End of Ignorance

Subtly, a Web has always connected us. Now, the subtle becomes palpable. The World Wide Web unfolds as a global retina, tympanic membrane, and larynx, which enable each to redefine the meanings of 'proximity' and 'point-of-view.' Thus far, however, our new omni-organ has largely been put into the service of a dim ethos centered on profits, property, and survival-of-fittest. In End of Ignorance, we consider another possibility: that the Web might be utilized on behalf of conscious evolution, on behalf of 'educare'--to lead out. Until now, education on the Web has been framed within the familiar schooling conventions of close-by places, times, expertise, and financing. In this book, we attempt to see and speak from a more comprehensive perspective--from the viewpoint of 'noosphere,' Pierre Teilard de Chardin's word for encompassing, hominizing mind. We pose the question: Can noosphere, precipitated as the World Wide Web, provide a venue where hominizing-not-mechanical thought might gain systematic nurture by means of not-scarce education? 'Yes' is our answer. In End of Ignorance we propose Nooschool as a place where individual authentic interest might be evoked, nurtured, and refined-to-vocation. We advocate the systematic construction of a globally situated, omni-connected curriculum with stewardship protected from proprietary control.