tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76904372024-03-13T11:49:37.779-07:00Barefoot In the headIf you think so....Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-16269598907544598672021-11-15T11:19:00.000-08:002021-11-15T11:19:13.129-08:00Children, the internet, and a gecko called TikTiki<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Investec is a large
investment company in South Africa and they wanted me to do an education
experiment with them. It was the height of the COVID pandemic, and I was in lockdown
in Kolkata (Calcutta) in India. It turned out to be a challenge for virtual education
over the internet. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We all know that the
UN has something called ‘Sustainable Development Goals’, or SDGs as they are
called. However, while we know SDGs exist, few know what they are. Investec
wanted change that. Their plan was to have one expert and one learner for each
SDG. The expert would tutor the learner in the SDG and the sessions would be
recorded on video. This would then form a bank of videos that can be used by
people to learn about SDGs. It looked all very planned and neat. Except for
SDG4.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The 4<sup>th</sup> SDG
is about education. It says, “</span><span lang="EN-GB">Ensure inclusive and
equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.
Children worldwide would be affected by this SDG. Investec decided that
children should learn about SDG4. But how would this happen in the middle of
the pandemic?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Investec chose a triplet from London. They
were 11 years old and, obviously, born at the same time from the same mother.
And who would be the tutor? Guess what, they chose me! There would be three
sessions of about 45 minutes each, over the internet, from Calcutta to London.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Eleven year olds find it difficult to sit
still for more than a few seconds, particularly if there is a talking head of
some old geezer on a small screen in front of them. What on earth was I to do?
How would the girls understand words like inclusive, equitable, and lifelong
learning? Why would they care?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I decided that even I, the tutor, did not
understand all the words of SDG4 all that well. So, I decided I would tell them
that I did not quite understand and ask if they could explain what all this was
about, to me. I asked Investec if the girls would be allowed to use the
internet during the sessions and they nervously agreed. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The sessions took place on the 18<sup>th</sup>,
24<sup>th</sup> and 27<sup>th</sup> of May, 2021. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">During the first session, after much
yawning and shuffling, the girls woke up when I asked what they would do about food
on a deserted island. After much deliberation, they decided to cook fish in
coconut milk inside a coconut. I thought this was brilliant and if anyone
served this in a London restaurant, it would cost no less than 10 pounds. They
looked happy at the thought so I asked what they would do about schooling on
the deserted island. While they thought about it, the session ended. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In the second session, I told them about a beautiful
gecko that was neither dead nor alive on my sideboard. It was a real story, so
I must have sounded a bit freaked out and the girls leapt onto their tablet and
found out everything about geckos. How did they learn all this? I asked. The
girls were only interested in geckos by this time and I requested that we return
to the deserted island. They reluctantly did and I asked them about education
where there were no schools and teachers. “Oh, OK, we just need a tablet”, they
said and lost all interest in the matter. The session ended. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">In the final session, the girls wanted to
know about Calcutta. I showed them pictures of the Howrah Bridge over the Hoogly,
a boat, a hand-pulled rickshaw and a very fancy tourist bus. “There are many ways
to get from one place to another”, I said. There are many ways to learn, I said
and we discussed how birds can talk but don’t really know what they are saying.
That’s not learning, is it? The girls grinned. They were really restless, not
because they were bored, but because they had figured out SDG4. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">“Everyone must go to school. If there is no
school, they can make their own school. On a deserted island we must learn how
to learn (their words!)”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">You can see the three sessions, if you have
the patience, here: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://www.investec.com/en_za/focus/class-of-2030/sdg-4-quality-education.html">https://www.investec.com/en_za/focus/class-of-2030/sdg-4-quality-education.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-13638347629943555082021-09-11T05:40:00.002-07:002021-09-11T05:57:21.233-07:00Going forward to normal<div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{70656d7c-5386-45e1-a057-008a6228ec92}{164}" paraid="793177697" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; 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color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">In the April of this year, I had suggested</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; 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background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">that</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> verbal examinations can replace </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">traditional, paper-and-pencil</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">,</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> physical </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">examinations in </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">schools and universities, as is the norm for the award of a Ph.D. degree. That interview is here: </span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{70656d7c-5386-45e1-a057-008a6228ec92}{164}" paraid="793177697" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: right; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">( </span></span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW215199392 BCX0" href="https://www.tes.com/news/exams-phd-viva-sugata-mitra-school-cloud-future-technology-world-ed-summit" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none; user-select: text;" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #0563c1; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">https://www.tes.com/news/exams-phd-viva-sugata-mitra-school-cloud-future-technology-world-ed-summit</span></span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> )</span></span><span color="windowtext" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;"> </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{70656d7c-5386-45e1-a057-008a6228ec92}{164}" paraid="793177697" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: right; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span color="windowtext" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{70656d7c-5386-45e1-a057-008a6228ec92}{199}" paraid="1614732468" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">In August, the UK government declared the results of the GCSE and A-Level “examinations”. The scores were computed by groups of teachers and based on many past tests and interviews with students. The results showed large improvement in performance across the UK. Students celebrated and Universities drooled over the possibility of more and better admissions. There was an overall reduction in stress across learners, parents, teachers, schools and employers. So, what went right – and was it right? The government’s stern warning: This will not be the norm – soon we will go back to normal. The normal, in this case, consisting of </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">stressed-out</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> students, spewing out memorized material, not allowed to talk, listen, look at or type to anyone or anything. Like a deadly game of The Chase, in real life. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{70656d7c-5386-45e1-a057-008a6228ec92}{207}" paraid="1434621992" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{70656d7c-5386-45e1-a057-008a6228ec92}{207}" paraid="1434621992" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">What these recent results </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">tell</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> us</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> about education</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> are quite simple, and often obvious. </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">I have a list and here are </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">a few</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> of the key ideas: </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{70656d7c-5386-45e1-a057-008a6228ec92}{227}" paraid="716022603" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle-defn="{"ObjectId":"8266ae2d-1421-47fb-86d7-b547f0f658ce|7","ClassId":1073872969,"Properties":[134233614,"true",201340122,"1",469775450,"normaltextrun",469778129,"normaltextrun",469778324,"Default Paragraph Font"]}" data-ccp-charstyle="normaltextrun" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{70656d7c-5386-45e1-a057-008a6228ec92}{227}" paraid="716022603" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle-defn="{"ObjectId":"8266ae2d-1421-47fb-86d7-b547f0f658ce|7","ClassId":1073872969,"Properties":[134233614,"true",201340122,"1",469775450,"normaltextrun",469778129,"normaltextrun",469778324,"Default Paragraph Font"]}" data-ccp-charstyle="normaltextrun" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Do not teach learners what they can learn by themselves</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle-defn="{"ObjectId":"8266ae2d-1421-47fb-86d7-b547f0f658ce|8","ClassId":1073872969,"Properties":[134233614,"true",201340122,"1",469775450,"eop",469778129,"eop",469778324,"Default Paragraph Font"]}" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">– rather obvious is it not? It is just that the list of things learners can learn by themselves</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">, using the internet,</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> is getting to be uncomfortably large.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{70656d7c-5386-45e1-a057-008a6228ec92}{241}" paraid="233348690" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="normaltextrun" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{70656d7c-5386-45e1-a057-008a6228ec92}{241}" paraid="233348690" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="normaltextrun" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Allow the use of the Internet during examinations</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">– everybody googles all the time</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">,</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> but for some reason, we want</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> to prevent </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">others, particularly young learners</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">, from doing so. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{6}" paraid="102968531" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="normaltextrun" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{6}" paraid="102968531" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="normaltextrun" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">You need to know when you need to know</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">– you don’t, anymore, need to know things just in case you ever need them. It is no longer normal. Maybe it was normal in Robinson Crusoe’s time.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{16}" paraid="534064374" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{16}" paraid="534064374" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">On the internet, schools, teachers and learners can be anywhere </span></span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">– you don’t have to “belong” to a school. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{24}" paraid="498854236" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="normaltextrun" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{24}" paraid="498854236" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="normaltextrun" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Conversation and interaction with teachers can provide accurate assessment of learning</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">– as we saw from the recent results.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{34}" paraid="276427796" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{34}" paraid="276427796" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun Highlight SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; outline: transparent solid 1px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">During the pandemic lockdowns, schools closed everywhere. Teaching and learning moved into the virtual world of the internet. It was no longer fashionable to say, “I am not good with tech”. Instead, teachers who had resisted using the internet for years, and indeed the rest of us, all became experts at digital video conferencing, </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">bandwidth, </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">cameras, lighting, microphones and acoustics. But we all made a mistake. We thought we would create virtual classrooms using the internet. It did not work </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2,url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">well,</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> and we said, “It’s not like the real thing, we need to go back to normal”. We did not realise we were trying to make an automobile behave like a hors</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">e</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> and cart. We do not need classrooms over the internet, we need different kinds of </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">learning environments. Some self-organised by learners, some guided by teachers.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{34}" paraid="276427796" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{50}" paraid="1437500009" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="eop" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle-defn="{"ObjectId":"8266ae2d-1421-47fb-86d7-b547f0f658ce|9","ClassId":1073872969,"Properties":[134233117,"true",134233118,"true",134233614,"true",201340122,"2",201341983,"0",268442635,"24",335551547,"1033",335559740,"240",469769226,"Times New Roman",469775450,"paragraph",469777841,"Times New Roman",469777842,"Times New Roman",469777843,"Times New Roman",469777844,"Times New Roman",469778129,"paragraph",469778324,"Normal"]}" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">As the Corona Virus pandemic reaches a plateau in most countries, it is increasingly evident that the virus and the related disease is not ‘going away’. It will remain for a long time, although relatively benign. Perhaps the virus will </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">become</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> just a nuisance like the common cold, or a </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">slayer</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> of old people like influenza or even a vicious but rare killer</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> like rabies. As restrictions are lifted</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">,</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> it is common to hear of </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">“going back to normal” or “as life returns to normal”. Expressions of hope and positivity – that are </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">unfortunately</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> naïve. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":true,"134233118":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":240}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{78}" paraid="1121776248" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="paragraph" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"134233117":true,"134233118":true,"201341983":0,"335559740":240}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{82}" paraid="1652061600" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">We cannot move backwards in </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">time;</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> we can never go “back” to anything. Even if we could - to what “normal” shall we return? Is 2018 the “normal” we want to go back to, or is it 1918, or perhaps even 1818? The past is always glorious to the human mind, possibly because our brains keep good memories and bury the bad ones. “Normal” is the way we used to do things in the past – not the recent past because the bad memories are still not submerged enough, and not too far in the past because before an (unspecified) period of time, we were “primitive”. There is a gloriously rosy spot somewhere in between, when everything was Nice, and Proper, and Normal. The trouble is that this magical period is different for different people. It was the “Roaring Twenties” for the West in general and Britain in particular. It was the 8</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 8.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun Superscript SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-fontsize="11" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> century in the Middle East, and the 5</span><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 8.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun Superscript SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-fontsize="11" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> century BC in Persia, China and India. </span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{82}" paraid="1652061600" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{100}" paraid="476980854" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">What do we do then, if there is no </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">normal,</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> we can all agree upon and no time we can go back to? Fortunately, there are some things we </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">can</span><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> do quite easily. We can go forward in time, whether we want to or not, </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">as a matter of fact</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">. And “normal” is what most people like to do, at least that is how it should be. Until recently, we had primitive methods for figuring out what most people like. An easily manipulated voting system, or a monarch who knew “the pulse of the people” or even a supernatural entity who would whisper, in some suitable language, into the ears of an unsuspecting bloke. We had to live with these methods for defining what normal was, since the beginning of civilization.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{100}" paraid="476980854" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{118}" paraid="925775625" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">“</span><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">As of </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">January 2021,</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> there were 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide - 59.5 percent of the global population. Of this total, 92.6 percent (4.32 billion) accessed the internet via mobile devices.” – the internet told me in less than a second on 13</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 8.5pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun Superscript SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-fontsize="11" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2,url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">August 2021. </span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{118}" paraid="925775625" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2,url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">(</span></span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW215199392 BCX0" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; user-select: text;" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="none" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: #0563c1; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/</span></span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">). </span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{118}" paraid="925775625" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{118}" paraid="925775625" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">However, mobile devices are not allowed during examinations. It is not normal. It is no longer normal to </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">desire</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> a non-human entity that stares out of a screen and says, “ask anything</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">”.</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> But it is here.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{118}" paraid="925775625" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{118}" paraid="925775625" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Osiris found this article interesting and I did a webinar recently. You can view it here: </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{118}" paraid="925775625" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{118}" paraid="925775625" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Segoe UI, Segoe UI Web, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">(<a href="https://osiriseducational.co.uk/webinars/learner-assessment-webinar/">https://osiriseducational.co.uk/webinars/learner-assessment-webinar/</a>).</span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{118}" paraid="925775625" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{149}" paraid="196367994" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">A new world is creating itself, partly real and partly virtual. Not just schools, but </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2,url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">workspaces</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">, jobs, banks, hospitals, supermarkets, cinema theatres, and too many things to list, are all heading into a hybrid reality. </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{149}" paraid="196367994" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW215199392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{155}" paraid="1426829791" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">If we wanted to, we have the means to find out what most people </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">like or</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> know or believe in – in seconds. </span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{155}" paraid="1426829791" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW215199392 BCX0" paraeid="{c2944499-d431-4c02-b86f-a1cad128139f}{155}" paraid="1426829791" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW215199392 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">If we wanted to, we could go forward to normal.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW215199392 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div>Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-28768473615664576412021-09-08T09:40:00.002-07:002021-09-08T10:04:11.266-07:00Can a TV game show be useful?<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">TV quiz shows are
popular all over the world. They are a rage on British TV for example and are
broadcast 24 hours a day on all days. The act of winning substantial amounts of
money by answering trivial, obscure and usually utterly useless questions from
memory seems to have a mesmerizing effect on people. What if we could put this
odd liking to good use?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Imagine a TV quiz show
where a team of four players are asked the usual trivia questions, except that they
are allowed up to 30 seconds to look for the answers on an internet search
engine on a large screen visible to the audience. Correct answers accumulate 1000
pounds (or equivalent) for a session with 20 questions. So, the maximum accumulation could be 20,000 pounds! At the end of the
session, a quizmaster is asked as many questions as the participants got right,
with a total time limit of 30 seconds times the number of questions. For
example, if the participants got 14 questions right, the quizmaster would get 7
minutes to answer another 14 questions. If she can, the participants lose all
the money, if he cannot answer the stipulated number of questions in the
allocated time, the participants get to share the pot and take the money home. This
is modelled after a highly popular British TV show called “The Chase”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The advantage of such
a show would be that, in addition to learning the answers to trivia questions,
the audience would get to see how effective searches are done. How to compute
the correct search method, how to sift through the results rapidly and accurately
avoiding the spam and misleading results, how to comprehend what the right
search result is trying to convey and finally, how to communicate the final answer
to the question from the search results. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If such a show is watched
by as many and with as much attention as the mindless game shows that are so
popular, we would have an effective way to improve computing, comprehension and
communication skills. The three skills that people, and particularly children,
need more than almost any other today. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-57835640983807874982021-07-30T10:41:00.001-07:002021-07-30T10:41:35.459-07:00The new PC - from three decades ago!<p> While looking for something else, I found this article that was published sometime in the early 1990s in an Indian magazine. It is a SciFi story of a future woman and her new PC. The 'future' in the story is probably 2007 or so! You just might find it still relevant although I had got the timeline rather wrong. Here it is, just as I found it, with no edits: </p><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p aria-level="1" class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{156}" paraid="635433778" role="heading" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 23.7417px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">The New PC</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335559738":240,"335559739":60}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Arial, Arial_EmbeddedFont, Arial_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 23.7417px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{160}" paraid="1730831961" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 17.2667px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 17.2667px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{162}" paraid="2022983293" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: right; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17.2667px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">- Sugata Mitra</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":3,"335551620":3}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 17.2667px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{168}" paraid="171397149" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 17.2667px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 17.2667px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{170}" paraid="325828811" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">The new PC came as a bit of a surprise. It was only two years ago that I had bought my present notebook. I still remember the amount of time I spent configuring it, that summer of 2005. I didn’t really know much about Operating Systems and things like that at that time. The guys in the office helped a lot, although I am not really sure that is a nice thing. Their motivation is always a little suspect, I suppose it’s the Older Woman phenomenon. At 45, I don’t really care. I guess I am lucky the young men still offer to help!</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{176}" paraid="1571515515" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{180}" paraid="1600548933" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">The December 15 R&D Virus of ’07, later called the D15, is not a nice memory for me. It must have come down the mobile link from one of the music sites while I was driving. I think I said, “Ignore” without thinking, and my Agent, Gill, must have obeyed, thinking it should do just that rather than interrupt the streaming audio. Well, serves me right, because by the time I reached the office, the D15 had infected the battery intelligence and the changed voltages had already fried parts of my RAM. The system was working with only 16 Terabytes and I kept thinking it was Gill running some background programs until the capacitors started to pop. The notebook stopped entirely within a few minutes of that. Only a few seconds before the end, Gill managed to pump out a few hundred </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Tbytes</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> on to an emergency server on the Web. Gill could be pretty stupid and insensitive for a 200Mb Agent, but I loved it for those last few seconds before it died. I still remember its doggy face frozen on the screen, and its thin emergency whine as it squeezed the full power of the old 2.2 </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Gigahertz</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> CPU into compressing my frequently used data files and </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">microwaving</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> them out through our miserable 1Tbps connection. They say programs cannot die because logic chains are immortal once they are created, so goodbye Gill, hope you’re happy wherever you are.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{198}" paraid="48969615" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{202}" paraid="14310453" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">The new PC arrived on Christmas Day, 2007. It didn’t cost me a penny thanks to the Virus Insurance Act of ’02, thank God. Not that it compensates for the hassle of lost data but at least you get the machine back. And viruses can be vicious these days, ever since they started to auto mutate back in the ‘99s. Anyway, one lives and learns, I said to myself as I took the new PC out and threw the </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">displastic</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> carton into the sunny part of the balcony so it would evaporate quickly.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{212}" paraid="1778755593" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{216}" paraid="886965594" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">It’s only when I took the PC into the study that I realised how much computers have changed in the last two years. This PC was just a black rectangle, about twelve inches by six and maybe an inch high. It was just under a pound and I stood there holding on to it wondering how to open it or switch it on. No luck. Finally, I put it down on the table to go look for a manual in the carton. I didn’t need to because the PC started to open up! Two solar panels unfolded from the top and spread themselves out turning a bit towards the study window. As they unfolded, they revealed the familiar dark blue keyboard framed in the gunmetal rectangle that was the antenna. At the lower corners of the keyboards were the shiny silicone lenses of the video receptors blinking quickly once every second as the black </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">vidlids</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> slid over them to wipe off any dust. I had heard of these bionic models but never seen one. It looked out of this world. The edges of the box were beginning to show more detail now. At the back was the projector lens, a tiny square of light with a full one hundred and eighty degree tilt and swivel, now projecting a test pattern on a four foot diagonal square on the left wall, the only place in my study where there is a blank wall. The left and right edges of the PC had illuminated bars for storage space and energy. Both showed full green and I wondered how much space I had, they say some of the recent models have over 800 Terabytes. The front edge of the PC had a row of indicator lights and a set of embedded sensors I couldn’t quite </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">recognise</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">. The indicator lights turned red, then amber and quickly green. I straightened my hair and fidgeted a little.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{230}" paraid="1513733091" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{234}" paraid="339351490" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“Hello Maya”, someone said from the back and I swung around nervously. “Sorry, I’ll adjust the surround sound”, said the PC, “ the ambient noise can sometimes confuse the initial settings”.</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{240}" paraid="1103688598" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{244}" paraid="1387730988" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“Oh. Hi.” I said feeling a little foolish. After all, my old notebook used to speak too. I adjusted my sari and felt more confident. The green lights in the front of the PC changed for an instant from rectangles to hyphens and back again. Like a faint smile, I thought.</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{250}" paraid="1923339244" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{f1f45393-8806-4bfe-afda-fbcf5bbafa46}{254}" paraid="788377399" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“ Tell me your specs, what kind of agent do you use?” I asked, adding a little wistfully, “ I used to have one called Gill.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{5}" paraid="218862605" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{9}" paraid="1993010465" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">“ I don’t use an agent, I am one. My name is </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Vonn</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">. From Von </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Neumann</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">, you know. I know the Gill agents, they stopped production almost a year ago, but quite a few are around on the Web.”</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{23}" paraid="237481994" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{27}" paraid="1758599906" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“ Well, Gill was pretty efficient,” I began spiritedly, “ and I don’t think I like those green lights in front of you”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{33}" paraid="1611013708" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{37}" paraid="89519323" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">“ Excuse me,” said </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Vonn</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">, in a quieter voice, “ your sandwich toaster says you sometimes fix yourself a sandwich around early evenings on holidays, shall I turn it on?” </span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{47}" paraid="1156251036" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{51}" paraid="1917171935" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">I shook my head.</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{57}" paraid="1268045221" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{61}" paraid="1643233069" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">“ OK, let me tell you a bit about myself,” said </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Vonn</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{71}" paraid="1039058537" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{75}" paraid="428273416" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">“ I am a Bionic2 model, released December, 2007. I use the Cognitive Windows OS from </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Wintel</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> Corp. as implemented on a </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Shockeley</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> 799 CPU running at 24 </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Gigahertz</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">. I have 640 Terabytes of memory with a dynamic RAM allocation to suit speed requirements. I am self powered and continuously connected to the Web for data, voice and media applications. I interface with all information appliances in your house and elsewhere”….</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{93}" paraid="911653291" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{97}" paraid="284994942" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“By the way,” I interrupted, “I haven’t checked my mail today”.</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{103}" paraid="1174079512" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{107}" paraid="51701498" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“You had some, nothing very important, I think. Would you like to see it, hear it or shall I just make a summary?”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{113}" paraid="77541835" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{117}" paraid="1533450353" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“ Are there any interesting ads?”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{123}" paraid="1393721953" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{127}" paraid="1810644697" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“Well, there is a 3D one on liver reconstruction, they claim the reconstructed organ has better functionality than the real one”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{133}" paraid="1648913413" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{137}" paraid="1562750213" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“No thanks”, I winced, “ Did anyone call?”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{143}" paraid="1090610476" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{147}" paraid="1855868026" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“Yes, Robert called while we were speaking, he said he would drop by in a short while”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{153}" paraid="1268319598" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{157}" paraid="547899498" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“What did you tell him?”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{163}" paraid="312067130" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{167}" paraid="2090225241" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“ I said it was OK, you had already agreed to see him earlier”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{173}" paraid="1306259200" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{177}" paraid="1146623652" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">I gulped, “ How did you know that?”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{183}" paraid="878827385" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{187}" paraid="753061208" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“ A Gill agent from the Web returned some data saved on an emergency server”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{193}" paraid="1022548150" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{197}" paraid="814327253" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“ Gill?” my heart jumped a beat, “Is it still there on the Web?”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{203}" paraid="263684728" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{207}" paraid="1626027481" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“ I think so. It said you don’t really like Robert much but you do see him on holidays”.</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{213}" paraid="532912453" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{217}" paraid="1550456406" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“ Yes”, I laughed, “ he is kind of OK, he built my Home Page and put in some really funny lines”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{223}" paraid="90360590" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{227}" paraid="1336078935" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">“ By the way,” said </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Vonn</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">,” I have transferred your Home Page from that public server to my local storage”</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{237}" paraid="885918273" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{241}" paraid="379338081" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“ Hey, just a minute, isn’t this a client connection?”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{247}" paraid="1659630533" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{fe43de1e-43d3-43f2-a1fa-b315512a7197}{251}" paraid="1781684770" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“There are no PC clients anymore. All PC’s are servers. All two billion of them. Only information appliances are clients. Like your toaster and other stuff around the house.”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{2}" paraid="701935695" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{8}" paraid="974492648" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“Hmm. That sounds a bit risky to me. Remember what happened to my last PC?”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{14}" paraid="1838719275" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{18}" paraid="31450218" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Vonn</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> chuckled. “ It won’t happen again”, he said, “ I have a simulation of myself running on the emergency server network all the time. If my body is destroyed, just get another one and I’ll be back”.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{26}" paraid="692509570" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{30}" paraid="1457509963" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">“ The doorbell saw Robert driving up”, said </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Vonn</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{40}" paraid="1503120413" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{44}" paraid="941620240" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">I started to fiddle with my hair again. “Try it this way”, said </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Vonn</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">. It projected an image of me on the wall and opened a window with a reconstructed image with the hair thrown a little forward over the forehead. I liked it and tried to copy it with my hands until the two images looked similar.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{54}" paraid="286260535" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{58}" paraid="1719913067" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Robert knocked. He never uses the doorbell but </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Vonn</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> was projecting his image on the wall. I was beginning to enjoy this. The December light had faded and the room was quite dark. The front indicators on my new PC had changed from green to the soft pearl white I like so much. I leaned towards </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Vonn</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> in the darkness and smiled.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{72}" paraid="1802081145" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{76}" paraid="743871675" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“Let there be light”, I said.</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{82}" paraid="1072296511" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{86}" paraid="19505075" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">And there was light.</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{92}" paraid="527627846" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{96}" paraid="147746705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">__________________________________________________________________________________ </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{100}" paraid="1868474473" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="Body Text" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Sugata Mitra works on Cognitive User Interfaces and Adaptive Systems. He has a Ph.D. in Solid State Physics and heads </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="Body Text" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">NIIT’s</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-parastyle="Body Text" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> R&D.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{108}" paraid="181466841" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">The opinions expressed by Sugata are his own and do not reflect those of his organisation or of the publishers.</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{114}" paraid="1363588505" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">He can be contacted at </span><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">“</span><a class="Hyperlink SCXW214102262 BCX0" href="mailto:Sugatam@Internet.NIIT.co.in" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; user-select: text;" target="_blank"><span class="TextRun Underlined SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-charstyle="Hyperlink" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Sugatam@Internet.NIIT.co.in</span></span></a><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">”</span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW214102262" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{130}" paraid="1640877741" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW214102262 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">__________________________________________________________________________________</span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{130}" paraid="1640877741" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW214102262 BCX0" paraeid="{bfd3a9f2-ad18-4e6f-b101-643f5539974f}{130}" paraid="1640877741" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="EOP SCXW214102262 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"335551550":6,"335551620":6}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">That byline and the email address are the clues that dates the article to the early 1990's.</span></p></div>Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-7829033654721789612021-03-22T23:42:00.000-07:002021-03-22T23:42:57.201-07:00The Conscious Mirror<p> <span> </span><b>My first attempt at self-publication!</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IMY3GtB6irI/YFmK7kRcxBI/AAAAAAAAGsA/Rl-kxv7FokE7zOlRrpz34vxKYX_K61LqACLcBGAsYHQ/s410/cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="410" height="285" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IMY3GtB6irI/YFmK7kRcxBI/AAAAAAAAGsA/Rl-kxv7FokE7zOlRrpz34vxKYX_K61LqACLcBGAsYHQ/w405-h285/cover.png" width="405" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Published by lulu.com in 2021. Paperback available on Amazon
and most online book sellers. Search for ‘the conscious mirror sugata mitra’
and hopefully you will get to it.</span></b></p><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">I came to know about ‘Tripura
Rahasya’ from an erstwhile Facebook friend, Angsuman Chakraborty, to whom I am
extremely grateful. It is a free pdf download. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">After reading it, I found that I
would often recall lines, thoughts, or ideas from the book, while going about
my normal life. This happens with many books and usually subsides with time and
after reading other books. With ‘Tripura Rahasya’ this did not happen. So I
read it again, somewhat more slowly than the first time. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">After the second reading, ideas
from the book began to crystallize in my mind. I started to experiment with the
ideas, relating them to the actions of myself and others. I realized that the
book was not quite about philosophy, it was about psychophysics, from another
world in another time. Not only that,
but parts of it were also like a manual explaining how to do things with or to
the mind. I decided to read it again. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">After the third reading, I
realized that this book was a textbook for a course of study on
self-realization. I knew by now, from personal experience, that I was under the
influence of a powerful instructional design. I decided to republish the
original English translation as a synopsis, to make it more succinct and
acceptable to a 21<sup>st</sup> century audience. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">The original author Haritayan,
possibly a Professor at an ancient Indian university, wrote the ‘Tripura Rahasya’
around 250BCE, well over 2000 years ago. It was probably a ‘taster’ course for
applicants. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">Next, I had to research
copyrights carefully, here is what I found:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">Part1 of
this book is authored by me, so no problem.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">Part2 of
this book is a reproduction of the original Sanskrit text of the book “Tripura
Rahasya” authored by <u>Haritayan</u> of antiquity circa 250BCE and hence in
the public domain.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">Part2 also
contains sections from an English translation of the Sanskrit text by the late
Swami Sri Ramananda Saraswathi (born <u>Munagala S. Venkataramaiah</u>) and
first published by the late <u>V.S. Ramanan</u> (President, Sri Ramanasramam,
Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India) in 1959. I have identified parts of the
translation that refer to corresponding parts of the original Sanskrit text and
inserted them in the right places. According to the copyright laws applicable
to books published in India, literal translations of works by unknown authors
of antiquity, first published more than 60 years ago are free of copyright. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">It is now sold as a paperback on the internet and you need to search 'the conscious mirror sugata mitra' to get to it. I hope.</p>Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-76404829231148317542020-09-15T00:10:00.003-07:002020-09-15T00:10:57.511-07:00Review: The Social Dilemma<p> ‘The Social Dilemma’ is a documentary on Netflix that has been recently released. It is about the evils of social media and is causing a lot of distress. A school principal was dismayed that now parents are going to say, ‘We told you so! Take away the internet from children, immediately’. Hopefully, nothing of the sort will happen. </p><p><br /></p><p>This documentary is worth watching, but with an open and discerning mind. First, note that it is produced by disgruntled ex-employees of Facebook, Twitter and Google. Then, note that the views of the other side, people from these, and similar, companies, are missing. And, of course, children’s opinions are absent, but that is usual. </p><p><br /></p><p>The main contention of the documentary is that our minds are being psychologically manipulated by AI, created by evil designers. This used to be called ‘advertising’, I think. Note that any algorithm that uses a lot of data to make accurate projections of short-term future is called AI. In my time, we used to call these ‘moving averages’, ‘standard deviation’ and extrapolation. Nobody thought these were evil. </p><p><br /></p><p>Missing entirely in the documentary is the main new idea of our times, that when lots of things are connected together (phones, computers, people) into a network, we get self-Organizing Systems. Self organizing systems can show Spontaneous Order and Emergent Behavior. Ilya Prigogine got a Nobel prize in the 1980's for discovering this. </p><p><br /></p><p>Self Organizing Systems are unpredictable, so they cannot be ‘programmed’ for evil. Organisations like the ones above can only facilitate their formation, not what they will do. Like a gardener who can plant flowering plants, but cannot say where a beehive might form. You cannot make Self Organising Systems do anything, you can only let them do what they will. </p><p><br /></p><p>Jaron Lanier, the inventor of Virtual Reality, is prominently present in the documentary. He even compares us, humans, with neurons in our brains, being ‘forced’ to mindlessly perform as part of a network! Well, imagine if all the neurons in your brain became independent, free agents, while you sat around – brainless and smiling vacuously.</p><p><br /></p><p>Algorithms in social media have small, very specific goals, usually to focus your attention on something. Just as neurons have a small and specific goal, to connect with other neurons. If the internet makes all of humanity into one giant brain, that would probably represent an evolutionary step. Evolution is not evil, it has no goal – it just happens. </p><p><br /></p><p>Similar documentaries and comments have been made about books, newspapers, television and radio when they were invented and started networking people. Even the postal system was not spared criticism. It all created some noise and died down. As will this one. </p><p><br /></p><p>Lastly, someone in the documentary suggests that children below the age of 16 should not be allowed to google! That is a bit like saying that the reading habit in children should not be encouraged until they are grown up because they might read comic books. </p><p><br /></p><p>So, do watch the documentary, and enjoy the paranoia. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-92131374621145101862020-03-24T23:31:00.000-07:002020-03-24T23:31:11.024-07:00A Hole In The World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There is
a space in her home. It is a 8’x8’x8’ cube. Or 3m x 3m x 3m if you like metres.
When she enters it, one wall lights up with the Internet. She finds a webcam in
the Amazon delta. The climate control in her Cube reproduces the temperature,
humidity, sound and light levels of the webcam in minutes. Sweating, she rents
a virtual drone and flies. She wants to get to the coast and meet some people
there. When she reaches the blue-and-muddy water, the children come running out
to their cube and screen. She smiles and speaks, hoping the translator will do
a reasonable job with Portuguese. It does not, and the children laugh and roll
around on the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All the
technology to do this is there already. It is not expensive and can get cheaper
if we keep electric cars and spaceships on hold for a while. We don't need to isolate ourselves with expensive VR headsets - we need to share screens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We need
reliable batteries, broadband, a projector that can project high resolution
images vertically without having to be placed horizontally away from the wall.
All of this exists. We need a climate controller that can cool, heat and
humidify a small space quicky. We need 3D surround sound and variable lighting.
All exist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The idea is
really simple. Imagine you are on a video conference with someone, using Skype,
Zoom, WhatsApp video or whatever works for you. You would be using a screen of
some sort, and so would the other side. On your screen you see a bit of the environment
of the other side, just as they see a bit of your environment on their screen. Now
imagine if your screen was the size of the wall in front of you and it was the
same on the other side. It would now be as though the two walls have merged
into one glass wall – the two environments have become one. If you are in your
study and your friend is in her living room, it would now look to you as though
her living room was an extension of your study. Similarly, to you friend it
would look as though her living room had your study attached. There would be a
hole in the world connecting your spaces. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To enhance
presence, you would need to match the sound, light temperature and humidity of
the two connected environments. You could decide which one to replicate on the other
side. It would be cheaper to do this to a small, enclosed space, hence my
suggestion of the cube.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We can
create this world, a world as alien to a virus as a virus is to our biological
selves. Unless, of course, we would rather go back to the world that we left
behind. A world where we kill the enemy and live happily ever after. Just as
there are people who want to go back to the 20<sup>th</sup> century or the 7<sup>th</sup>
– even today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">COVID19 has
changed our world, swiftly and immensely. It has emptied the world and put
people in their homes. It has closed commerce, industry and almost all physical
human interactions. It has shut down the world as we knew it. We need to create
a new world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We are now
alone, except perhaps for immediate family. We have to avoid the outdoors,
except to get food and medicines. We have to be as clean and isolated as
possible. In the process, along with the COVID, we will also avoid all other
infection, viral or bacterial. Presumably, we will need less medicines.
Presumably, we will need less food. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Gradually,
we are getting used to the ideas of silence, clean air and living with
ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Along with
this physical isolation there is a growing new world, seething with activity –
the Internet. It is rapidly replacing the unidirectional world of television
and print. In this new world, we live with the Internet (I think we should get
used to spelling it with a capital I). It is our collective consciousness, our
collective Self. It has no physical form, it exists but is not ‘anywhere’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We access
the Internet all the time, with devices, usually small phones, tablets or
laptops. Sometimes we use a desktop screen and love the size and presence it offers.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We respond
differently to large screens than to small ones. I learnt this from watching
children learning off the Internet on large screens. Large screens have large
presence. Large screens can be seen, shared and heard by others. Children
clustering, physically or virtually, around large screens learn rapidly through
shared experience. Twenty years ago, I saw this by embedding Internet connected
computers into walls in public spaces in the slums and villages of India. The
experiment was dubbed the ‘Hole In The Wall’ by the media. Over the years, the
hole in the wall became ‘Self Organised Learning Environments’ in England and
then the ‘School in the Cloud’ all over the world. But it remained a curiosity
in the physical world of classrooms and playgrounds and shopping malls. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I think we
need those ideas now in our new world. From social distancing we can move to a life that is more full of activity and learning than it was ever before. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We need a Hole In The World. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-53257000769780419972020-03-14T00:04:00.000-07:002020-03-14T00:04:19.614-07:00The School in the Cloud - when children and teachers cannot come to school<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Corona
Virus, Covid-19, has done what experts have suggested, but not been able to
implement, over decades. It has stopped children from being herded into classes.
At least for a while. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">So, what’s
going to happen to the children who are at home? Who is going to look after
them if their parent(s) are away to work? What will they do all day?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I have worked
with children, both in and out of school, for several decades. In particular, I
have worked on what the internet and children can do together. Maybe, in all
those years of work, are some answers to what could happen in a world without
schools as we know them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In what
follows are some ideas that I know will work, some that may work although I
have not tried them and some that are just guesses. If you are a teacher or a
parent, I hope you will find some of this useful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Groups
of unsupervised children sharing an internet connection on a large screen in a
safe and public space, can learn anything by themselves – if they want to. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This was
the main finding from the ‘hole in the wall’ experiments of 1999-2005 in India
that led to the development of ‘self organized learning environments (SOLEs)’
between 2006-2009 in England. Later, we added a ‘granny cloud’ from 2010 to
augment the process and whole thing was called ‘the school in the cloud’. Its
all there in my book ‘The School in the Cloud – the emergning future of
learning’ (</span><a href="https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/the-school-in-the-cloud/book257918"><span style="color: blue;">https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/the-school-in-the-cloud/book257918</span></a>)<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">. References to published research work
are available from my website at <a href="http://www.cevesm.com/">www.cevesm.com</a>
.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Maybe it is
time to bring the school in the cloud to this strange new world we have been plunged
into by the Corona Virus of 2019. Here are some of the things you could do –
and some that you should not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Make a
group</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> of 24 children
using, say, WhatsApp, FB messenger or something similar. <i>This is not a ‘class’
and you are not going to do ‘online teaching’.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Take anything
that you think would be interesting for the children to learn about and <b>make
a question </b>out of it. Start a group chat and build up to the question. This
is a very critical part of the process you are about to start. Don’t make the
questions too easy. Not the kind that google can produce an instant answer to.
Questions that you or anyone else does not know the answer to are sometimes the
best! There are lots of questions that teachers have tried, good or bad, available
from sites such as </span><a href="https://startsole.org/"><span style="color: blue;">https://startsole.org/</span></a>. Also, the Granny Cloud (<a href="http://thegrannycloud.org/"><span style="color: blue;">http://thegrannycloud.org/</span></a>)
has people who have used the internet to talk to children for over 10 years.
They can give you invaluable advice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It may be poetic justice to ask, ‘Is a virus dead or alive?’
as one of your first questions. No one, I think, knows the answer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It would be ideal if the children in your group could form
groups of about four each, maybe by gathering at someone’s home. They should
access the internet using a <b>large screen</b>, such as a desktop computer or
a smart TV. Tiny devices like smart phones and tablets are not good because it
is difficult for more than one person to see what’s on the screen. Giving a device
or computer each to every child is <i>not a good idea</i> – you want them to share the
resource and <b>share their ideas</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it is not possible to make physical groups of children, things
are bit more complex. Try to get each child to access the internet from a large
screen and, at the same time, be in touch with other children in the group,
using whatever means works best – phones, tablets, Bluetooth, whatever. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tell the children they must <b>collectively arrive at an answer</b>,
or answers, to your question. Suggest a time to reassemble. They could present
that collective answer in whatever form they want – video, audio, document,
presentation etc. But it must be only up to six answers for your group of 24.
Not more. They have to discuss and figure out how they will assemble the answers.
They must figure out how they will go about finding the answer. <i>Don’t make
this sound like an order</i>, tell them you are helpless, you don’t have the
time to look at 24 answers. Ask them if they can <b>figure this out by
themselves</b>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is your new sci-fi school. Just some learners and you, floating
in cyberspace. ‘You go there, I will go with you’ is all you can say. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is called a Self Organised Learning Environment. A SOLE.
It works with children from 8 years old to young adults in Universities. That
is as far as I know. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can map an entire curriculum into questions. A curriculum
that is made of the things that we don’t know is more interesting than one that
is a list of the things that we know. In trying to figure out what we don’t
know, learners will come across what we do know, anyway.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The statement, ‘No one knows the answer’ attracts all of humanity
- we are built that way. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The SOLE as a method of learning needs no tests or
examinations. After all, the whole process consists of learners attempting to
answer questions, which is what tests are all about anyway. You could give a
score to each SOLE session, if you like. You won’t find out how much learners
remember, but you will find out how they can critically examine issues and
problems. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This then, could be your school. The Corona Virus may have
closed schools down, or it may have expanded them to cover the globe. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If these suggestions interest you and you do try them, please
let me know how it went. There will be many ways to let me know, I think. You
figure that one out <span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol-ext; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">😊</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-28102416400768429682020-01-06T21:59:00.000-08:002020-01-06T21:59:40.193-08:00A sixth sense?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Our brains
are in total darkness inside the skull. The only inputs a brain gets are the
rather limited range of signals from the five sense organs. VIBGYOR from the
eyes, just a tiny bit of the electromagnetic spectrum. 20 Hertz - 20 KiloHertz,
a tiny part of the audio spectrum from the ears. A few molecules, of the nearly
infinite numbers that exist, that we can sense with our noses. Even fewer
molecules that we can sense with our tongues. And finally, the few grams to the
few kilograms that we can sense with touch. With these miserly inputs, our
brains, floating in pitch black darkness – creates reality. It’s own reality, a
limited sense of what is out there. If there is any ‘out there’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A long time
ago, when I was a post doc at the Technische Universitat in Vienna, my friend
the late Ing. A.K. Bannerjee and I sat in a café at Karlsplatz and discussed
why our sense organs are located where they are. Mr. Bannerjee pointed out that
the higher up on our faces the sense organs were, the less the mass they sense.
I took the idea and worked on the numbers. There seemed to be a correlation
between where the sense organs were on the face and how much the energy of the
particles they sensed. I wrote this up as a paper and could not find anywhere
to publish it. Finally, an Australian journal called ‘Speculations in Science and
Technology’ accepted our paper. It was published in 1982 and many read it, frowning
and smiling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">At the Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi, where I was by then back from Vienna as
a research associate, I discussed the idea with my friend, Dr. Amitabh Jain. He
had an intensely practical theory about why the sense organs were where they
were. It had to do with food. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Before
putting a bit of food into our mouths, we need to guess if it is likely to harm
us in any way. First, the nose tells us if it smells alright. So, the nose
needs to be on top of the mouth. Then the ears tell us if it is making a sound
(the squeal of a rat is not good, the sound of a sizzler is safe). Finally, the
eyes tell us if it looks edible and harmless. I did not think it was much of a
theory, but it had an evolutionary flavor. Maybe we could even design a set of
four sensors placed at about the same positions they are on a face and use it
to find out if a piece of food might be attractive to a potential eater or not.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Anyway,
back to the paper. The journal it was published in went out of business. There
was no Intenet back then, so the paper just vanished. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Last week
(January, 2020), I found a yellowing reprint of it while cleaning out a drawer,
I have scanned it and put it on my website. Here is the link: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://7551850c-18fa-45d6-98bc-8e2829cc3850.filesusr.com/ugd/369ee5_50da0d4bb8c542b880ad088306cbf89b.pdf">https://7551850c-18fa-45d6-98bc-8e2829cc3850.filesusr.com/ugd/369ee5_50da0d4bb8c542b880ad088306cbf89b.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it doesn’t work, you could go to my website, <a href="http://www.cevesm.com/">www.cevesm.com</a>, and navigate to the section
called ‘Hard to find publications’ and click on the paper. <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-55036229305213466342015-12-30T04:23:00.001-08:002015-12-30T05:25:42.753-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>In 2001, I was asked to write an article about the next ten years to come. I tried, but what came out was the next 10 million years. The article was eventually published in German in a student magazine called Ultrazinnober (No.3). Its available in German from Amazon.de</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Here is the English version. I found it fun to read after 15 years....</i><br />
<br />
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<b>Eight powers of ten</b></h2>
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<b>-Sugata Mitra</b></div>
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Projection, prediction, prophesy and fantasy</h3>
There are four ways you can think about the future. In the near term, the length of which may depend on the subject you are thinking about, you could project. For example, you can project that there will be more and better cars next year. You could even project how many cars will be sold by studying the trends from the past couple of years. Projection as a method of forecasting the future is safe if you take a small enough length of time and if the trends you are forecasting are in some pattern.<br />
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In the short and medium term, the length of which will also depend on what you are forecasting, projection may not work too well and you will need to predict. Predicting is different from projecting because you will need to see farther and, therefore, will need to take into account factors that may come into play that can disturb a smooth trend.<br />
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In the long term, which may spread over decades, you would need to prophesy, because, beyond a certain point, you may not be able to extrapolate to the future. Yet prophecy need not be merely intuitive, sometimes looking back at the past can give us clues about what might happen in the future.<br />
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In the very long term, say in hundreds of millennia, even prophecy, or intuition may not help. Here you can only fantasise. Even then, your imagination, which is the main tool for fantasy, is often derived from your knowledge, experience and desire. Even fantasy must have a basis.<br />
<br />
When I sat down to write about what might happen to computers, I decided not to restrict myself to any period. Instead, I decided to start with projection and see when I need to move on to prediction, fly into prophesy and drift into fantasy. That way, we can go on a very long journey indeed, as you will see.<br />
<br />
To organise the times we will talk about, I took powers of ten and added them to the year two thousand. So the first period will be the year 2000 plus ten to the power of zero, which gives us AD 2001. The next period would be the year 2000 plus ten to the power of 1, which gives us AD 2010 and so on.<br />
<br />
Salt Lake City, Calcutta, was pleasant indeed on this December morning of 2001 when I began to look forward. The journey went on until eight powers of ten….<br />
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Power of zero: AD 2001 and onwards..</h4>
<b>Processor</b><br />
The two gigahertz Intel pentium will be commonly available around the end of 2002. Intel says so and they are usually very reliable.<br />
<b>Memory</b><br />
Windows XP requires a minimum of 128 Mb so it is reasonable to suppose that 256 Mb will be common and 512 Mb RAMs will be what everyone will like to have.<br />
<b>Storage</b><br />
Rewritable CDs are easily available and the standard will probably change to the DVD format that is currently used for video disks. This sort of standard will increase the CD capacity to something between 4 and 16 Gb by 2003.<br />
<b>Software</b><br />
Windows and Linux will dominate the scene for sure. I hope Microsoft will make Windows free in this period. By the end of 2002 it will be clear which of these operating systems will dominate for the next few years. I think a Windows look-alike for Linux will probably be the winner.<br />
<br />
Freeware and open source (where software writers give away the software for free and even tell you how to write your own) will become the new standard in most software. A new economics will have to emerge to decide how people will get paid for their labour.<br />
The Internet<br />
The Internet will explode with activity. A mature electronic commerce will rise from the ashes of the dot com bust and begin to take over from conventional business models. Some businesses will cease to exist as they do now. For example, the music industry will change completely, followed by the film distribution industry.<br />
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By 2003, Internet appliances will begin to become common in households. Mobile phones took over many of the functions of the PC in 2002, this was just a hint of devices to come. Machines with computers embedded in them, connected to and controlled through the Internet. For example (as a hopeful TV ad already shows), a refrigerator may “know” how much milk is in it, at what rate you consume it and, therefore, place an order over the Internet when required. It will, of course, check with your bank to see whether you have money to pay for your milk, before placing the order. Initially, it will even ask your permission before doing all this, but not for too long!<br />
<br />
The toy industry will see the first major changes to Internet enabled toys. Teddy bears that download speech and music, cars that drive around on their own, robot toys, video telephony, games played by thousands of people all over the world, these and many more will be common.<br />
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<b>Applications</b><br />
So, what will we do with all this power? It is hard to project, but the next two years will be the beginning of a transition to a great, connected world that we can barely imagine.<br />
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Machines that think, machines that know, machines that remember and machines that are connected will be the dominating paradigm.<br />
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Power of one: AD 2010</h4>
<b>Hardware</b><br />
The computer as we know it would have disappeared and become small enough to fit into anything. From watches to handbags, from bottles to toilets, everything would have embedded computers in them. Everything would connect to everything wirelessly.<br />
<br />
Computing power would have moved on to the equivalent of terahertz and would cease to be a limiting factor for most purposes. Storage would be entirely solid state and almost infinite at the molecular or atomic levels, where individual atoms and molecules would store one of more bits. A full-length feature film, for example, would be stored in a piece of material the size of a fingernail.<br />
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Software</h4>
Software would have changed to an art form. Each piece of software subtly different from another. Individuals will put together software on their own much as artists create paintings. The large corporations that used to create software will become manufacturers of software objects, the “paint”, the “brushes” and the “canvas” for the individual developers.<br />
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Every operating system will be different from each other, indeed every word processor will differ from each other, yet they will be able to communicate with each other and, sometimes even change themselves.<br />
<br />
<b>The Internet</b><br />
One in every four human beings on earth would be connected. The Internet would be a melting pot of over four billion people. It will be used for everything, from religion to sex, business to government, from relationships to research, the net will rule all lives on the planet.<br />
Living systems<br />
The first decade of the 21st century will see massive advances in the life sciences. Genetic engineering will become the most preferred profession, finally dethroning computer science. We will begin to understand what life is and to manipulate this understanding to create organic and silicon life of our own design. The first artificial life forms, indistinguishable from nature will arrive in this decade.<br />
<br />
<b>Applications</b><br />
Computing will be all-pervasive, to the extent that the term “computer application” will be considered archaic, like calling a bicycle a “machine application”.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the greatest applications will be in medicine. Hearing and sight will be routinely restored by embedded systems. As will defective hearts, kidneys, lungs and livers. In the process an understanding of how silicon systems can interface with the brain will begin to form. An understanding that will change all humanity forever.<br />
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Power of two: AD 2100</h4>
<br />
To understand the year 2100, one needs only to agree that it will probably be at least as different from the year 2000 as 2000 was from 1900.<br />
<br />
<b>Software</b><br />
Computing systems will be developing and maintaining their own software routinely. Such adaptive and self-organising systems will tailor themselves to their owners needs, much as a cell in a body can adapt itself into the correct organ depending on where it is.<br />
<br />
Even more importantly, computing systems will be designing and creating new computing systems, the first artificial beings to do so.<br />
The Internet<br />
The net would have spread across the solar system, linking planetary Internets together. People would be routinely guiding vehicles on other planets as they can control web cameras in remote locations, today. Like computers, the Internet will be a non-issue. Something that everybody will take for granted. By the dawn of the 22nd century, machines will be controlling almost all aspects of human destiny.<br />
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<b>Life and cognition</b><br />
The big difference between the year 1900 and the year 2000 is in our fundamental understanding of nature. I think the greatest and the strangest of this understanding is our knowledge of quantum mechanics. An understanding that is the basis for all electronics. The ability of an electron to be in two places at the same time, to move backwards in time, to do almost everything the 19th century called impossible.<br />
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A similar understanding will change the world in the 22nd century as quantum mechanics did a century earlier. I think this time the breakthrough will be in the cognitive sciences. We will finally begin to understand cognition. The neural connections of the human brain will be completely mapped and understood. Psychology will have achieved the status of a mathematical science; much as chemistry did two hundred years earlier and biology will in the next fifty years.<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Applications</h4>
People will be doing significantly different things than the previous century. All pervasive computing would have made many professions extinct. The programmer, the engineer, the doctor, the lawyer, the businessman, would all be fond old memories. The artist, the writer, the musician will be under threat from artificial cognitive systems.<br />
<br />
Remote presence and the storage of human personalities will be as simple as writing an autobiography or creating an organ bank is today.<br />
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Education used to fill the first 25 years of life for thousands of years. In the 22nd century, its form and content would have changed completely. People will learn continuously and automatically. Machines and new educational methods would speed up the process ten fold. Primary education will be universal, ubiquitous and automatic.<br />
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The pursuit of pleasure will be a major preoccupation.<br />
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Power of three: AD 3000</h4>
<b>Life, cognition and consciousness</b><br />
If the 2nd millennium was the millennium of science and technology, the 3rd would have been the millennium of life and mind. The 4th will be the millennium of consciousness.<br />
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As cognition becomes understood a new Physics will establish itself. A Physics of consciousness. It will have been invented in the 21st century, but will be used only in the 4th millennium.<br />
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While machines that are alive, cognitive and conscious will be common, their creators, human beings, will find less and less use for their own bodies and brains. The brain is a network of neurons. Neurons and their connections can be completely replicated in computer memories. Brains and their conscious personalities would be routinely represented as strings of zeros and ones – binary strings. Space travel would be common and non-physical. Bits can travel easily at the speed of light. Perhaps faster. Power, money, religion and sex, the driving forces of human destiny for many millennia would be irrelevant and nearly unknown.<br />
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Becoming a binary string has other advantages as well. Immortality being one. Humanity will begin its transformation from matter and energy to time and information.<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Power of four: AD 12000</h4>
<b>Meaning and creation</b><br />
Ten thousand years is a long time. Long enough for changes to be strongly discontinuous. In 12000 BC, the Vedas (early Hindu philosophical text, circa BC8000?) had not been written, the pyramids had not been built and our understanding of the universe was minimal. We barely had clothes.<br />
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In AD 12000, ten thousand years from now, our understanding of the universe is just as dramatically different. We understand the nature of the universe in terms of information. Reality is mutable. We understand, finally, the meaning of meaning itself.<br />
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We had never learnt how to create matter or energy out of nothing, because it was impossible. We learn now how to create the perceptions of matter and energy, out of nothing, with information alone. The Universe is what we perceive. We begin the creation of a new reality. A universe created by us. We exist here as binary states, expressed any way we like. As magnetic poles, as photons, as abstract mathematics even. We choose our mode of existence. We are superhuman.<br />
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We have no bodies, only consciousness and memory that we preserve in our binary state. The Earth is a distant memory of an incredibly primitive existence.<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Power of five: AD 102000</h4>
<b>Change of species</b><br />
Homo Sapiens gives way to Homo Eternal. They coexist for a while as the Neandertals did with us a hundred thousand years ago.<br />
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We have no individual identities; humanity merges into a single being. A Being without form - ageless and timeless.<br />
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There is no technology, we manipulate pure information and create new realities to play with. It is a turbulent time. We question why we are the way we are. We learn to live with ourselves alone, in a last, supreme loneliness.<br />
<br />
“There were no stars, no Earth, no time<br />
no check, no change, no good, no crime,<br />
but stillness….”<br />
<br />
Byron had said, a long, long time ago.<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<br />Power of six: AD 1,002,000</h4>
<b>Point Omega</b><br />
A million years pass, like a spark from a loose connection. The collective consciousness that calls itself Homo Eternal, meets other collective consciousnesses from other times and spaces. Each time they merge to form a greater whole. We reach Tielhard de Chardin’s Point Omega.<br />
<br />
We grow and continue to search for a Supreme Consciousness, until we realise – We are That.<br />
<br />
<i>Tat twam asi </i>– words from an incredibly distant past ring out again. (“Thou art That”, quoted from the Upanishads, early Hindu texts, circa BC 8000, author(s) unknown).<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Power of seven: AD 10,002,000</h4>
<b>Formlessness</b><br />
<b>The bein</b>g that calls itself The Creator is tormented by Its own questions. It creates universe after universe, and watches helplessly as Its creation unfolds, evolves into pure consciousness and merges into Itself.<br />
<br />
It wonders Why.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Epilogue</h3>
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<i>The evening sun shines weakly through the ashok trees in Salt Lake City. I save this article as magnetic domains on a plastic disc coated with rust (ferric oxide). The screen blanks out as the article converts itself into a binary string of zeros and ones.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The year 2002 seems like a very long time ago.</i><br />
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Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-20556420542125339072014-08-31T08:56:00.001-07:002014-08-31T09:01:23.900-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">From the<br />Hole In The Wall<br />to the<br />School In The Cloud</span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-large;">The story so far....</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Experiments<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>1999-2014</b></span></div>
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<b><sup><span style="font-size: large;">The Hole
in the Wall</span><span style="font-size: 72pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></sup></b></div>
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<b><sup><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></sup></b></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: large;">Groups of children can learn
to use computers and the Internet by themselves, <o:p></o:p></span></sup></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>If they are
left unsupervised</i></span><span style="font-size: 28pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Later experiments</span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 36.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Groups of children can learn almost anything using the Internet</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yr4IOjac88k/VAM8j5ROUNI/AAAAAAAACB0/O_Dhw0qTItA/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yr4IOjac88k/VAM8j5ROUNI/AAAAAAAACB0/O_Dhw0qTItA/s1600/4.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 28.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">This kind of learning happens in unstructured, unsupervised and free environments</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Why did we not have this before?</span><span style="font-size: 26pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Schools of the 19<sup>th</sup>
century were meant to produce soldiers, clerks and factory workers<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">There were no
telephones, computers or the Internet<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Creativity would
adversely affect the smooth operation of Empires</span><span style="font-size: 26pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b>This</b></div>
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<b>is meant to produce these people</b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Cambria;"><b>but we still have them!</b>
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<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">SOLEs</span><span style="font-size: 48pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>S</b>elf <b>O</b>rganised <b>L</b>earning <b>E</b>nvironments can be created inside schools</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 28.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Creating a SOLE</span><span style="font-size: 28pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">One computer with
Internet for every four children<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Children make
their own groups around each computer<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">They can talk to
each other and to other groups<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">They can walk
around<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">They can change
groups if they like.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">They research a Big Question</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Create the 'Edge of Chaos' in the classroom and you will get Emergent Order</span></b></i></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">The ‘Granny Cloud’</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M8loARJSH64/VAM-Vr1p5GI/AAAAAAAACCc/yyruzpInJu4/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M8loARJSH64/VAM-Vr1p5GI/AAAAAAAACCc/yyruzpInJu4/s1600/9.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Children react well to encouragement<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Children exceed targets if encouraged<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Children like to show off to a friendly adult</span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 26.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">A New Primary Education</span><span style="font-size: 28pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Convert the
curriculum into questions<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Preferably,
questions to which no one has an answer<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Change assessment
from factual recall to creative expression of ideas<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Look for methods
of problem solving rather that the application of memorized procedures<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Use SOLEs as a
major pedagogic method where children find their own answers<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lnDPQZXRgSw/VAM-dvzyIzI/AAAAAAAACCk/D1AADqXzjno/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lnDPQZXRgSw/VAM-dvzyIzI/AAAAAAAACCk/D1AADqXzjno/s1600/10.jpg" height="176" width="400" /></a></div>
<b style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"> SOLE+Granny Cloud+Big Questions</span></span></b><br />
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rvQL0JbKPbE/VAM-o7P1lcI/AAAAAAAACC0/isucujXdgn0/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rvQL0JbKPbE/VAM-o7P1lcI/AAAAAAAACC0/isucujXdgn0/s1600/11.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>This can be built anywhere</b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aGm8zz2GU04/VAM-yipgsQI/AAAAAAAACC8/KpcmmONBj3Y/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aGm8zz2GU04/VAM-yipgsQI/AAAAAAAACC8/KpcmmONBj3Y/s1600/12.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>It is a space, not a school</b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u34Jpky-Qa8/VAM--_UwqlI/AAAAAAAACDE/RgrB3yT_aEw/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u34Jpky-Qa8/VAM--_UwqlI/AAAAAAAACDE/RgrB3yT_aEw/s1600/13.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>It may produce people</b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ix_F7CMYmFk/VANDX3h3s0I/AAAAAAAACDM/bXcDc5expjY/s1600/office.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ix_F7CMYmFk/VANDX3h3s0I/AAAAAAAACDM/bXcDc5expjY/s1600/office.jpeg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Cambria;"><b>for offices like this....</b>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Will this improve:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"> Reading comprehension?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Critical
thinking?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Creativity?</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Self confidence?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Searching skills?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">We think so, and
are collecting the evidence….</span><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
</div>
Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-40902091139683249742014-06-12T12:26:00.000-07:002014-06-12T12:26:32.351-07:00A New Literacy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center" class="Body" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I don't need to know
everything, I just need to know where to find it, when I need it”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div align="right" class="Body" style="text-align: right;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"> Albert Einstein<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These words from Einstein, written decades before the
Internet was created, are prophetic. They predict an age when ‘knowing’ becomes
obsolete. We live in that age. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, this does not mean we don't need to know things. We do
all the time. It’s just that we don't need to know as much as possible in the
first seventeen years of our lives, and then, remember and use this knowledge
for the rest of our lives. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a world where we were mostly in places and
situations where, if we needed to use knowledge in some form, we had to get it
from our own brains. There were no other places to look in. That world does not
exist anymore. When we need to know, we can know in seconds, anywhere. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We need the skill for where and how to access the knowledge
that we want. Those skills are very different from how knowledge is accessed in
a library, from a teacher or even on the phone. Children growing up at this
time need to learn this new skill. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We know that children can learn to use the Internet on their
own, if they are allowed to and encouraged to. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How would we measure if children have acquired the skills to
learn things rapidly, accurately and confidently? We need a new kind of test. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is rather pointless to measure children’s ability to
learn using the Internet, by breaking up the process of knowing into small
parts. For example, ‘does the child know how to use a mouse?’ is no longer a relevant
question. Touch pads, touch screens, voice recognition, and a host of other
interfaces still to come, makes that question obsolete. Similarly, does a child
know how a computer works is an obsolete question. It doesn’t matter anymore. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We need a test that will measure whether children, either
individually, or in groups, can answer questions and solve problems using the
information cloud and the myriad access techniques and devices that pervade our
world today. We need to measure how quickly, accurately and dependably they can
acquire knowledge. We don’t need to measure how they do this, because the
methods, techniques and processes of knowing are too many and change too
quickly, for such measurement to be useful. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To devise such a test, we will need to design questions of
different levels of complexity. They should range from questions that are
purely factual to those that require critical thinking. For example, a level 1
question may be ‘What is the time in New York?’ while a higher level question might
be, ‘why do things float or sink?’ .I have made a first, and rather crude
attempt at making a test based on tasks. We evaluate this test by asking,
‘could they anwer?’, ‘was the answer right?’ and ‘how long did they take?’. Ritu
will try to calibrate this test in the next few months. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Such a test measures searching, reading, technological
literacy and analysis skills all together. We don’t have a name for this
‘all-in-one’ skill. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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It is a new kind of literacy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-56323821902348256502013-08-06T09:18:00.000-07:002013-08-06T09:18:08.178-07:00They know no better<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">An interview of mine published recently in the
Telegraph</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">(<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10218870/Lessons-in-spelling-have-no-place-in-21st-century-schools.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10218870/Lessons-in-spelling-have-no-place-in-21st-century-schools.html</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">Produced this, rather interesting, exchange of
email:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">From: ML<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Sent: 03
August 2013 08:54<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> To:
Sugata Mitra<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Subject:
Your latest pronouncement<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Sir, (or
is that unnecessary?)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> You are
doing the young people of this country no service by your pronouncements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Whatever
does "writing in a cryptic way " mean, and do you move in such
restricted circles that only people who are like you can understand the code
you are using?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> From my
experience, spellcheckers and grammar corrections are frequently dependent on
the writer's understanding grammar and spelling, anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> I quote
the experience of my brother in law, whose daughter, albeit extremely
intelligent, was dyslexic. She would look up spellings in a spellchecker,
choose the wrong one and then enter it into the online dictionary. Her
father had frequently to peruse that dictionary and check the spellchecker!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Apart
from practical use, the glory of our language has to be preserved inasfar as it
is possible to do so. I do not know your age, but my husband and I have
been involved in computers since they were enormous machines with a room of
their owm. We know that technology changes very rapidly, and whatever
statements are made will be out of date very quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> The
English language is a beautiful thing when properly used. When it is not
properly used, it is sloppy, careless and often incomprehensible. Beware
of making such statements when you really do not know what you are doing.
Even though I believe that you simply want to get your name in the press, it is
dangerous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Sincerely
(and I am suncere in this)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">On 3 Aug 2013, at 09:42, Sugata Mitra
wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Thanks
for your mail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Of the
various responses I got to the Telegraph article, people over the age of 50
were uniformly rude, in perfect English.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> People
below the age of 30 seemed happy with the article. "U R Cool'' wrote one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> The rude
ones want to whip the cool ones into submission.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">
Interesting....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Sugata<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Sugata
Mitra<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">
________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">ML:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">I do not think that I was rude. To tell you that
you are wrong is not rude, it is simply a statement of truth. If you
interpreted my email as rude, you were mistaken. I simply think you were
misguided. The younger ones, of course, would agree with you: they know
no better. I well remember, when I was teaching (French, not English),
that the younger members of the English department often, very often, had to
ask me if their use of English was correct, as they were not sure about their
own use of English. I fear that at least two generations of pupils have
been neglected. Perhaps (and please remember, I do not know your age) you
were in one of those generations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">I cannot believe that any French professor would
be so, well, dismissive of the incorrect use of his or her native
language. I wonder if you suffered from dyslexia. If so, it is not
your fault and you can blame those who did not help you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">Should you ever wish me to help you, please
ask. If I have time, I could even proofread for you. I have no wish
to whip anyone into anything, nor yet to make them submissive. You are
not a professor of English usage and can, perhaps, be excused.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">It is a fact, not an opinion, that many people
will ignore the skills of a person, if that person's use of language is
defective. I myself, when listening to a speech or presentation, if the
speaker uses language badly so that meaning is unclear, will stop listening to
the gist of what is being said, and start listening for the errors. That,
no doubt,could be because my life has been spent teaching a language, were it
not that my husband, who has never been an educator, is just the same. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">Finally, please remember that you have a
successful career. Your students, whether they like it or not, will be
judged not only on their academic success but on their presentation. If
the choice is between two candidates of equal academic value, but one uses
ungrammatical language, it might be the cause of his or her being discarded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">Yes, I am old, but I am not senile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">Good luck. I hope your career goes
from strength to strength.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">ML</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"><i>I was silent and she wrote again.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> From: ML<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Sent: 04
August 2013 08:58<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> To:
Sugata Mitra<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Subject:
A final note<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">
Obviously, you think you have to have the last word. And equally
obviously, your education has had a bad effect upon you. What a
shame. We teachers should all be sacked and children left to educate
themselves. What point is there in teaching hoi polloi to communicate
effectively with the majority of other people? Why should we learn other
languages when we can communicate by Iphone?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> And what
use is history? It is all over and done with!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Let us
abolish geography. We can see it all on the TV set or
whatever follows that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Surely
you, in your job, must realise that most technology becomes obsolete, relatively
quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> However,
reading and writing are lifelong skills that only let you down if either you
have not learned them or you have not practiced them frequently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> I know
that I am one of the relatively few people who glory in written and spoken good
language. In fact, I am part of a group locally, to whom the local NHS
sends leaflets ahead of publication, for correction and the elimination of
jargon (which I detest even more than bad grammar). Why use " going
forward' instead of "in the future"? I was one of those who told the
NHS that the phrase "Liverpool Death Pathway" was cruel and
misleading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> I know
that you will not succeed in your crusade to have grammar eliminated from ths
school curriculum. I believe that you know that and that your aim was to
make yourself better known.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> It
worked but not, I believe, to your advantage in the end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Sorry, I
cannot prolong this correspondence. I must get back to my knitting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> ML<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> On 4 Aug
2013, at 11:31, Sugata Mitra wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Actually
I quite agree with most of the things you have said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Its just
that you didn't understand the difference between 'we don't need to teach
spelling' and 'we don't need to learn spelling'. I said the former and not the
latter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Reading
comprehension is a serious problem nowadays :)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Sugata
Mitra<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">
________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> From: ML<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Sent: 04
August 2013 13:49<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> To:
Sugata Mitra<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Subject:
Re: A final note<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">
Indeed I do understand the difference. But children will not
learn in the crowded classrooms of today, unless someone teaches them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> I learned
without being taught because, believe it or not, I have (or rather had) a
pretty intelligent mind and a grandmother who devoted all her time to reading
to me. The result was that I astonished visitors by reading at the age of
2 and by 3, my parents had to hide their letters from me as I could read
handwriting too. I had the library tickets for the whole family and, by
the age of 9, had exhausted the children's library. I was given
permission at that age to join the adult library. So, I had 2 great
advantages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> But
most children do not have a family member whose time is entirely devoted to
them. They come from homes where there are no books and where both parents
work. Indeed, many parents will have a reading age below 11 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">
Therefore, my grammar, comprehension and spelling did not have to be
taught. Would that all children were like that. While the present
situation exists, we have to teach them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">
Interestingly, when children were taught French through books, they
hardly ever made spelling errors in that language. In about 20 years I
met only one pupil who misspelled in French. it turned out that she was
dyslexic. And, in time, the pupils also learned to speak French,
too and correctly. I was pretty fluent when I took my exams, yet we had
no particular emphasis on speaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Once we
started teaching them through an oral method we threw the baby out with the
bath water. They made spelling errors but were no better at speaking,
because they were in classes of over 30 and 3 forty minute lessons per week are
not enough. Yet, by A Level (I was a senior A Level examiner for
spoken French, so I travelled around schools and colleges) they were truly
fluent. Their written French was another matter. They had not
really been taught that, in written work, bad grammar often causes
misunderstanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> This
really is my final missive. My knitting is being neglected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">ML<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16pt;">On 5 Aug 2013, at 15:25, Sugata Mitra
</span><span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16pt;">wrote:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> If you
knew how to search on the Internet, you would find I am trying to get children
their grannies back through technology. Its called the Granny Cloud, and
thousands of children in Colombia, India and other places have spent hundreds
of hours with their English grannies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> And yes,
children can, and do, teach themselves spelling, grammar and general
communication, using the Internet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Anyway, I
do despise terms like 'moving forward' or 'out of the box' and all one
has to do is ask a group of children if these are good usage or not. No need to
teach, be a granny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Lastly, I
will remember your phrase 'they know no better' with horror. It is this belief
with which the Victorians destroyed country after country.....but thats another
story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Knit
away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> Sugata
Mitra<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Courier;"><span style="font-size: 21px;"><i>Her last email to me.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Courier;"><span style="font-size: 21px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">ML:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">Adieu<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-10065586651623705292013-07-13T11:30:00.000-07:002013-07-13T11:30:21.485-07:00Schools in the Cloud – What could they be?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> </span>Let’s look back at some past work:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Groups of children can learn to
use a computer and the Internet by themselves, under certain conditions
described a little later. This is a finding from a set of experiments between
1999 – 2004, often called the ‘hole in the wall’ experiments.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">There are places all over the
planet where it is difficult or impossible to build schools.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">There are places all over the
world where good teachers cannot, or do not wish to go.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Children who know how to read
can use the Internet in groups to research and answer questions far ahead of
their traditional curriculum.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">This kind of learning is a
‘self organizing system’ in the technical sense of those words. It happens in a
‘minimally invasive’ environment and appears to be a ‘emergent phenomenon’, again, in the
technical sense of those words.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">The emergence of learning in
children from a chaotic, self organized situation seems to be helped by the
occasional presence of an admiring, interested, but not necessarily
knowledgeable, adult or adults.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">7.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Reading comprehension is a key
requirement for this kind (perhaps any kind) of learning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">8.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">We don’t know, but can ask,
whether children in groups can learn to read by themselves. This question is
courtesy Nicholas Negroponte. We could also ask if children in groups can read
at higher levels of comprehension than individually.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Is it possible to put all this together
into a learning system for children in need?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If you give children, below the age of 13,
access to a computer connected to the Internet, they learn how to use it.
However, there are some conditions for this to happen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">The computer has to be in a
safe, public place so that parents will let children come there. A playground,
for example, is a good place. Public visibility is important so that people can
see what the children are doing and the children know this.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">There should be no adult
directing them, children don’t like having people breathing down their necks watching
their every move.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">About four or five children
with one computer seems to be the optimal number.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">They should know that they are
free to do what they like and there is no pre-selected activity. What they
choose to do is a group decision. Usually they find and choose to play games.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">If you then ensure the computer is in
working order, children begin to tire of games in a month or so and look for
other activity. Painting is a very popular activity and they learn to save and
load pictures in the process. Some children learn to look for and install games
from the Internet. In the process they discover Google.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If they can read sufficiently well in
English or some other language that is adequately represented on the Internet,
such as Spanish, Italian, Chinese etc., children begin to search for answers to
questions. These questions are usually about games, but in the process of
looking up these words related to games, they stumble upon other sites. In
about six months time, they begin to understand keyword searching. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Some begin to search for homework related
materials while others look for news or sports. I have seen some look for a job
for their fathers, a horoscope forecast for their family, or medicines for the
elderly. They must have considered these
questions important. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">If a group of children find a question that
they think is important, they will search for an answer. On the Internet, this
will usually result in finding good information. Groups of children, in the
presence of good information will discuss possible answers. Most of the time,
such a process results in the emergence of good answers. A by-product of this
process is learning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We can bring this process into classrooms
through Self Organized Learning Environments (SOLEs). This is now fairly well
understood and accepted by many teachers around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We can ‘beam’ people to places where they
cannot physically go by using the Internet. The ‘Granny Cloud’ is a group of
mediators that are Skyped into schools. It has been in existence since 2009 and
is currently (2013), quite active. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US">Can
the SOLE and the Granny Cloud come together?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Well, we have some problems:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Are SOLEs really
self-organizing? When conducted in a classroom, children are asked to make
groups (by themselves), each group is given an Internet connection and they are
asked to answer a question. We allow them to move around, change groups, talk
and look at each other’s work. But it is we who are telling them to do all
this. Are we moving away from the chaotic self-organization of the hole in the
wall? (this question is courtesy C.Y. Gopinath). We could argue that an
‘attractor’ or a ‘seed’ is required for emergent behavior to happen in a self
organizing system. But is the adult organizing a SOLE just a seed? Or is this
adult the traditional teacher in disguise. Is it fake? This is a troublesome
question.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">If self organized learning is
an alternative to traditional teaching, then how is the Granny Cloud of any
use? Are we not bringing traditional teaching back, disguised with some clever
technology? To my mind the Granny Cloud was to improve children’s English, but
did I actually mean to ‘teach’ English? “</span><i style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US">The first granny said, "How did you do that?!" She
…sold them on their own power. Then (on the Granny Cloud) you said, "sorts
everything out." I hope you misspoke. I hope your granny cloud does
nothing of the sort. I hope they don't work one-on-one with struggling learners
because that would take us back to the empire</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">.”
wrote Thomas Garrod in an email to me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">None of the original holes in the wall
are in working condition. Payal Arora pointed this out, several years ago.
Technical sustainability is a big problem, often confused with the
sustainability or the usability of the method of self organized learning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The TED prize gives us the opportunity to
sort all this out and get some answers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Schools in the Cloud must be sustainable
facilities that provide unsupervised self organized learning environments to
children. The role of the Cloud Granny reverts to the admiring adult, who
sometimes asks a question, but mostly observes and records learning as it
happens. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But what about reading comprehension? I
don’t know. The eMediators will have to
tell me how to do this, as we progress. This will be our central research
question. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The role of the Granny Cloud will be
somewhat different when they are remotely in charge of a School in the Cloud.
In addition to developing one or more approaches to how they will interact with
the children, they will also have access to much of the hardware in the
facility. They will eventually be able to turn the lights on or off, check the
batteries in solar powered systems, look anywhere in the facility, and, perhaps,
‘walk’ around through multiple cameras. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“A session is not a lesson”, Jackie Barrow
had once said. That just about sums it up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Seven facilities will be set up over the
next year or so. Five will be in India ranging from very remote villages to urban
slums and the urban middle class. Two will be set up in England, in relatively
affluent areas with excellent schools. What we do in each of them will, I
think, emerge, as we go along. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What else can one do when studying emergent
phenomena?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-26627530698535612952013-07-07T10:46:00.000-07:002023-12-04T14:06:23.031-08:00Three graves from another time..<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As you enter the Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol, you encounter an impressive Bengali 'Chhatri'. It is the grave of Raja Rammohun Roy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
Educational reformer, religious reformer and the man who abolished the 'suttee' system of burning widows on their husbands funeral pyres.<br />
<br />
He was also the last Moghul Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zaffar's ambassador to Britain. The plaque on the tomb says it all.<br />
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The grave was built by one of the richest men of those times, Dwarkanath Tagore. It was designed by William Prinsep, a name that many would remember on the banks of the Hoogly in Calcutta. </div>
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Its not so grand at the next graveyard, the Kensal Green Cemetery in London. Entering the cemetery, if you walk straight down, you will encounter an unassuming grave. It is the grave of Dwarkanath Tagore, grandfather of the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize - Rabindranath Tagore. </div>
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The Kensal Green Cemetery on Harrow Road, London</div>
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Dwarkanath was a businessman of some acumen. What is business was is, perhaps, best left unsaid (Rabindranath destroyed his papers). But he was rich. Rich enough to go to London to negotiate with Queen Victoria to buy out half the business rights of the East India Company and take over all trading in eastern India. But it was not to be, he died of a heart attack in London. </div>
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Dwarkanath Tagore's grave</div>
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Dwarkanauth!</div>
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He would never know that his grandson would be India's national poet and one of the greatest poets of our times. </div>
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But his grandson's story takes us to yet another grave. </div>
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Far away, in Buenos Aires, Argentina is an incredible graveyard called the La Recoleta. It is a city of the dead. </div>
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La Recoleta in Buenos Aires</div>
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If you walk straight into the graveyard for quite a distance, you will come to the grave of Victoria O'Campo.</div>
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Tagore met Victoria on a trip to Argentina and brought her to Shantiniketan in Bengal. That story is well documented, so I need not recount it here. </div>
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Victoria O'Campo's grave</div>
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Well, that ends my story of graves. I feel fortunate to have touched the stone that surrounds the remains of Rammohun Roy, Dwarkanath Tagore and Victoria O'Campo.</div>
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Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-56732822714737163632013-05-19T01:17:00.001-07:002013-05-19T01:17:33.994-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">A
Physics of Education?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">The behaviour of children in Self-Organised Learning Environments everywhere
Is reminiscent of self-organising systems. A self-organising system (SOS)
consists of a set of entities that obtains an emerging global system behaviour
via local interactions without centralised control (Elmenreich,W. and de Meer,H.(2008).
Self-organising systems fall under the general area of Chaos Theory in Physics.
It is interesting to apply the definition of Chaos to education in general: ‘A
system whose long term behaviour is unpredictable, tiny changes in the accuracy
of the starting value rapidly diverge to anywhere in its possible state space.
There can however be a finite number of available states, so statistical
prediction can still be useful.’ (Complex Systems Glossary, Internet
references).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">The sentence above perhaps sums up, in the language of
Physics, what we understand as education and assessment. Working with a group
of children, a school cannot predict what will emerge at the end of schooling,
but can make statistical guesses based on test scores. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">In a SOLE, children seem to maximise the information
content of what they are researching. This too is uncannily close to the
definition of the term ‘Edge of Chaos’. The definition is ‘the tendency of
dynamic systems to self-organise to a state roughly midway between globally
static (unchanging) and chaotic (random) states. This can also be regarded as
the liquid phase, half way between solid (static) and gas (random) natural
states. In information theory this is the state containing the maximum
information.’</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">(Complex Systems Glossary, Internet references).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">Finally an explanation of the children’s ability to read
in groups above their individual capabilities could be found in the science of
Emergence. Emergence is commonly found in nature and is the appearance of
properties that are not evident in the parts of a system. Nebula’s, flowers,
cells, markets all show emergent behaviour. The definition is: ‘System
properties that are not evident from those of the parts. A higher level phenomenon
that cannot be reduced to that of the simpler constituents and needs new
concepts to be introduced. This property is neither simply an aggregate one,
nor epiphenomenal, but often exhibits 'downward causation'. Modelling emergent
dynamical hierarchies is central to future complexity research’ (Complex
Systems Glossary, Internet references).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%;">These subjects are in their infancy. However, they have
the potential to explain not just how learning happens, but why it happens the
way it does.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-33505810282402828832012-11-20T05:00:00.001-08:002012-11-20T05:03:33.381-08:00The future of people?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div>
Schools are designed to produce children who will:<br />
-please their parents
(because they send the children to school)<br />
-please the government (because
they pay for the school)<br />
<br />
Schools are not designed for:<br />
-employers
(because they don't pay schools)<br />
-peers (because who cares what peers think?
they dont count)<br />
<br />
20 or more years later, parents would be gone, the
government changed 5 times, the employers - starnge new jobs. The peers would be
only ones around, for whose desires we do not design schools.<br />
<br />
From
neuroscience:<br />
<br />
- threat perception stops the prefrontal cortex from
rational thought. a teacher hovering around produces threat perception, as do
examinations<br />
<br />
- suppression of emotion also stops the prefrontal cortex,
this is what happens when we 'engineer' behaviour.<br />
<br />
creative thought and
imagination activate when there is no threat perception, no emotion suppression,
peer interaction and imaginative problems.<br />
<br />
From history:<br />
<br />
- the
education system is designed to produce identical clerks to run an empire that
does not exist and a manufacturing industry that has gone away.<br />
<br />
In other
words, we are doing everything - exactly wrong.</div>
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<span style="font-family: tahoma;">The curriculum should be taken from the nature of
the Universe and our purpose, if any. The universe has a scale from around zero
to the 30th power of 10 as far as I can guess. Time goes from the big bang to
plus infinity as far as we know. If we examine each power of ten over each epoch
of time, will get a curriculum.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: tahoma;"></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: tahoma;">Then we can use a combination
of the findings of neurosciece and peer expectations to build an education that
will produce people who cannot run empires, fight wars, kill animals, hit other
people - but are quite intersting, fun to be with and get along well with each
other. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: tahoma; font-size: x-small;"></span> </div>
Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-83746440780169576132012-11-13T04:02:00.000-08:002023-12-04T13:44:28.072-08:00My School on Saturday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My school is shaped like a hexagon. I know that’s a big
word, but it’s simple. Really. A hexagon has six sides. My school is a hexagon
because it has six sides. Do you know why? Well, because six carbon atoms can
make a hexagon. When carbon atoms join up they do this with bonds. Like tiny
elastic strings that join them. One string is called a single bond and two
strings are called a double bond. Double bonds are stronger than single bonds,
of course. When six carbon atoms make a hexagon, they use one single bond, then
a double bond, then a single and so on. That makes the hexagon stronger. And
then, you can fix a hydrogen atom to each carbon atom, at all the corners of
the hexagon, and you get a molecule called Benzene. Benzene smells rather nice
and it burns like petrol, so you have to be very careful with it.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUxybGb1XgYfkiKqLZmoxxYUwJpiFthQdUui-BygEPChjaHzUJSLHEUVXg7cJDm5cEl-2AQzE5QPNvc6Tdm7X3VAnQ_Iw-Y1dNRKqenxcjnHwsoIPmsZCbceU-D7lUmrW7-rNdRMSHV2-XSwCrPi0BKtoP_oHYqyInpdD16x5ufLPykzzmtar_g/s817/benzene%20ring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="817" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUxybGb1XgYfkiKqLZmoxxYUwJpiFthQdUui-BygEPChjaHzUJSLHEUVXg7cJDm5cEl-2AQzE5QPNvc6Tdm7X3VAnQ_Iw-Y1dNRKqenxcjnHwsoIPmsZCbceU-D7lUmrW7-rNdRMSHV2-XSwCrPi0BKtoP_oHYqyInpdD16x5ufLPykzzmtar_g/s320/benzene%20ring.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /></div><br /></div><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The benzene ring.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Benzene is very important. It’s because of Benzene that we
have life on Earth. Benzene rings can join up together to make really big
molecules. That’s what our bodies are made of. Trees, animals, food, plastics
are all made of benzene rings. Everyone knows this of course. I learnt this
when I was very little and now I look for more complicated things because I am
much older. I am nine, and a half.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My school is shaped to look like a Benzene ring from the
air. There are six circular domes connected by corridors, double corridors for
the double bonds and single corridors for the single bonds. The domes are
called C1 to C6. Connected to each dome there is another small corridor leading
to six smaller circular rooms called H1 to H6. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We can do what we like in my school. First, we decide what
we want to know and how to know it. Sometime we choose study. This means you
have to listen to a teacher and write down what she says. Most of the time we
learn – by getting together with our friends and surfing and searching the
Cloud. I don’t like studying much because it makes me feel sleepy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wtPc2fjWXTcaj4oeCiyhhsGM7Hq44ld0zMmbUBqJFKN9F3sxcbAiSAofVUFi4aFQ6OvMu7g6jeuJ7X3XTQ_Xele_MZIZrPOOfqlmQzSMyZ7aNz32RfhbLTndISnOjRdYGkpiGn-QUiaT7gC-8zHYPFhxcs9R1LKJVwmyGHAoc5UwmoxY2HCTxg/s2256/Greenfields%20empty.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1496" data-original-width="2256" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wtPc2fjWXTcaj4oeCiyhhsGM7Hq44ld0zMmbUBqJFKN9F3sxcbAiSAofVUFi4aFQ6OvMu7g6jeuJ7X3XTQ_Xele_MZIZrPOOfqlmQzSMyZ7aNz32RfhbLTndISnOjRdYGkpiGn-QUiaT7gC-8zHYPFhxcs9R1LKJVwmyGHAoc5UwmoxY2HCTxg/s320/Greenfields%20empty.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; text-align: left;">My school</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Saturday, Pa and Mum and I had a big breakfast, but
things were not good after that. Pa got really annoyed with mum and threw his coffee
on the ground. They were arguing and made me go up to my room. I didn’t want to
so I stood near the door until Pa said, ‘Jini, get out’ so loudly that I
started to cry and ran upstairs. I knew then he was going to hit mum and I
heard her sobbing and falling. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I tried not to listen but they were really loud, so I put on
my earplugs and told Prime that I was not happy. Prime said to take it near the
door so it could listen too. Pa was saying things I couldn’t understand and he
was kicking and slapping my mum. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Go to school, Jini’, said Prime. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘But its Saturday’</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘GO TO SCHOOL’, Prime said, loudly. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I put Prime in its silicone case, hung it around my neck and
slipped out of the back door. It took twenty minutes of running to reach school
and it was all closed. Prime connected with school and everything came on at
once. I could not see very well because I was crying. Not a lot, you know. Just
a bit. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All the walls in my school are of glass and I ran into H4
because I saw Granny Diane come on sleepily on the wall. She is my best friend,
although she was not looking her best, early morning in her country, Belgium,
four and a half hours behind Indian time. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Good morning, Diane, why are you here on Saturday?’, I
asked. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Your Prime called me Jini, are you OK?’</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Diane has a soft voice and it makes me feel very comfortable
so we sat and talked for a long time. Diane told me about people and
relationships and how not to get worried about things. She was also typing all
the time, I could tell, although she pretended not to. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I ended up having a really good time that morning because
two kids from Malaga came on the side screen and we played with virtual Lego
for a while. It was a bit slow because we had to use Google Voice Translate to
talk – they speak only Spanish in Malaga, you know. Then Mr. Maskall from
Australia came on looking very sleepy because it was past his bedtime and told
me about the time we found life on Titan and how excited everyone was. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At four, Prime said I should go home, so I went and school
locked itself up. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My parents were out and Prime said they had gone to a
counsellor and would be back in the evening. I propped Prime up on the lawn and
played virtual tennis with it until I was really tired. Then we went in and
Played SimCity for a while. You know, a city runs really well if you adjust the
demand-supply curves properly. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Monday is curriculum day. Oh, I know it’s another big word
but we have to do it. Curriculum is about what we have to learn. Every Monday
we decide what we want to learn that week. We look for BIG questions on the
Cloud and also ask the Granny Cloud of course. Then we make up a plan and take
it to Mrs Steel. She then makes a plan for us. Prime said Sumeeta is online and
I connected. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘I don’t have any time, Jini’, said Sumeeta. She always says
that and then talks for an hour. She told me about how seasonal fruits have the
right vitamins for us, but the question is why is it that way? Really, do they know
what we need? That’s a cool question I thought. Prime said it will remember
that question for Monday. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘I hope they don’t ask all this in the exam’, I said to
Prime. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Exams are only to find out if you know how to learn
something’, said Prime</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Of course I know how to learn things, stupid!’</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Well the school needs to know that’, said Prime in a matter
of fact way. I put Prime upside down and it went to sleep.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mum and Pa came back at six. I was a bit anxious but it was
OK. Pa said he was sorry about what happened in the morning and he will try not
to be that way again</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know! I know what happened. Their Primes must have
listened in the morning too. And then talked to my Prime. And they must have
talked to Diane, that’s why she was up so early and why she was text chatting
while talking to me. She must have organised the counselling. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I woke Prime up and asked about counselling. Prime said the
counsellors try to calm people down when they are angry and sometimes use
medicines. They used to do this to children a long time ago, when they thought
children who don’t pay attention have some disease. But someone found out that
it is adults who make children behave that way and invented medicines to treat
them, the adults. Lucky us!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pa had got himself a very big whiskey and was sitting
watching 3V in the living room. Mum looked quite cheerful and was playing with
her Prime. I sat down next to Pa, his stomach is like a trampoline, very nice. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘I am having a bad time in office’, said Pa, ‘the quantum
entanglement storage device isn’t storing half as much data as it should, I
can’t even get a thousand terabytes in a square micron’</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had heard him complain about this before.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘I am going to ask Serge on Monday, maybe he will have an
idea’. I said.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Who is Serge?’, asked Pa</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘He is very old, more than 110 years, but he says he knows a
bit about quantum entanglement. He is there on Mondays on the Granny Cloud’</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pa sat up and stared at me, ‘Do you mean Serge Haroche?’</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘He won the Nobel Prize!’</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Yes, I think that’s him’, I said, yawning.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pa was silent for a while. Then he got up and went to the
kitchen sink and poured his whiskey out. Then he came back and we talked about collapsing
waves of probability. Even mum didn’t interrupt. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That night I dreamt of an old man with a funny German name.
He put a cat into a box with some poison that may or may not work, and closed
the lid. He said, as long as the box remained closed, the cat was alive and
dead at the same time. As soon as you open the box, it would be either alive
or dead. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s funny what old people say. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
</div>
</div>
Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-85076058059191660492012-09-30T02:19:00.000-07:002012-09-30T02:19:32.504-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>A
Tablet to grow up with</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>What if every child were to get a
tablet computer at age 6? And what if the tablet is such that it
grows up with the child and is still useful at age 100? What sort of
a tablet would we need?</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Here is a 2012 fantasy tour of the
tablet that could be....</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Its called 'The Prime'</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Abu got his Prime
on his sixth birthday. It was in a sleek and shiny, wine coloured box
next to his pillow when he woke up. Abu thought he should hug his
mother, but considering her mood at six in the morning, he decided
not to. Instead, he opened the box.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A soft and very
organic silicone clamshell slipped out of the box. The prime nestled
inside it. Abu opened the paper thin cover, like the cover of a new
book. A tiny light blinked red, yellow and then blue on the top right
corner of the very thin, half a millimetre, bezel around dark screen.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
'I am your Prime,
Abu', said the Prime and Abu nearly dropped it although the five inch
screen was a perfect fit for his small hand. 'Do you want to give me
a name?', said the Prime.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
'Boomba', said
Abu, now quite enjoying himself. His Prime giggled and said, 'OK,
Abu'</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the next
fifteen minutes, Boomba took a picture of Abu's face, his
fingerprint, had him recite a poem to get his voice pattern, had him
stand on itself to measure his weight. The black screen was now lit
up with a pale blue light and a lovely abstract, fractal background.
Abu found out that he could turn it off by saying 'Get dark!' and
turn it on by picking it up, staring at it, or by saying 'Boomba!'</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Boomba found a
WiFi signal, the date, time, its location, the ambient temperature
and humidity from the Cloud and its sensors. Then it 'dressed
itself' as it put it. Its quad core processor took less than ten
seconds to do that. Now Boomba had a face, somewhat like that of a
large mobile phone. Abu plugged its tiny wireless charger into a
power socket, even though he was not supposed to touch any power
sockets. Boomba told Abu it would charge upto 25 feet away from the
socket, so he could put it next to his bed.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Prime was
expensive, but Boomba's mother got it for free. The price of the
Prime and unlimited lifelong 20 Mbps wireless broadband were paid for
by the government, for every child, from a 1% tax on cigarettes,
alcohol and cosmetics.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Abu carried his
Prime everywhere. In school he found out that you could join Primes
together to make bigger screens. In their Self Organised Learning
Environments (SOLEs), Abu and three of his friends would take two
Primes out of their silicone sleeves and put two Primes side by side
until they clicked together. Then they would put two more below these
two to make a ten inch screen. The bezels were so thin, they could
barely make out the edges dividing the screens. Once, the entire
group put all their Primes together to make a 60 inch screen and
watched a TED talk. The speaker was nearly life size!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The tiny camera on
the Prime could be slipped out of the Prime and put back facing the
front or back of the tablet. So, Abu would have the camera face him
when he was Skyping his friends or mediators. But he would turn the
camera the other way when he wanted to take pictures or videos.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In Norway, a 10
year old had tied his Prime to his head with the camera pointed
outwards. Abu was online with him over Skype. Then he got on a
bicycle and Abu guided him to ride around his village and show him
everything. It was different from India, Abu decided, but not that
different. That evening he asked Boomba to tell him about the history
of Norway and India. So different, and yet, so same.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Abu was too young
to realise that his Prime would turn the camera and microphone on
every 5 seconds for a quarter of a second so that it could make
patterns from the pictures and sounds to figure out what Abu's life
was like. Once when Abu was sneezing, Boomba asked him to put his
finger of the thermal sensor and told his mother that he was about to
get a fever. Boomba would later also tell Abu's parents that his
height and weight were increasing normally and that his hand-eye
coordination was fine. Boomba also reported that Abu's hearing was
really good and that his reading comprehension was a level above what
it should be for his age.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Abu's sister Julie
was 17 and her Prime, called Amy, had been with her for the last 11
years. Amy was a bit battered from use but Julie had got the screen,
camera and battery changed several times, so it really was like a new
Prime. Amy knew Julie more than anyone else in the world. It knew her
friends, her interests, her abilities, her looks, her moods, her
relationships and her sorrows. Julie could not imagine a life without
her Amy.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Sometimes, Amy
would join with Boomba over the WiFi and exchange notes, or they
would look for global patterns of child behaviour with millions of
other Primes on the Cloud.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In school, the
children would research topics in groups of four with their Primes
joined together into 10 inch screens. Groups would talk to other
groups, sometimes in other places in the world and discuss what they
had found. During examinations, the Primes would help their owners
work out the best answers and also check the childrens cognitive,
creative and imaginative abilities.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Boomba had, in the
meanwhile, taught Abu to play the guitar and sing. They often played
a tune together and Abu's mother thought that was really good.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Sometimes, at
night, Boomba would call an eMediator from the Granny Cloud to read
out fairy tales to Abu until he fell asleep. Then it would turn the
lights out and keep an eye on the room door until morning. When Abu
walked to the bus stop to go to school, Boomba rattled happily in his
pocket. Once, when Abu tripped on the pavement and fell, Boomba had
screamed out of his pocket, 'This child needs your help, please, this
child needs your help'.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Boomba grew with
Abu, changing his stories, his games, his music, his research habits.
It monitored Abu's learning, his healthcare parameters, his learning
and thinking styles, his intelligences. Boomba suggested solutions
when it detected problems – it used the best resources from the
Cloud to do so. It even changed its own voice to match his baritone.
When, at 13 a thin moustache began to grow on Abu's upper lip, Boomba
showed him what it looked like and what he might look like at 40!
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then they laughed
a lot, together.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Well, thats it,
dear reader, about the tablet to grow up with. Except for the last
bit. When, after a happy and productive life, Abu, now 93, fell into
a quiet coma and died, Boomba did not make a sound. It waited for a
while, as Abu's fingers grew cold....then it deleted its drives on
the Cloud....and switched off.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
</div>
Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-73774777807145086932012-09-19T17:04:00.000-07:002012-09-19T17:04:26.937-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<h1 class="western">
A Self-Organised Assessment Method (SOAM)</h1>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A few year ago, I was a bit curious
about how well learners can evaluate each other. I designed a small
experiment to find out. It goes like this:
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<ol>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Take a group of learners, say 15
in number, in a classroom.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Give everybody 15 sheets of paper
and ask them to write their names on the top right corner of every
sheet.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now, ask everyone to write down a
question about something they have recently learned, been taught or
discussed. It should be from whatever course you are conducting. The
question should be such that the person making it should be
confident of answering. Also questions should be such that each can
be answered in two minutes or less.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now collect all the sheets with
the questions. If there are questions that are very similar to each
other, then ask one of the authors to change his or her question.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You can now construct a question
paper with 15 questions. Make 15 copies of this question paper.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Distribute the question paper and
start a 30 minutes examination. Each learner has to write the answer
to each of the 15 questions on a separate sheet of paper. On top of
each answer sheet, they should write 'Answer to Q no. x' etc. Each
person must answer all the questions except the one they made. So
each person has 14 questions to answer on 14 sheets of paper.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
After the time is over, collect
all the answer sheets and put all the answers to question 1
together, all the answers to question 2 together, and so on. At the
end, you would have 15 piles of 14 sheets each.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Distribute all the answers to
question 1 to the author of that question, answers to question 2 to
the author of that quesiton and so on.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Ask each learner to give marks out
of 10 for each answer sheet for the question authored by him/her.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
After all the answer sheets have
been graded, take them back and re-group them by the name of each
learner. So, now you have 15 piles of 14 sheets each, for each
learner.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Total the marks for each learner
and convert to a percent score. You now have a list of scores.</div>
</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In other words, you have conducted an
examination without making a question paper and without having to
mark a pile of answer books.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I tried this for three years in the
course I teach on Educational Technology for M.Ed. Students, each
time usually after the first two weeks. There is an uncanny
correlation between the scores and the scores at the end of the one
year course. I haven't yet done all the stats and written it all up
as a paper but I will.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the meanwhile, I thought you might
like to try....</div>
</div>
Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-1194467210787248902012-07-29T13:29:00.000-07:002012-07-29T13:29:05.302-07:00Out flew the Web and floated wide, the mirror cracked from side to side<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Academics have been seriously discussing 'modern' issues with education. Open Learning, Distance Education, Autonomous Learning, Lifelong Learning, Collaborative Learning etc.<br />
<br />
While we were in the middle of these serious deliberations, the carpet was slowly sliding from under our feet. We did not have to <u>make </u>those important things happen. They had all happened by themselves. Because of three developments in technology: the Internet, WiFi and Tablets.<br />
<br />
Wherever these three things are available, people do open, distance, autonomous, collaborative lifelong learning. Provided they can search, read, understand and form beliefs from information.<br />
<br />
And where these technologies are not available, they will be, in just a few years.<br />
<br />
We should now change our agenda and figure out what the next big issues are in education. We have to figure out how to dematerialise our institutions and convert the existing brick and mortar into museums of education where future generations will come and say, 'Oh, so that's how they used to educate people!'<br />
<br />
'The used to teach children to do arithmetic in their heads!', they would marvel.<br />
<br />
Just as we look back at our past, in vast palaces that are now museums, and say, 'They used to cut off huge blocks of ice from the glaciers in the mountains, wrap them in straw, and carry them with hundreds of animals and men into the hot plains - just so the emperor could have an ice cube in his drink'<br />
<br /></div>Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-77357009857734507242012-06-01T15:33:00.000-07:002012-06-01T15:33:52.330-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Getting a visa for Argentina<o:p></o:p></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have been to Argentina 3 times between 2005 and 2010. The
first two times I got the visa from Delhi and it was very straight forward the
first time. The second time was not too bad, just seven trips to the consulate
and one to a bank in Connaught Place. The third time I got the visa from London
and it involved a trip to London from Newcastle and took the whole day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 2011, the University of Buenos Aires invited me and I
applied for the visa from New York. Nine hours of bus rides later, the visa
was refused because speaking at a conference on a tourist visa is not allowed,
I was told. Mind you the previous three times this was not the case, as I was
speaking at conferences each time This was the first time I had been refused a
visa from any country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year, 2012, I was invited again. Back to New York on a
nine hour to and fro train ride. Visa refused, they need more paperwork.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Why are you attending
a conference?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘I am not, the conference is being organised because I am
there’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">(serious suspicious frown)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘OK you will get your visa in three days’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">By the time I reached Boston, there was a voice mail. My
visa has been denied. More paperwork is needed. You cannot attend a conference
on a tourist visa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was to leave for Benin, (having got a tourist visa by post for speaking at a conference!) shortly and needed my passport, so
I went back to New York the next day, seven hours of to and fro train rides. I
had my passport back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I attended to the
paperwork. Invitations have to be in original, signed by a notary and the
notary’s signature verified by a county clerk, whatever that means. Inviting
organisations have to prove that they are genuine. Letters, emails and phone
calls flowed like rivers. My dreams were full of notary publics being minutely
examined by county clerks in cowboy hats. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had to go to England for a conference. I called the
Argentine consulate to explain that I had just one day on which I could return
to New York to reapply for the visa with all its intricate paperwork. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘No problem they said, we will let you know when we have
everything and you will get the visa the same day’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A week passed. I heard that all the paperwork had now been
completed. I emailed the consulate to ask if I should come to New York. No
reply. I emailed again. No reply. And again, no reply.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The day after returning to the US from England, I left on
the 4 hour journey to New York from Boston. The now familiar consulate was
crowded with people being refused visas. I had my passport and the filled in
form, since all other papers had been sent directly to the consulate. After a
half hour wait a man appeared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘This is an incomplete application, you have no papers and
anyway you can’t attend a conference on a tourist visa’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘This is a reapplication, sir, all the papers are with you
already’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘You had applied before!!’ (deep suspicion)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘The consul knows all about it’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Wait’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another half an hour, the man reappeared to say ‘I am
working on it, don’t worry’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another half an hour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘All your papers are In order’, he said accusingly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Please collect your visa after two working days’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘I am supposed to leave tomorrow! The consul knows this for
a month’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘This is a problem, wait’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Half an hour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘You have to pay $100’, I pulled out my purse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘We do not take cash, cards or cheques, only money orders’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I rushed off on a two mile walk to the post office and got a
money order. Another two miles later, I was back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Come back at 4 O’clock to collect your visa’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I got down to some serious drinking while explaining self
organised learning to a pub full of driniking security guards. Hours passed. I marched purposefully, if a little unsteadily, holding Amartya Sen's 'The Idea of Justice' like a shield in front of me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At four, a beaming gentleman appeared with my passport.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">‘Your visa’, he said, ‘enjoy Argentina’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-90657765709529582592012-03-30T03:43:00.002-07:002012-03-30T03:50:35.916-07:00Irrelevant points of viewCNN reports on how Apple products in China are being made by underpaid Chinese. They earn US Dollars 2 per hour. <br /><br />This is equivalent to about Indian Rupees 20,000 per month. In Calcutta, a young man earning Rs. 20,000 can rent in the poshest areas of the city for about Rs. 10,000, eat extremely well for Rs. 6000 and use the balance for transport, entertainment and savings. <br /><br />He would have a somewhat better standard of living than a young American earning $3000 per month in say, Cambridge, Massachusetts. <br /><br />Is the American point of view about the rest of the world becoming increasingly irrelevant?Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-14415917269869176082011-09-23T14:28:00.000-07:002011-09-23T14:31:57.180-07:00PurposeWhen the young Earth cooled, it rained for centuries, filling up the oceans. Thunder and lightning in the Methane, Ammonia atmosphere of the primordial Earth filled its newly formed oceans with all sorts of organic molecules including several Amino acids. Through millions of years of permutations and combinations, one molecule came to be. Ribonucleic acid, or RNA. <br /><br />RNA had the ability to make copies of itself. And the copies could make copies of themselves and on and on and on. But then the RNA can copy itself only if it has the necessary raw materials around. And the copies would survive only if they were protected from the harshly corrosive oceans of the Earth. <br /><br />So RNA evolved. It covered itself in a sheath of protein. Cells became the copying machine for RNA. But how can a cell protect itself? Cells learned to move away from danger, unicellular organisms formed. RNA multiplied a little more reliably. <br /><br />But unicellular organisms are not the best survivors, they are too delicate. Cells clumped together to form multicellular organisms that could sense their environments in many different ways. These were true survivors, soon they would be out of the oceans, away from the corrosive danger of water. <br /><br />The tree of evolution produced millions of species of plants and animals. Complex sheaths of protein to protect and replicate RNA, safely. But then, species go extinct because of the forces of nature. One comet wiped out the dinosaurs, products of millions of years of evolution. With the dinosaurs went countless trillions of fresh RNA. <br /><br />In the next round of evolution, cells clumped together to form larger brains. Finally, a brain large enough to work out ways to manipulate nature. Homo Sapiens, the ape with the power to change the planet. This then was the safest RNA replicator ever produced. A magnificent effort by one mindless molecule, RNA, to survive. <br />But the Earth will not last forever. When the Sun swallows it up in a few billion years, RNA would be gone forever, at least from this part of space. The human brain evolved, producing ever increasingly complex technology to change the planet and its surrounding. Already it has the potential to change the orbit of the Moon, thereby changing the entire Solar System, subtly. <br /><br />One day, the Universe itself will collapse on itself. All RNA would be gone for ever. <br /><br />Our purpose then is to stop this from happening, to create a steady state universe that is eternal. Then only will RNA continue to multiply for all time to come. <br />So, could this be the answer to our nature and purpose? We, humans are the way we are because we are the most efficient RNA multiplier created by nature. Our purpose is to let this multiplication happen through all eternity. <br /><br />All our values focus on the preservation of life, peace and a happy environment. Because a healthy and happy human body produces more and better RNA than any else. <br />We should not be annoyed with RNA for creating us as its copying machine. Because RNA does not think. <br /><br />It is just a molecule.Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7690437.post-53118877646075533022011-09-23T14:26:00.000-07:002012-11-13T04:02:39.423-08:00Purpose<div></div>Sugata Mitrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02756891019499538637noreply@blogger.com0