Eric Hardison wrote:
>
> On 3 Aug 96 at 11:18, Ken Pantheists wrote:
>
> > Most of my best work has come from my dialogue with emotional unbalance
> > and the fact that I probably drink too much.
>
> Are you an actor? If so, emotional balance is not the same as emotional
> torment.
My comment was meant to be a little sarcastic, but not entirely removed
from the truth. I believe a lot of very powerful work is produced from
inside the big questions in life. I don't know if I would call them
"Torment" but they are big and consuming and-- kind of fun actually.
My retort was intended to address your idea that the government is the
ideal entity for ensuring the emotional balance (read emotional
education) of people.
I suppose I posted before asking you exactly what you meant by emotional
education.
Sometimes, matters of life are just plain more powerful than
> anyone could deal with and tehy shatter a person. But wouldn't it be
> better if people were taught how to deal with that anger, depression, or
> elatedness?
What needs to be dealt with? Anger Depression and Elatedness are pure
things. Why are they suspect-- needing to be dealt with? I can see the
things that cause them being suspect. And I can see effective ways of
dealing with them.
> Wouldn't the world be better if people had patience and
> understanding? An emotionally aware person is empowered to control his
> own life. It doesn't take away from the thrill of living, it enhances > it.
I agree with the principle, but what about the core of your statement.
What is "emotional education" and how is it to be administered from a
government????
>
> Recent studies have linked successful people with a high EQ (emotional
> quotient). The skills required are a combination of inheritance and
> practice (just like IQ). Everyone has room for improvement, and the most
> important time is when they are young.
The children in Bali do not cry or make a fuss like western kids do. In
Bali, a child is considered a sacred thing, still part of heaven, for
the first year of its life. It is adorned with silver ankle and wrist
braclets and is NEVER put on the ground. It is heald constantly by a
mother, father brother, sister whatever... The child never develops
seperation anxiety and therefore never cries. On the child's first
birthday the silver is removed and the child is placed on the ground in
a special ceremony. From then on it is part of the world.
Is this close to what you mean??
So, I think it is the job of the
> school system AND parents. There should be more cooperation/team work
> between the two.
>
> > Would that make my work unacceptable to the citizens of a country whose
> > government is undertaking this goal?
> >
>
> I don't know what your work is.
>
> > What are you saying here?... that a homeless person or a heroine user
> > cannot communicate what it's like to be homeless or addicted to heroine?
>
> No, I'm saying that our economy is changing from one based on industry to
> one based on information. The most important commodity in the 21st
> century will be information. It's called "Third Wave Economics". Only
> those with the skills required to quickly make a sense of a complex world
> will do well in the coming age. They will need to be able to leatn
> quickly, listen well, adapt on the fly etc. This requires intense
> training from a young age, and our current education is inadequate to say
> the least.
I still disagree with you on one principle. Is it not the responsibility
of the individual to develop these skills? I don't think they can be
successfully taught.
Secondly, This Third Wave is not for everyone. What does Third wave
mean? No more farmers? No more auto mechanics? Why should everyone learn
the same "Third Wave" skill set?
> > This may occur but I don't see a direct link between power and
> > education.
>
> Hopefully, you see one now.
Sorry.... still don't.... One can construct a direct link, but it
doesn't make it right.
>
> Knowledge is the number one resource for the 21st century.
Knowledge about what? Growing fresh produce? Baking? Blowing things up?
Could you be more specific?
>
> Maybe a study should be done on the education background of net
> entrepreneurs. I think it would tell a tale of college graduates hard
> pressed to earn more money in an increasingly competitive economy.
> They're relying on their wits and intelligence in order to succeed, a
> precursor to the 21st century economy.
Call me a cave man, but I really don't believe in the power of a medium
to produce an entire economy. (Kind of like Athena springing full grown
from the temple of Zeus, no?)
Yes, I am a college grad and I'm looking to become a web entrepreneur.
I see myself with enough time and resources to learn this medium and
therefore develop a skill set that someone who's, say, running Ford,
doesn't have time for. I don't, and can't actually, see myself
transforming the economy of the world. Nor do I see the obsolescence of
non-web based skill sets.
Anyway-- back on topic. You still have not specified how the government
will oversee emotional education. What emotional skills will be
developed?
Final thought before I hit the hay--
I think your take on emotional education comes from a "TV culture"
standpoint. How can one think of teaching emotion to someone unless
there is first an abstraction of emotion. We live in a broadcast world
of abstract, false experiences. Your idea of emotional education comes
from a belief that *somehow*, people are not "emoting" correctly. That
they are having false emotions (?) and that it's fixable-- that there is
an abstract, correct way of having an emotion?.
Bah, I say.
You can't tune people that way.
Emotions are just what they are.
-- Regards +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ Ken Pantheists http://www.lucifer.com/~kenpan Virus Theatre http://www.lucifer.com/virus/theatre TooBa Physical Theatre Centre http://www.ffa.ucalgary.ca/vca/tooba.htm +--------------------------------------------------------------------+