop as well as paying for a second computer for children in deprived parts of world. To begin with, the machines will be donated to youngsters in countries such as Afghanistan, Haiti and Rwanda.

The machine, conceived by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, incorporates a number of innovations, including a high-resolution screen and low power consumption. It can be powered by solar energy, foot pump or a clockwork charger. The idea is that access to learning aids and hi-tech equipment will help children in some of the world's poorest countries learn skills that can lift them out of poverty. The scheme will run for two weeks in November, and only in North America.

Pitroda calls for 1,000 community radio stations in a year

Ron — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:07:09 -0700

Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission Sam Pitroda has called for at least 1,000 community radio stations to be set up in the country in a year's time. -- In a video message to participants at a media workshop in Auroville here, Pitroda also called for greater awareness of radio's usefulness.

Expressing concern over the ban on news and current events under India's radio policy, Pitroda said he believed that "the community radio can fulfil its objectives to facilitate exchange and bring out more information on events of local importance". -- He emphasised the "need for accessible and affordable technology to enable a larger number of CR (community radio) stations".

Is community radio working in India? Not really, if participants at the workshop are to be heard. -- It is much easier to get a commercial license for an FM station than a license for community radio, activists said at a two-day workshop here, pointing out that India's current radio regulation is heavily tilted against community radio.

Off to Burning Man for the next 10 days

Ron — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:11:56 -0700

Burning Man 2006 satellite view. (~ 40,000 participants)

Well, I'm off to Burning Man 2007 tomorrow (Saturday) and will be pretty much out of touch with SCIY (no phones or Internet access out there on the remote playa). Rumors are that this year's festival will be the biggest in its 18 years, even more than the record 40,000 last year. This is truly a remarkable experience when you realize that all the infrastructure for a self-contained international city is literally created by volunteers out of nothing in a few days on a barren, hot, lifeless desert site. It's fully populated for a week, and then completely dismantled, in accordance with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management regulations for use of the site, with no evidence of it having been there, not even a flake of glitter! ...

Burning Man 2007 Art Theme: "The Green Man"

Ron — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 10:55:11 -0700

His name means the Green One or Verdant One, he is the voice of inspiration to the aspirant and committed artist. He can come as a white light or the gleam on a blade of grass, but more often as an inner mood. The sign of his presence is the ability to work or experience with tireless enthusiasm beyond one's normal capacities ...

And I have felt....a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean, and the living air,
And the blue sky, and in the mind of man,
A motion and a spirit, that impels
All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things.

~ William Wordsworth, Tintern Abbey

Burning Man 2007: What is Burning Man?

Ron — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 09:31:24 -0700

Every year, tens of thousands of participants gather to create Black Rock City in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, dedicated to self-expression, self-reliance, and art as the center of community. They leave one week later, having left no trace. Read Burning Man's mission statement, 10 Principles, and learn more about this incredible experience. ...

Entheon Village at Burning Man

Ron — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 14:59:26 -0700

Entheon, meaning “a place to discover the spirit within,” is an effort to promote sustainable cultural re-evolution that heals relationships between the people of the earth and our planet. The mission of Entheon is to demonstrate a future in which sustainability, ecological responsibility, environmental stewardship, and meditative and mystical consciousness are a welcomed and integrated part of society, and where art, spirituality and creativity is central to that vision.

[The] Entheon [camp at Burning Man 2007] will be a grounded gathering place offering an intellectual, therapeutic, artistic and creative cornucopia of interactive opportunities. Lectures, workshops, renewable energy demonstrations, visionary art, zen meditation in a zendo, holotropic breathwork sessions, and performance come together in the spirit of celebration to co-create our shared vision of global healing and a broader awareness of ecological responsibility. ...

'On Education Reform,' by Rod Hemsell (Univ. of Human Unity)

Ron — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:00:00 -0700

Re our current discussion re integral education, this is an article posted on the 'University of Human Unity' website, by Rod Hemsell. - ron

... If India’s educational reforms continue to move in this direction, then we in Auroville may find our efforts reflected in a more general awakening to what the Mother originally envisioned as the best type of reform in education. Then a meaningful, dynamic and productive interaction on all fronts - local, regional and national – might result in mutually beneficial exchanges. This is one of the hopes that is inspiring a few schools in Auroville to begin to explore affiliation with CBSE and NCERT, and the possibility of providing more teacher training opportunities in Auroville in association with these organizations.

Primrose School of Pondicherry: An experiment in integral education

Ron — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 13:14:42 -0700

Primrose School, inaugurated in June 1999 in the former French colony of Pondicherry, is a pioneering effort in India to utilise Dr. Glenn Doman’s teaching methods as the basis for a full program of pre-school, primary and secondary education.

The Mother's Service Society, Pondicherry, has been in the field of social development for a quarter of a century now and has been recognised as a "Scientific and Cultural Research Institution" by the Central Government for three decades. The Society has longed believed that new methods of education can transform India into a leading knowledge society and fulfill Sri Aurobindo's dream of India becoming the Jagat guru of the world. Primrose School was founded for this purpose, and after discovering the wonderful educational insights of Dr. Glenn Doman, they have taken them and creatively adapted them to suit Indian conditions.

Most of us believe that geniuses are a very rare breed and only a few children are born with that potential. The truth is, many children have the potential of developing genius. Every child has far more potential than comes to the surface under normal circumstances. The secret is to create conditions that enable the child to discover and express their full potential.

Dr. Doman has shown decisively that young children have an incredible capacity for learning. They can learn to read multiple languages with ease at a very young age, even before entering school. They can imbibe a wide range of general knowledge just as a form of recreation. Children can learn at least twice as fast as they normally do in traditional schools without homework, cramming or strain of any type. ... -- The Mother's Service Society believes that this method could revolutionalise education in India. ...

TED: Inspired talks by he world's greatest thinkers and doers

Ron — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:35:39 -0700

Thanks to yatanti for recommending this site:

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. -- The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. More than 100 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted...

We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. Over time, you'll see us add talks and performances from other events, and solicit submissions from you, as well. ...

iTunes U: the campus that never sleeps

Ron — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 11:50:17 -0700

iTunes U is a free service hosted by Apple that allows instructors, administrators, and affiliates to manage, distribute, and control access to educational audio and video content for students within a college or university using Apple's iTunes Store infrastructure. This page provides information to help you create and manage content, set up and design pages, set access, get help from other iTunes U users, and more. ...

Just like the iTunes Store, the popularity of iTunes U has exploded. Already, more than half of the nation’s top 500 schools use it to distribute their digital content to students — or to the world. Any school can open all or part of its site to the public, from alumni to parents to anyone with a love of learning. iTunes U is transforming the way people learn on campus, off campus, and where there’s no campus at all. ...

The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativism

Ron — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 16:22:10 -0700

In linguistics, the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis (SWH) states that there is a systematic relationship between the grammatical categories of the language a person speaks and how that person both understands the world and behaves in it. Although it has come to be known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, it rather was an axiom underlying the work of linguist and anthropologist Edward Sapir and his colleague and student Benjamin Whorf.

... “We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages. The categories and types that we isolate from the world of phenomena we do not find there because they stare every observer in the face; on the contrary, the world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which has to be organized by our minds—and this means largely by the linguistic systems in our minds. We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it in this way - an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language. The agreement is, of course, an implicit and unstated one, but its terms are absolutely obligatory; we cannot talk at all except by subscribing to the organization and classification of data which the agreement decrees." (Whorf, 1940, pp. 213–14)

Building One Laptop Per Socialized Child (One Laptop Per Child News)

Ron — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 01:00:00 -0700

OLPC News: "Your independent source for news, information, commentary, and discussion of One Laptop Per Child's computer, the OLPC Children's Machine XO, developed by MIT Media Lab co-founder Nicholas Negroponte."

"Social inclusion has been one of the foremost issues in the minds of many ... people, like me, Eduardo Villanueva Mansilla, of Lima, Perú. The advantages of using computers and the Internet as a mechanism for making governments and institutions readily available to the citizen, and to enhance the potential of consumers to act together, are always a significant component of the reasons given to invest in technology.

But social inclusion means also some degree of socialization. To include all citizens demands that those that haven't been able to (or haven't been allowed to) exercise their collective citizenship find the means to do that, but first of all, that are aware that they have the rights and duties that come with participation in a polity, in a nation as a whole. This demands a very specific form of socialization.

Historically, the most important resource for this kind of socialization has been the school system. Even more so, in many developing countries with confusing situations of race, ethnicity and class, and with structural limitations to social mobility, schools are the only significant support of the "imagined community" as discussed by Benedict Anderson. ...

The Prism of Grammar: How Child Language Illuminates Humanism

Ron — Tue, 15 May 2007 15:09:27 -0700

Thanks to yatanti for suggesting this article:

Every sentence we hear is instantly analyzed by an inner grammar; just as a prism refracts a beam of light, grammar divides a stream of sound, linking diverse strings of information to different domains of mind--memory, vision, emotions, intentions. In The Prism of Grammar, Tom Roeper brings the abstract principles behind modern grammar to life by exploring the astonishing intricacies of child language. Adult expressions provide endless puzzles for the child to solve. The individual child's solutions ("Don't uncomfortable the cat" is one example) may amuse adults but they also reveal the complexity of language and the challenges of mastering it. The tiniest utterances, says Roeper, reflect the whole mind and engage the child's free will and sense of dignity. ...

'The Great Turning' by David Korten

Ron — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 09:25:08 -0700

In The Great Turning, Korten argues that corporate consolidation of power is merely a contemporary manifestation of what he calls “Empire”: the organization of society by hierarchies of domination grounded in violent chauvinisms of race, gender, religion, nationality, language, and class. The result has been the same for 5,000 years, fortune for the few and misery for the many. Increasingly destructive of children, family, community, and nature, the way of Empire is leading to environmental and social collapse.

The Great Turning makes the case that we humans are a choicemaking species that at this defining moment faces both the opportunity and the imperative to choose our future as a conscious collective act. We can no longer deny the need nor delay our response. A mounting perfect economic storm is fast approaching. A convergence of climate change, peak oil, and the financial instability inherent in an unbalanced global trading system will bring an unraveling of the corporate-led global economy and a dramatic restructuring of every aspect of modern life.

Thanks to Mario Santonm for recommending this book. ...

Cogweb: Cognitive Cultural Studies

Ron — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:13:16 -0700

CogWeb is a research tool for exploring the relevance of the study of human cognition to communication and the arts. It is edited by Francis Steen, assistant professor in Communication Studies at UCLA. CogWeb contains several hundred items and is continually under construction. Some new pages are posted below; see also the annotated bibliography and related sites of interest.. The historical content is largely restricted to the print culture of the Early Modern period (1500-1800). ...

ISEC: The International society for Ecology & Culture

Ron — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:47:52 -0700

I got to know the remarkable Helena Norberg-Hodge, the Founder of ISEC, back in the 70's, when she was setting up the Ladakh Project, for which she shared the 1986 Right Livelihood Award, otherwise known as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize.' –- Her selfless, Buddhist commitment to protecting the indigenous peoples of the Tibetan high plateau from Western commercial development deeply impressed me. I'll always remember her inspiring photos of the unique and glowing faces of the Ladakh people who hadn't yet been exposed to Western culture. Knowing Helena, I can unreservedly attest to the quality and integrity of ISEC. ... ~ ron

Forty Initiatives that are changing our world (Resurgence Mag.)

Ron — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:12:56 -0700

This informative list of annotated links compiled by Resurgence Magazine includes interesting initiatives in the areas of Activism, Agricultural Development, Ecology, Economics, Education & Community, the Internet, Political & Corporate, Publishing, and Scientific Principles. The few I’ve had a chance to check out so far look like they’re indeed doing important work; e.g., ISEC (the International society for Ecology & Culture), which I’ll post more info about in my next article. — Recommended.

Resurgence Magazine: Promoting creativity, ecology, spirituality and frugality

Ron — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 18:38:04 -0700

...Resurgence publish[es] articles that are on the cutting edge of current thinking, promoting creativity, ecology, spirituality and frugality.

While the corporate world advocates "free trade" Resurgence questions trade without responsibility and money without morality. While our governments define the "national interest" and its politicians pursue power at all costs, Resurgence argues for politics with principles. While technology invades our lives in the name of speed and efficiency, Resurgence advocates science with a soul.

But Resurgence not only offers a critique of the old paradigm, it gives working models for an emerging new paradigm. Resurgence is packed full of positive ideas about the theory and practice of good living: permaculture, community supported agriculture, local economics, ecological building, sacred architecture, art in the environment, small schools and deep ecology. ...

The Institute of Science in Society (ISIS): Science Society Sustainability

Ron — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:37:32 -0700

The Institute of Science in Society says it's "The only radical science magazine on earth." I don't know if that's literally true, but at first look, this does seem worth a serious look. Thanks to koantum for telling us about it.

“SIS is the antidote to scientific mumbo-jumbo. It treats people as grown ups - capable of understanding and facing up to difficult issues - whilst demanding that scientists describe the challenges of science in terms people can understand. Every idea that SIS explores is an advocacy of good science. A must-read for all who wish to change society for the better.” Alan Simpson, Member of Parliament, UK ...

Al Gore's Personal Online Journal

Ron — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:39:36 -0700

2007-03-20: A House committee released documents showing hundreds of cases where a White House official edited climate reports to play up uncertainty of a human role in global warming or play down evidence of such a role.

2007-03-20: Rep. John Dingell once dismissed global warming as a "theory." Lately, the Democratic lawmaker from Michigan has had a change of heart. His conversion underscores the changed atmosphere on Capitol Hill.

2007-03-20: Leading US financial investors joined some of the country's larges companies and urged Capitol Hill to follow Europe by setting mandatory targets to reduce US carbon emissions. ...

'GaiaEducation' Educators and Designers Gather in Thailand

Ron — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 15:51:45 -0700

Gaia Education Educators for a Sustainable Earth (the GEESE) flew from the 4 corners of the world into Thailand to meet in a beautiful, curvaceous mud building surrounded by lotus ponds and bamboo groves. Inspired by Ghandian ashrams where social change meets spiritual practice and working with the land, Wongsanit Ashram is a hub of sustainability and grassroots leadership training in South East Asia. Wongsanit is also an idyllic eco-settlement complete with organic gardens and traditional thatched and cob houses. This was a wonderful base to come together to discuss the Ecovillage Design Education (EDE). In keeping with the diversity of the group the Southerners revelled in the sultry, humid tropical days whilst Northerners were challenged by the heat! ...

Everything You Know About AIDS is Wrong

Ron — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 14:36:22 -0800

...Oster argues that health is an investment. If you’re expecting to live a good, long time, you might be more inclined to make health investments than if you expect to die soon. If your life expectancy is only 40-50 years due to environmental factors, you might be more willing to take this 3% risk than a gay man in America who otherwise expects to live almost 80 years.

To test this effect, Oster looked at sexual behavior rates in countries that had high, low and medium levels of malaria. In countries with low malaria, there’s a very strong correlation between prevalence of AIDS and change in behavior - in countries with high malaria, there’s no correlation, or in fact, an opposite effect. There’s a similar correlation with maternal health and child mortality. This suggests that if you want to combat AIDS, you also need to deal with malaria, internal air quality and maternal health. ...

2007 TED Conference: Report #2

Ron — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:40:24 -0800

...The first prize winner for 2007 is James Nachtwey, a remarkable war photographer who’s been described as a “one man human rights watch”. He’s been extensively honored for his work, winning numerous prizes for his work covering some of the most difficult images in the world.

He apologizes for using notes - “after spending an entire career trying to be invisible” speaking before a group is an “out of body” experience. The truth is, his images are so powerful and moving, I found it very hard to even follow his voice for much of his talk. As he said, “I have been a witness - these pictures are my testimony.” ...

2007 TED Conference now underway: Report #1

Ron — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:27:04 -0800

The annual TED (Technology, Entertainment, & Design) conference in Monterey, CA, USA, brings together more than 1000 thought-leaders, movers and shakers for four days of learning, laughter and inspiration. -- The first TED in 1984 included the public unveiling of the Macintosh computer and the Sony compact disc, while mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot demonstrated how to map coastlines with his newly discovered fractals and AI guru Marvin Minsky outlined his powerful new model of the mind. Several influential members of the burgeoning 'digerati' community were also there, including Nicholas Negroponte and Stewart Brand.

Those who have spoken at TED include Bill Gates, Frank Gehry, Jane Goodall, Billy Graham, Herbie Hancock, Murray Gell-Mann, Larry Ellison. Yet often the real stars have been the unexpected: Li Lu, a key organizer of the Tiananmen Square student protest, Aimee Mullins, a Paralympics competitor who tried out a new pair of artificial legs on-stage, or Nathan Myrrhvold speaking not about Microsoft platforms, but about dinosaur sex. ...

Al Gore "An Inconvenient Truth" documentary wins Oscar

Ron — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 23:46:23 -0800

Former vice president Al Gore used the success of his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," to expand his efforts to educate people about global warming — and to tell a few jokes. — The film turned Gore's road show about climate change into a film that won Academy Awards for best documentary and best song.

Earlier in the evening, Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio took the stage to unveil a series of efforts the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took to make this year's awards more environmentally friendly. ... The win was especially pleasing to Gore because it came during a year when the academy had taken steps to save energy and preserve the environment.

Oscar ballots were made from partially recycled paper and organic produce was served at the Gov.'s Ball. The academy joined with the Natural Resources Defense Council to reduce energy usage and increase recycling. — "For the first time in the history of the Oscars, this show has officially gone green," DiCaprio said. ...

'The Doctrine of the Subtle Worlds: Sri Aurobindo's Cosmology, Modern Science, and the Metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead'

Ron — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 23:11:11 -0800

This is an unusually long article for SCIY. It's copyrighted by Eric M. Weiss, and was his dissertation for his Ph.D. at CIIS, the California Institute of Integral Studies, with a concentration in Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness. I'm taking the liberty of posting it here because, in my opinion, it's one of the most thorough and insightful treatments of the core concern of SCIY; the multiple & interpenetrating relationships between science, culture, and consciousness, placed within the contextual framework of Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga. - Warning: This is challenging material, but I believe working through it and contemplating its implications is well worth the effort. - My deepest appreciation goes to Dr. Eric Weiss for his extraordinary and groundbreaking work. ~ ron

...Here we are, at the dawn of the Twenty First Century, and I have awakened to find myself living in a science fiction novel. If this novel were to be written from the standpoint of the 23rd century, looking back to the beginning of the 21st, it might start something like this:

At that time, the certainties of science had faltered. The great charism of the men in white lab coats had faded. The bastions of materialism had crumbled from within, and the civilization that it had fostered was losing its way.

Meanwhile, three centuries of rapacious assault on the biosphere were, at last, showing decisive results. The globe was poisoned, people were sick, species were being slaughtered by the tens of thousands, global temperatures and global sea levels were both beginning to rise. A civilization was ending, and in its death throes, it was bringing to a close the Cenozoic Era. The Earth was preparing for a fresh creation.

Looking back, too, we can see that the promise of the new civilization had already begun to shine. The iron cage of the material world, in which the species had been trapped for centuries, was starting to dissolve. Here and there, the experiences of the subtle worlds were breaking through. A few intrepid explorers had seen the promise, and had just begun to glimpse the vast freedoms and the limitless horizons that we now enjoy, but the darkness was still thick and Kali was dancing wildly across the face of the globe. This is the story of those early pioneers…

ForestsForever: The Promise of the Future is the Hope Found Within

Ron — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:15:26 -0800

This remarkable site is worth viewing. Fast web connection recommended ...

Your dream forest may lie within.
The forest you have entered in your dreams.
An irreplaceable treasure,
our children's inheritance. ...

Clean air or TV: Where will Asia find more energy?

Ron — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:50:41 -0800

A toxic purple haze of diesel exhaust hangs over the rice and jute fields here in northeastern India, and bird songs are frequently drowned out by the chug-a-chug-a-chug of diesel generators. — Across the developing world, cheap diesel generators from China have become a favorite way to provide electricity. — They power everything from irrigation pumps to television sets, allowing growing numbers of rural villages in many poor countries to grow more crops and connect to the wider world. — But as the demand increases for the electricity that makes those advances possible, it is often being met through the dirtiest, most inefficient means, creating pollution in many remote areas that used to have pristine air and negligible emissions of carbon dioxide and other global warming gases...

Another popular approach being tried in India and elsewhere -- using solar energy to recharge lanterns by day -- has run into difficulty even as diesel prices would seem to make it more competitive. — The problem is that prices for photovoltaic panels for solar energy have surged as governments in industrialized countries, especially Germany, have encouraged greater use of renewable energy, said Hemant Lamba, the coordinator of Aurore, a renewable energy service company in Auroville, India. — "It's harder to do any solar energy projects in India," he said. ...

Biovillage approach represents the greening of development

Ron — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:14:15 -0800

Selvi Alagappan rises early each day to tend to her small patch of crossandra and jasmine flowers in the rural Indian village of Mangalam, in the Union of Pondicherry. These and the mushrooms she cultivates in a nearby shack bring in a monthly income that, while still below the poverty line, keeps her large family from going hungry. — Two years ago, however, starvation was very much a reality for Selvi and her family. But like many other participants of the Biovillage Project, a collaborative development programme described by its authors as "pro-nature, pro-women, pro-poor", Selvi was given the tools and technical assistance to increase her household income and get her back on her feet again.

The project is run by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, a local non-governmental organization in Chennai, with funding and technical assistance from the Government of India and international agencies including FAO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The project began in 1992 with 42 participants in three villages. It now operates in 19 villages with a team of 24 project specialists. ...

Interview: Dr. Francis Collins, devout Christian & Head of the US' National Human Genome Research Institute

Ron — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 01:17:17 -0800

I started reading this interview with more than a little skepticism. ("Oh, this must be one of Bush's Christian fundamentalist appointees.") But as I read through it, I became increasingly impressed with the balanced perspective held by Dr. Collins. I'm posting it here because I think it provides an encouraging example of a possible rapprochement between scientists and people of faith.

The media often portray the religious right in the United States as antiscience. Is that a fair characterization?
I don't think it's fair to blame believers for getting defensive about attacks on the Bible when they see their whole belief system is under attack from some members of the scientific community who are using the platform of science to say, "We don't need God anymore, that was all superstition, and you guys should get over it." Believers then feel some requirement to respond, and this has led to an unfortunate escalation of charges and countercharges...

So what would you say to the scientists who are fervently opposed to religious thought and practice?
Is there any dogma more unsupported by the facts than from the scientist who stands up and says, "I know there is no God"? Science is woefully unsuited to ask the question of God in the first place. So give the religious folks a break. They are seeking the kind of spiritual truths that have always interested humankind but that science cannot really address. ...

The human role in climate change (Boston Review)

Ron — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 23:50:01 -0800

This is one of the best summaries of the science of climate change and global warming forecasting I've seen. It's by Kerry Emanuel, a professor of meteorology at MIT, who was recognized in 2006 by Time magazine as "one of the world’s 100 most influential people." Highly recommended.

...The evolution of the scientific debate about anthropogenic climate change illustrates both the value of skepticism and the pitfalls of partisanship... general awareness of the issue dates to a National Academy of Sciences report in 1979 that warned that doubling CO2 content might lead to a three-to-eight-degree increase in global average temperature. Then, in 1988, James Hansen, the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, set off a firestorm of controversy by testifying before Congress that he was virtually certain that a global-warming signal had emerged from the background climate variability... Most scientists were deeply skeptical of Hansen’s claims; I certainly was...

At roughly this time, radical environmental groups and a handful of scientists influenced by them leapt into the fray with rather obvious ulterior motives. This jump-started the politicization of the issue, and conservative groups, financed by auto makers and big oil, responded with counterattacks... A very small number of climate scientists adopted dogmatic positions and in so doing lost credibility among the vast majority who remained committed to an unbiased search for answers... On the right, the search began for negative feedbacks that would counter increasing greenhouse gases: imaginative ideas emerged, but they have largely failed the acid test of comparison to observations. But as the dogmatists grew increasingly alienated from the scientific mainstream, they were embraced by political groups and journalists, who thrust them into the limelight. This produced a gross distortion in the public perception of the scientific debate. Ever eager for the drama of competing dogmas, the media largely ignored mainstream scientists whose hesitations did not make good copy. As the global-warming signal continues to emerge, this soap opera is kept alive by a dwindling number of deniers constantly tapped for interviews by journalists who pretend to look for balance...

'New Dimensions Media: Changing the World, One Broadcast at a Time'

Ron — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 18:18:27 -0800

The New Dimensions Foundation is a social profit, public benefit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) educational, organization supported by listeners. Our primary activity is the independent production of broadcast dialogues and other quality programs that explore creative solutions to urgent challenges facing humankind.

The purpose of New Dimensions Radio is to deliver life-affirming, socially and spiritually relevant information, practical knowledge and perennial wisdom through the voices and visions of those who are asking new questions and are looking at the world in positive and inspiring ways. It is through the exchange of ideas and information that we can be empowered and enabled to meet the future with greater energy and clarity...

Our programming presents a diversity of views from many traditions and cultures, and strives to provide listeners with an experience of what it means to be human on the planet in these times. — New Dimensions fosters the process of living a more healthy life of mind,body and spirit while deepening our connections to self, family,community, planet and the natural world. ...

Imagining the Tenth Dimension

Ron — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:01:29 -0800

This animation presents the ideas from chapter one of a new book called "Imagining the Tenth Dimension". While this "way of imagining" is not the accepted explanation for string theory, it does have thought-provoking connections to many people's impression of how our reality is constructed. For further info and the discussion forum, visit www.tenthdimension.com . ...

Google plots e-books coup

Ron — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 12:52:31 -0800

GOOGLE and some of the world’s top publishers are working on plans that they hope could do for books what Apple’s iPod has done for music.

The internet search giant is working on a system that would allow readers to download entire books to their computers in a format that they could read on screen or on mobile devices such as a Blackberry. — With 380m people using Google each month, the move would give a significant boost to the development of e-books and have a big impact on the publishing industry and book retailers. ...

"Response to my critics," by Meera Nanda

Ron — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 22:11:11 -0800

"Prophets Facing Backward," my book under discussion here, claims that the cluster of social constructivist, feminist and postcolonial theories that deny any cognitive distinctions between warranted knowledge and collectively accepted beliefs ... have provided philosophical justifications for [a] kind of populist interpretive flexibility ...

Set against the backdrop of the rise of Hindu nationalism in India, the book argues that the relentless debunking the very idea of universally valid, bias-free facts has received in the hands of its many academic critics, has added to a culture of doublethink where truth has becomes infinitely malleable, open to all kinds of nativist, pseudo-scientific and faith-based interpretations.

Intellectuals, whose job it is to challenge such mystifications, I argue, have betrayed their calling by condemning the very possibility of impartial and universally valid truth that can cut through cultural and national boundaries. This betrayal has made it easier for the religious right to present itself as the defender of the tradition, dressed up as “alternative science”, which it claims has been unfairly rejected and willfully suppressed by the secular elite. The logic of deconstruction of modern science simultaneously provides the logic for the construction of “sacred sciences” by the resurgent religious-political movements that have sprung up among the Hindus, Christian and Muslims alike.

It is indeed high time for science studies to get engaged in the thorny issues raised by the attempt of religious extremists to take on the prestige of science for their objectively false and outdated cosmologies. It is gratifying to note that the debate I began in the "Prophets" has now been joined. My colleagues from science studies and postcolonial studies have done me the honor of critically engaging with the concerns I have raised regarding the political dangers of epistemic multiculturalism in this age of religious fundamentalisms. In this essay, I will respond at length to the issues my critics have raised in their readings of the "Prophets." ...

"Prophets Facing Backward," by Meera Nanda

Ron — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 21:26:26 -0800

The leading voices in science studies have argued that modern science reflects dominant social interests of Western society. Following this logic, postmodern scholars have urged postcolonial societies to develop their own "alternative sciences" as a step towards "mental decolonization". These ideas have found a warm welcome among Hindu nationalists who came to power in India in the early 1990s. In this passionate and highly original study, Indian-born author Meera Nanda reveals how these well-meaning but ultimately misguided ideas are enabling Hindu ideologues to propagate religious myths in the guise of science and secularism.

At the heart of Hindu supremacist ideology, Nanda argues, lies a postmodernist assumption: that each society has its own norms of reasonableness, logic, rules of evidence, and conception of truth, and that there is no non-arbitrary, culture-independent way to choose among these alternatives. What is being celebrated as "difference" by postmodernists, however, has more often than not been the source of mental bondage and authoritarianism in non-Western cultures. The "Vedic sciences" currently endorsed in Indian schools, colleges, and the mass media promotes the same elements of orthodox Hinduism that have for centuries deprived the vast majority of Indian people of their full humanity.

By denouncing science and secularization, the left was unwittingly contributing to what Nanda calls "reactionary modernism." ...

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) to deliver first 5 million units this year

Ron — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 13:19:44 -0800

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Initiative unveiled its final industrial prototype of the XO - a laptop computer with a toylike look. But to say it's a toy is misleading. The device is intended to bring the most isolated tribal village into the Information Age, with the ultimate goal of offering one to every child on the planet. [Except for India, whose education bureaucracy vetoed OLPC participation last year.]

By keeping the price low, the OLPC initiative hopes that governments in the developing world will be able to afford them. Already, Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, Uruguay, and, most recently, Rwanda have committed to participate in the program. Rwanda hopes to have laptops for all of its schoolchildren within five years. ...

The Rhythm of the Cosmos, by Eric Chaisson (Tufts Univ.)

Ron — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 17:26:23 -0800

...The word "evolution" need not be the exclusive purview of biologists. In fact, Darwin never did use that word as a noun--and only once as a verb, in the very last sentence of his 1859 classic, "On the Origin of Species." Biological evolution is merely a subset, albeit an important one, of a much grander evolutionary scheme stretching across all of space and time. For the more we examine Nature, the more everything seems related to everything else. Indeed, the concept of evolution, broadly considered, has become a powerful unifying factor in all of science, underlying the rise of complexity everywhere...

There is no question that biological evolution (neo-Darwinism) is much richer than any kind of physical evolution among inanimate objects. No one is saying otherwise. There is real added value to the genetic information stored in living systems, and that's partly--along with enhanced energy flows noted above--what makes us more complex. Likewise, cultural evolution (mostly Lamarckism) is richer still, capable of producing cities, states and empires that are so socially complex as to play havoc with our very well-being as a civilization.

These are heady issues, vital issues, indeed, deep intellectual issues that ought to be raised more often in university settings. Humankind is now moving toward a time, possibly as soon as within a generation or two, when we shall no longer be able to expect Nature spontaneously to provide for us the environmental conditions needed for survival. Rather, society itself will have to create artificially the very conditions of our own ecological existence. From the two, society and the biosphere, will likely emerge a socially controlled bioculture. Here the components become ideas, artifacts, technology and humans, among other living organisms and machines on Earth--the epitome (thus far) of complexity in Nature. ...

The Challenge of Our Moment: A Roundtable Discussion with Don Beck, Brian Swimme, Peter Senge, & Andrew Cohen (WIE)

Ron — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 06:12:33 -0800

This seemed like an appropriate article to post in honor of Christmas Day. ~ ron

...if you've been following the evolutionary trajectory of What Is Enlightenment? over the past couple of years, you may have noticed that a new kind of thinking has indeed been finding its way onto more and more of our pages. Call it integral, second tier, holistic, or systemic, this new thinking is the hallmark of a growing wave of visionaries with the eyes to look beyond the surface turbulence and grapple with the multilayered complexities undergirding our global dilemmas. Challenging us to face the elaborate interwoven forces that are shaping our destiny for better or worse, these evangelists of higher-order thinking offer what many feel may be the best chance we have at meeting the demands of the years ahead.

So, in attempting to come to terms with our uncertain future, and particularly with the role that religion will play in it, for this issue we decided not just to speak with a number of these leading-edge thinkers but to bring them together and have them speak with each other. As firm believers in Plato's assertion that the highest form of knowledge is that which emerges in dialogue, we couldn't imagine what could give us a better chance of seeing the biggest possible picture than a roundtable discussion between some of today's brightest integral minds, who are each attempting, in their own way, to forge a more evolved course through our present and future world. ...

"What I've Learned," Kofi Annan (Sec. General of United Nations) Farewell Address

Ron — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:24:10 -0800

Thanks to RY Deshpande for sending this text of Kofi Annan's farewell address, which he delivered today at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, USA.

Nearly 50 years ago, when I arrived in Minnesota as a student fresh from Africa, I had much to learn -- starting with the fact that there is nothing wimpish about wearing earmuffs when it is 15 degrees below zero. All my life since has been a learning experience. Now I want to pass on five lessons I have learned during 10 years as secretary general of the United Nations that I believe the community of nations needs to learn as it confronts the challenges of the 21st century.
First, in today's world we are all responsible for each other's security. Against such threats as nuclear proliferation, climate change, global pandemics or terrorists operating from safe havens in failed states, no nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others. Only by working to make each other secure can we hope to achieve lasting security for ourselves. This responsibility includes our shared responsibility to protect people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. That was accepted by all nations at last year's U.N. summit. But when we look at the murder, rape and starvation still being inflicted on the people of Darfur, we realize that such doctrines remain pure rhetoric unless those with the power to intervene effectively -- by exerting political, economic or, in the last resort, military muscle -- are prepared to take the lead. It also includes a responsibility to future generations to preserve resources that belong to them as well as to us. Every day that we do nothing, or too little, to prevent climate change imposes higher costs on our children. ...

Nobel Winner Muhammad Yunus Warns of Dangers of Globalization

Ron — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 13:46:16 -0800

The Bangladeshi banker Muhammad Yunus, who invented the practice of making small, unsecured loans to the poor, warned today that the globalized economy was becoming a dangerous “free-for-all highway.
“Its lanes will be taken over by the giant trucks from powerful economies,” Dr. Yunus said during a lavish ceremony at which he was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. “Bangladeshi rickshaws will be thrown off the highway.”
While international companies motivated by profit may be crucial in addressing global poverty, he said, nations must also cultivate grassroots enterprises and the human impulse to do good. ...

The MIT Media Lab's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project: a New Prototype for Philanthropy?

Ron — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:28:42 -0800

...The concept behind the project, which Negroponte unveiled at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, less than two years ago, is as simple as its name: give all children in the developing world laptop computers of their own. If we achieved that, he believes, we could bridge what's usually termed the "digital divide." The laptops would offer children everywhere the opportunity to benefit from the Internet and would enable them to work with and learn from each other in new ways. OLPC, the nonprofit organization that Negroponte set up to manage the project, has taken responsibility for designing the computer and engaging an outside manufacturer to produce it. But the nonprofit is not going to buy the computers. That, at least for now, is the responsibility of governments, ...

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Program Surges Ahead; India backed out

Ron — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 12:55:01 -0800

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program has just taken another step forward by shipping the first 10 computers from the manufacturer in Taiwan, to the US State Department for testing. This is the first batch of the $100 laptops for children in poor countries such as Nigeria, China, Brazil, Egypt and Thailand who have already placed an order for 1 million laptops... India was part of the program initially until Indian Education Secretary Sudeep Banerjee reversed the decision to back the OLPC project. ...

Brian's Story

Ron — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 17:58:55 -0800

I'm posting below an item recently placed by my brother Brian into his blog on MySpace.com. It's about the impact the Internet has had on his life.

Brian was born, when I was 7 years old, with severe asthma, excema, and many allergies to both foods and inhalants. I'll always remember going to visit him on the second floor of our parents' home, in his special bedroom outfitted with air conditioning and electrostatic dust filters. The room felt cold and had a strange ozone smell from the dust filter, which would crackle and pop as it zapped dust particles. -- Brian was a tiny child and had to sleep in a special jacket; its sleeves were tied to his crib and it had stiff balsa wood inserts to keep him from scratching and infecting his allergic skin rashes. I could only imagine what it must have been like for him not being able to scratch what the doctors described as some of the most intense itches humans can feel. -- His doctors predicted for many years that Brian would never live out the next year. But Mom and Dad never gave up on him, sacrificing much to pay for his medical expenses and frequent emergency trips to specialists at the Children's Hospital 25 miles away in Boston. -- And Brian never gave up either. ...

SoL Sustainability Consortium

Ron — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 22:04:50 -0800

This is the website of SoL's (The Society for Organizational Learning) Sustainability Consortium. Their tagline:

"Our purpose is to build the learning capacity to achieve economic, ecological, and social sustainability."

This is an interesting website, an example of a new kind of social and organizational global collaboration grounded in net-savy individuals who are recursively informing and empowering one another. If you're interested in sustainability issues, consider plugging into this group ...

Berners-Lee, universities launch 'Web science' initiative

Ron — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 03:01:00 -0800

Representatives from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Southampton in the U.K. on Thursday announced the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI), a multidisciplinary project to study the social and technological implications of growing Web adoption. ...

Libya signs up for "One Laptop per Child." Will provide 1.2 million laptops for its students

Ron — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 15:44:44 -0700

The fifth developing country has signed up for MIT's "One Laptop per Child" program. This is the open-source project that India recently opted out of, reportedly because of fears of losing control of the education of their children.

The government of Libya is reported to have agreed to provide its 1.2m school children with a cheap durable laptop computer by June 2008. -- The laptops offer internet access and are powered by a wind-up crank. They cost $100 and manufacturing begins next year, says [the non-profit organization located at MIT's Media Lab] One Laptop per Child. -- The non-profit association's chairman, Nicholas Negroponte, said the deal was reached on Tuesday in Libya.

Google Literacy Project, Bollywood Style

Ron — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 14:42:39 -0700

Google has asked literacy groups around the world to upload video segments to Google's new online Literacy Project explaining and demonstrating their successful teaching programs. Among the first few hundred to be posted is a same-language subtitle project from India that uses Bollywood films to teach reading. ...

Google launches online literacy project

Ron — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 14:31:52 -0700

Google Inc. unveiled on Wednesday a Web site dedicated to literacy, pulling together its books, video, mapping and blogging services to help teachers and educational organizations share reading resources. -- The site was launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest gathering of publishing executives, in conjunction with the United Nations and a literacy campaign organized by fair officials. -- While the service seeks to combine a rich set of resources to combat global illiteracy, it also helps bolster the educational credentials at a company with a market value of around $120 billion. ...

The Impact of Maine's One-to-One Laptop Program

Ron — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:00:00 -0700

Here are the official reports on the impact of the "One-to-One Laptop Program" that has been underway in the USA state of Maine for the past several years. -- Imho, the actual measured results cast serious doubt on the veracity of India's educational bureaucracy's justification ("...there weren't any proved benefits of providing children with their own laptops.") of their recent rejection of the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) initiative ...

Nigeria supporting $100 laptop concept: One million bought already

Ron — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:27:06 -0700

All is not yet lost ...

The OLPC (One Laptop per Child) initiative for the developing world, the brainchild of Nicholas Negroponte, is gaining ground in Africa, with Nigeria announcing the acquisition of one million laptops.

The OLPC, however, has a competitor: a consortium led by Microsoft and Intel. ...

India Blocks The One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC)

Ron — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 12:58:15 -0700

Well, India has just dealt itself out of the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) project, a real mistake in my opinion. ...

The government of India's previous plans of buying laptop computers developed by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project have been abandoned. The reason: the project is "pedagogically suspect". -- According to the Kaumudi newspaper, India's Ministry of Human Resource Development said there weren't any proved benefits of providing children with their own laptops. Therefore, such a costly expense could not be justified, as other education-related issues were also in need of attention. ...

A learning revolution in China?

Ron — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 11:31:04 -0700

When Chinese parents line up to buy 251,000 copies of a book in one day - and 7 million copies in 23 weeks - you know publishing history is being made.

But The Learning Revolution is much more than a best-selling book. It is a catalyst to change the way you think, live, learn, work, teach and act.

It is certainly doing that in the world's oldest civilization, where it has become the centerpiece for a national debate on how 1.3 billion people can best prepare for the 21st century. ...

UC Berkeley extends reach to iPod generation

Ron — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 12:33:33 -0700

The University of California (UC) at Berkeley has joined other leading universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in offering courses free to the public via the Internet. UCB is now making these course available on Apple's Computer's iTunes Music Store in an easily downloadable format for viewing on Apple's color video iPod.

Think about this. High-level academic materials that have previously been restricted only to wealthy elites are becoming available to everyone. I anticipate that we'll soon be seeing incredible new contributions to human knowledge coming from poor, unknown kids living in small Chinese, African and Indian villages. Imagine what that will do for the world!
___________
"Podcasts of selected UC Berkeley course lectures are now available through Apple's iTunes Music Store.

"Further extending its curricular reach to the iPod generation, the University of California, Berkeley, today announced "Berkeley on iTunes U," a free service that makes video and audio recordings of a growing number of course lectures available both on and off campus through Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store.

"Berkeley on iTunes U" is now available by visiting itunes.berkeley.edu, and is open to the public as well as to all UC Berkeley students.

"... As a public university, UC Berkeley has a tradition of openness," [a Berkeley spokesperson] said. "It really speaks to our motto - 'Fiat Lux,' Let there be light." ...

Dramatic decrease in organized violence

Ron — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 10:33:37 -0800

All forms of violence are headed down, and the crucial years are between 1985 and 1990, which is just the time when after a continual increase (see the first three charts), the number of democracies jump up. The way to understand this is that in the late 1980s, democracies achieved a critical mass in the international system, a tipping point for violence. ...

"You've got to find what you love ..."

Ron — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 10:08:32 -0800

In June 2005, Steve Jobs, the Founder and CEO of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios, was invited by Stanford University (one of America's top universities) to give the commencement address to the graduating class. As I read it, I was struck by Jobs' integrity and commitment to telling the truth of his personal experience, even though much of it was not at all what one would expect from the typical college commencement address. I hope you are as inspired by it as I was. ...

$100 WiFi-enabled laptop to be distributed to children of the world

Ron — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 01:58:32 -0800

The MIT Media Lab has launched a new research initiative to develop a $100 laptop—a technology that could revolutionize how we educate the world's children. To achieve this goal, a new, non-profit association, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), has been created. The initiative was first announced by Nicholas Negroponte, Lab chairman and co-founder, at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland in January 2005.

The World Digital Library: "A Library for The New World"

Ron — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 06:33:51 -0800

..the time may be right for our country's delegation to consider introducing to the world body a proposal for the cooperative building of a World Digital Library. This would offer the promise of bringing people closer together by celebrating the depth and uniqueness of different cultures in a single global undertaking. ...

Center for Integral Education, San Diego, CA, USA

Ron — Sun, 13 Nov 2005 13:33:48 -0800

Integral Education, based on the teachings and philosophy of Sri Aurobindo and Mirra Alfassa (The Mother), focuses on developing the whole child. -- The Center for Integral Education operates the first two Integral Education schools in the United States: ...

"We Are the Web," by Kevin Kelly

Ron — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 01:31:07 -0800

"The Netscape IPO wasn't really about dot-commerce. At its heart was a new cultural force based on mass collaboration. Blogs, Wikipedia, open source, peer-to-peer - behold the power of the people."

"A Is for Ancient, Describing an Alphabet Found Near Jerusalem" (NYT)

Ron — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 22:47:57 -0800

In the 10th century B.C., in the hill country south of Jerusalem, a scribe carved his A B C's on a limestone boulder - actually, his aleph-beth-gimel's, for the string of letters appears to be an early rendering of the emergent Hebrew alphabet...

What Was God Thinking? Science Can't Tell

Ron — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 00:31:12 -0800

Scientists, this is a call to action. But also one to inaction. Why am I the messenger? Because my years of scientific research have made me a renowned expert on my topic: God. Just kidding. You'll soon see what I mean...