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Pasted image 20241222132651
Deschooling Society: Matchmaking and the Internet
In Deschooling Society, Ivan Illich proposes an intellectual matchmaking program where people feed their names and interests or ideas they want to discuss into a computer to meet others who also want to discuss those things. In his vision, the meetings would take place in person, perhaps facilitated by private businesses like coffee shops and restaurants. He also speculated on sharing thoughts by mailing audio tapes.
Deschooling was published in 1970, twenty years before internet newsgroups came on the scene. Newgroups were a virtual space for people to discuss specific topics. If you were interested in ‘frugal travel,’ you could subscribe to the frugal travel newsgroup and share ideas with other people also interested in the subject. Mailing lists, often run by universities, were another way to exchange ideas with people interested in the same topic.
Later on, websites and blogs allowed people to self publish their thoughts and often included a way for readers to leave comments. Forums and message boards run by hobbyists allowed for more in-depth discussion. Social media made it even easier for the less technically savvy to connect with others all over the world.
I often wonder what Illich would think of all this. On the one hand, the computer matchmaking service he described is basically here. We have the power to have conversations with other people about topics of interest. We can share skills and both educate and be educated by our peers.
In Illich’s vision, the computer matchmaking service would be a public good and an option separate from institutionalized values - but is that what we are getting now? Our meetings and connections today are perhaps less self-selected than they were in the past. Corporations like Meta and ByteDance are managing our connections for financial gain unlike the universities and hobbyists running mailing lists and forums who did it for free and the love of the subject.
Influencers without real expertise in topics gain an audience by working the algorithm and preying on human nature. AI generated drivel full of affiliate links has taken over search engines. People may not have the knowledge and experience to tell when someone is truly an expert or a shill. This problem of commercialization and false experts doesn’t seem to be one Illich foresaw, or at least not one he discussed in Deschooling that I remember.
Maybe it just seems like the internet has taken a dystopian turn because I’m getting old. It still offers us a way to connect with so many people and to learn about events in our own communities. I occasionally attend a breadmaking discussion group on Zoom. People from Egypt, India, Germany, Peru, the UK, Singapore, and so many other countries come together to share ideas and experiences. It feels like the pinnacle of what the internet could be.
September 19, 2024 Illich Random
Juke Joint Festival
I thought I would write more regularly if I switched from Wordpress to Blot but that hasn’t been the case. I am not sure what it takes. Maybe having something to say?
John and I spent most of April traveling around the South. A major draw was the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi. I first heard about this festival in 2019 after reading a book on Robert Johnson which described the juke joints in the South. A juke joint is similar to a bar or tavern, although it might be a room in someone’s home or the backroom of a business. Juke joints were places where African Americans gathered to listen to music, eat, drink, dance, and have a good time. Musicians like Robert Johnson traveled from town to town earning money by playing at juke joints.
Each year, the Juke Joint Festival brings 10-20k people to listen to the kind of music you’d hear in a Juke Joint. It’s just the right size for a festival, imo - still small enough to feel grassroots, crowds that are manageable.
Clarksdale is a town of about 20k in the Mississippi Delta, the home of the Blues. A sign marking the crossroad where Robert Johnson sold his soul is nearby, although some dispute the location of the crossroads or doubt Johnson sold his soul at all. We’d spent the night before in a cheap hotel near some casinos in Tunica, not far from where Johnson grew up.
Like other rural towns, Clarksdale has seen better days. We were getting a little nervous as we headed into town, passing by one abandoned building after another. I was on edge after reading about the high crime levels.
That having been said, there’s a lot of positive energy in Clarksdale right now. Meraki Roasting Company, a project under the Griot Arts umbrella, offers young people a hands on opportunity to learn how to run a business. Creating opportunities for kids is a big deal in a town where 26% of the population is under 18.
I hit Meraki up every morning for coffee and an omelet. I was really excited to find traditional Southern food, vegan style, for lunch: a pea loaf with collards and sweet potatoes. This was the kind of coffee shop we all want: good coffee and food, couches, books, a stage, chill vibes.
Quapaw Canoe Company hosted the festival camping. This is another organization that’s actively engaged in building community. We wound up in the overflow camping area at Soldier’s Park which was a short walk along a trail to downtown Clarksdale. There had been some flooding in the area in the days before so the river looked like a pond and the disc golf baskets were mostly under water, just the tops peeking out.
The festival was fantastic. Downtown Clarksdale was transformed by all the people and musicians. There were about a dozen stages set up throughout the town for outdoor performances and musicians also played inside juke joints. We saw some great shows. Highlights for me were CRUZ the Dame, Cash’s Juke Joint, harmonica player Deak Harp, Earnest “Guitar” Roy. We also got to hear Jimmy “Duck” Holmes play Bentonian style blues.
It was neat to see how this festival has allowed Clarksdale to transform even buildings with no roofs into something special. An old theatre had a stage and four walls but no ceiling. The shows were al fresco.
The Juke Joint Festival was everything I hoped it would be and it was inspiring to see people coming together to bring something amazing to their town. I will be keeping my eyes on the festival calendar in Clarksdale.
The Band Name Game
I’ve found a new game. I think of a band name and then check to see if anyone has taken it. It turns out that if a band name sounds cool to me, there’s a good chance I’ll like their music!
The most interesting thing I’ve found this way (so far) is a compilation of psychedelic music from Africa. Band name? The Hoboes.
How poor were the people who came to Maine in the 1700s?
Adams, John W., and Alice Bee Kasakoff. “Wealth and Migration in Massachusetts and Maine: 1771-1798.” The Journal of Economic History 45, no. 2 (1985): 363–68. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2121705.
The authors make a convincing case that the migrants who came to Maine in the late 1700s were more likely to be middle class than poor. How else could they afford the trip?
January 25, 2024 Genealogy Maine
The Brechtfast Club
I am SO EXCITED. When I was in St. Louis last June, I saw an ad in a coffee shop for The Brechtfast Club, a ’theatrical adaptation of the movie ’The Breakfast Club’ in the style of Bertolt Brecht.’ Unfortunately, the play was that night and it was too late to get tickets.
Tonight I decided to contact the theatre to see if they had any recordings. They have a professional recording right on their website!!!!!
https://www.eratheatre.org/the-brechtfast-club
Thoughts or comments? Drop me a line! eva@blindhopes.blindhopes.com