The illiterate of the future
The illiterate of the future
(OP)
“The illiterate of the future are not those that cannot read or write. They are those that can not learn, unlearn, relearn.”
Alvin Toffler
Please comment
Alvin Toffler
Please comment





RE: The illiterate of the future
Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)
RE: The illiterate of the future
RE: The illiterate of the future
"Underpriviledged" maybe? But then that is already the case & has been for a long time.
RE: The illiterate of the future
"In the year 2000 an illiterate person will not be someone who can't read or write, but someone who is not able to learn, unlearn and learn again."
Seems when he spoke of the future he was actually referring to a time we would now call the past.
RE: The illiterate of the future
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corus
RE: The illiterate of the future
Daniel Pink's new book, A Whole New Mind; Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age
Says
We are leaving the age of logical, linear, computer-like abilities and move on to a society based on invention, conceptualisation, creativity and design.
RE: The illiterate of the future
See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_new_black
for more details.
Fashion quiz question for everyone, what's the hot trend this fall?
Better question, why do I know?!
RE: The illiterate of the future
Depending on which definition of illiterate you take it then Alvins quote has always been true, not just in the future.
RE: The illiterate of the future
RE: The illiterate of the future
Anyway for me to redact that last post?
Merriam Webster:
Main Entry: il·lit·er·ate
1 : having little or no education; especially : unable to read or write <an illiterate population>
2 a : showing or marked by a lack of familiarity with language and literature <an illiterate magazine> b : violating approved patterns of speaking or writing
3 : showing or marked by a lack of acquaintance with the fundamentals of a particular field of knowledge <musically illiterate>
Oxford English
illiterate
1 unable to read or write.
2 ignorant in a particular subject or activity; politically illiterate.
RE: The illiterate of the future
I guess I'm more illiterate than I am literate.
NozzleTwister
Houston, Texas
RE: The illiterate of the future
RE: The illiterate of the future
"Brown is the new black" is so last-decade. Chartreuse was all over the place last year, but, Bruno, what is it this year, and why *do* you know?
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376
RE: The illiterate of the future
Illiterate is also a noun. Refers to one or more persons who are illiterate. Source: Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition (yes, an actual book!)
RE: The illiterate of the future
"relearn" i appreciate means to take advantage of new opportunities.
"unlearn" implies that what was learnt originally was wrong, and wrong with a capital R (my way of saying "really wrong").
personally i think the illiterate of the future are those who put their trust in stuff posted on the Internet, without doing the work to verify what's being proposed; that'd be work with a capital W.
RE: The illiterate of the future
RE: The illiterate of the future
Not necessarily wrong ... just different.
For example, many long term users of AutoCAD (2D) have a problem converting to solid modelling programs. They keep trying to do things the AutoCAD way. Thay have to "unlearn" (i.e. forget or push aside) the ways they have learned and learn (relearn) the ways of the new program.
RE: The illiterate of the future
Not necessarily because a lesson learned was wrong, but almost always because it is obsolete.
RE: The illiterate of the future
I suppose that in the metaphoric sense of the sentence “illiterate” are those who don’t have the versatility to adapt to management of changes
RE: The illiterate of the future
Nice soundbite, complete waffle.
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: The illiterate of the future
We've made great leaps in fashion since last year, we've moved from chartreuse to... hunter green. Throw in shoudler straps (is epaulettes the right word?), lots of buttons and tall lace up boots and you have the in look this fall.
Why do I know this? My girlfriend reads all those fashion magazines and I tend to read everything I see, so she leaves them out on the table just to bug me.
RE: The illiterate of the future
The fact is, I don't want to "unlearn" anything, that is to relegate it to irrelevance. I have fought to "learn", that is to garner knowledge from successes, failures and trivialities, and I wouldn't want to lose any of that knowledge (though my wife would really really like me to "unlearn" some of the trivialities). I learned how to code in 4 or 5 programming languages which I haven't used for more than a decade, but I wouldn't want to forget how to structure code...it helps with organizing other functions like project planning. I've learned how to bypass or tweak CAD methods from what I've learned from other packages. To paraphrase an old saying, "those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it"; to "unlearn" (to me at least) is to forget what history has taught you.
I also have a problem with "relearn". To me, that's what people who've had a stroke or brain injury do to regain their lives. They relearn how to walk, how to talk, how to eat, and so much more.
I think the "future illiterate" is the same as the present illiterate...those unfortunates who can't read or write. To me, the original quote is less about literacy than relevance. Society will relegate to irrelevance those who can't learn, assess the validity and relevance of their knowledge, and move beyond the limitations of that knowledge.
And those are my deep thoughts for today.
Jim
Jim Sykes, P.Eng, GDTP-S
Profile Services
CAD-Documentation-GD&T-Product Development
www.profileservices.ca
RE: The illiterate of the future
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RE: The illiterate of the future
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376
RE: The illiterate of the future
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RE: The illiterate of the future
The quote means: Don't be dogmatic.
RE: The illiterate of the future
During Nursing school he was told to "Unlearn" many of his Paramedic practices which could get him in legal trouble as an RN.
He really has to think about what & how he is doing things now. After 30 years, some things were habit.
RE: The illiterate of the future
"Underpriviledged" maybe? But then that is already the case & has been for a long time."
I beg to differ. The underprivileged and the illiterate may be intersecting sets, but one is not a subset of the other. I know many literate persons from an underprivileged background, and many illiterate persons from a highly privileged background. I think the author meant exactly what he said.
Overall, illiteracy is increasingly engendered in our education system, and that is sad. It just puts more of a burden on our youngsters, first, to recognize that they are being given short shrift, and second, to find the discipline to educate themselves, despite their increasingly illiterate teachers, who may actually discourage such independent action (often at the direction of higher authorities). It ends up bankrupting the mental development of those less driven.
RE: The illiterate of the future
Faith and Force together at last:
You can't post the ten commandments in jail even.
Alvin Toffeler was more to blame all the idiots who read him are school teachers now think about that one.
People who learn then unlearn are not welcome to work on electricity with me.
RE: The illiterate of the future
Is this conspiracy haiku?
Politics sans grammar...
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