Learning, we are all 're-mixes'

So I have been reading a fascinating book, The Pirate's Dilemma, which has an interesting hypothesis that Pirate's are really an essential part of a free society, and that they serve to keep the cycle of innovation and essence of freedom going. He presents a very persuasive argument for this. But that is not what hit me about the book. In one chapter he focuses on music, specifically the rise of the re-mix, the idea of hip hop artists taking snippets of, in some cases thousands, of songs, mixing them up and mashing them together into a new song.

And that got me thinking, particularly in conjunction with a phrase from The Gonzo Way (which you see I have added as my blog's new tag line): "I have been plagiarizing my whole life, it's called learning". I think, in a lot of ways, particularly in the Information Age we all live in, that we are all 're-mixes' or mash-ups'. Just from a genetic stand point a human is a product of 2 people, it takes 2 to tango etc. So biologically we are a combination of 2 different genetic sequences. Well then you add in the effects of parenting and upbringing. I am very much the product of 2 very different people in a lot of ways. Then there are the effects of siblings, (if there are siblings) and extended family if they are around much. And last you have the culture and technology. All of these factors combine to create the (semi-) finished product that is an adult.

So, using myself as an example, I had 2 different people as parents. Then 2 older natural brothers, and then 4 older step siblings, 1 step mother, 2 step fathers, and a grandmother combined for the influence of extended family. Then you have the effects of different schools, different friends, and the effects of mass media, books etc. Which accounts in total for my own unique perspective on things.

Well with the advent of the Web 2.0 age and computing, that really accelerates the effect. Because how I learn about something can be totally different from someone else because we first saw the story on 2 different web sites with different twists on the news. And the need for an ever wider pool of knowledge is needed in order to function. My grandmother used to swear by the concept that the sign of true intelligence is the ability to hold 2 conflicting ideas about an issue at the same time. Well any more that's almost a requirement. With the wealth of information on any subject that is available people just can't learn one side of an issue and stop. I am not talking about a depth of information so much as a general idea. The era of specialization is rapidly coming to an end. It just is not economically or socially feasible to specialize in one narrow job or group of people any more.

Another interesting side effect of the idea of the re-mix or mash up is the effect it has on celebrity. Celebrities are no longer just actors or just musicians or athletes, instead they try to see how many 'hats' they can wear. Successful athletic coaches become authors or spokespeople or promotional speakers. And while the conventional wisdom has been that the Jack of all trades is master of none, that is becoming less and less true. With the wealth of resources available to people now it is much easier to learn about trades and skills that previously people could only acquire thru specialized training. I am not saying the average person will be able to perform surgery or average a 3 minute mile, there are still some areas where specialization is required. But that list is shrinking.

All of which only increases the need and appreciation for people to not turn off their ability and willingness to learn when school ends. Formal education may end in High school or college but learning should not. One of the things that frustrates me sometimes with my extended family is people who have decided that the job they have or career means they can't or won't ever learn anything else and so they turn off their brains to some extent. If there is any one thing I learned from my upbringing is that learning and education never stop, and increasingly in our world, that is crucial to general success.

This all helps me clear up in my mind how James can be at the same time so much like me and also so different. And the same will go for Daniel and Emily. They are living in a different world, with different friends and family surrounding them. And with vastly different technology available to them. So while my approach to child rearing may be similar to my parents it by no means means that they will end up the same as me. About the only thing that I can look at with James and say that is me is his rather scattershot interests and quest for knowledge, and that is a good thing.