The Invention of "What"

My reasons for posting the following are not yet fully-formed in my mind. Take it then at your own leisure, at your own pace.

From Steven Johnson's "The Invention of Air":

"...in Priestley's age at least, leisure time was where ideas happened. You can't dabble in scientific experiments when you've got to use all your cognitive resources just to put food on the table, or when you don't even have a table to put the food on. Priestley was a professional minister and educator, in that he was paid directly for those labors, but in some fundamental sense he was an amateur scientist, particularly through the first two decades of his life. Like most of his Enlightenment-era peers, he was a hobbyist where science was concerned."

Priestley reached the top of Maslow's pyramid. His journey unburdened by worries about his next meal or the roof over his head; someone is paying him to think and to pass on knowledge. The latter action made Priestley something to talk about, as well. Though he was mistaken in some of his beliefs, he expended energy in putting his true and false thoughts to paper and mailing them to friends and associates around the world, including Benjamin Franklin. Franklin's thoughts on sharing information could be best said in his own words (quoted by Johnson in "Invention").

"These Thoughts, my dear Friend, are many of them crude and hasty, and if I were merely ambitious of acquiring some Reputation in Philosophy, I ought to keep them by me, 'till corrected and improved by Time and farther Experience. But since even short Hints, and imperfect Experiments in any new Branch of Science, being communicated, have oftentimes a good Effect, in exciting the attention of the Ingenious to the Subject, and so becoming the Occassion of more exact disquisitions (as I before observed) and more compleat Discoveries, you are at Liberty to communicate this Paper to whom you please; it being of more Importance that Knowledge should increase, than that your Friend should be thought an accurate Philosopher."

This sounds much like what we see going around the Internet -- on blogs, and comments, and discussion groups -- the sharing of thoughts and ideas in various stages of completeness and validity. Much like this post here. My own leisure time for the day is at an end and I must now click 'publish post' but will return tomorrow with more stuff.

What is the Question?

Little Brother
by Cory Doctorow

Marcus is a slightly above-average computer geek in high school with nothing much to worry about but grades and girls. When he and his friends find themselves detained by the Department of Homeland Security after a terrorist attack on San Francisco they find other things to worry about, other more important decisions to be made. They use their superior knowledge of how the Internet works to defend their freedoms and expose the cost paid when we willingly give up those freedoms to the government.

Found myself emotionally invested in the welfare of these kids, and I cannot remember the last time I was this thrilled and horrified at the same time while reading. “Little Brother” is a page-turner in the best sense.

"Little Brother" will also make for some good conversations about the Internet and Freedom with the young adult readers in your household. My only quibble is that I kept hoping for a less cartoon-like presence on the dark side of things. Marcus' dad was probably the closest we got to seeing why people make the choice to give up their liberties, but a more-reasonable DHS person or a non-thuggish conservative classmate would have been a good addition. The people who seem the most reasonable can be even more-terrifying than the obvious beasts.

Marcus’ friends do not necessarily go willingly, if at all, on the hard road he travels. Their own personal choices can add other ingredients to the conversation proposed above. Another note: though this is billed as a “Young Adult” novel, the younger person in your life might not be ready for some of the story. For example, Marcus is dealing with teenage boy hormones and interacts with girls in a manner you might not be comfortable with exposing to your own “Young Adult.” Read this for yourself first before passing it on.

I find myself most excited about this book because it is not asking us to "Question Authority" as many DHS supporters would assume. It is asking us to "Question". Period.

Author Cory Doctorow keeps the book in a free downloadable format on his website, though you can also purchase it through the normal channels like Amazon or your local bookseller. His website also offers links to sites where his book is discussed, as well as sites like cubeecraft (from where the Little Brother image above was borrowed) and Doctrow-affiliate boingboing carries a BBTV episode on guerilla t-shirt silkscreening based on the book.

Let me know if you find any answers...!