[Peace-discuss] Augistin talk

[David Green]

The talk by the former CEO of Lockheed-Martin this afternoon at Beckman was particularly banal, but notable for its warm reception from the U of I intelligentsia. When an engineer starts talking about education, watch out. No, innovation isn't going to save us. Assumptions based on anecdotes, a simplistic view of globalization, and the technological fallacy run rife. A nasty response to the one question that pointed out his role in the MI complex. He skirted the issue by asking "If we have to have an army, don't you want it to be well equipped?" Well, he certainly got rich and famous by doing so. It's scary to think that Phyllis Wise would fine this talk impressive--or anyone among the serious classes. But not surprising.
 
Nevertheless, the one interesting aspect is that Augistin envisioned a dystopic vision of an educational system driven by technological efficiency and characterized by alienation and isolation, including courses taught be dead professors. He asked the audience to reject this vision by refused to elaborate on an alternative. He did claim to believe that in spite of the importance of engineering, students should learn something about ethics. He didn't say what.
 
Thanks to those who protested outside. Thanks to the woman who tried to raise the curtain. The event as a whole merits much more comment (I guess), but I'll leave it at that for now.
 
DG
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