Shift Happens!

[Schnabel]

Originally Posted by wilsonmw04

Don't put too much stock in anything that's posted on a website. It's slick, it's flashy but where did all those amazing "facts" come from?

My teacher actually showed this to my class one day and she got it off of some university's website. I don't know which one, but if I find the time, I will ask her. I think that it is actually credible because of the fact that she got it off of there.

[artdutra04]

This video reminded me a lot of Spaceship Earth at Epcot. All they need is for Walter Cronkite to narrate it.

Originally Posted by CrazyBear

Scary statistics! The presentation did not seem credible since it did not state their references. Any ideas?

If there is anything the Information Age has taught me, it's that Google is your friend. [Read: Here's the film's references for their statistics]

Here's a little background information about this video:

Karl Fisch, a high school administrator at Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colorado, pulled together a powerpoint with “some interesting ideas” for teachers at his school. (Later, Scott Mcleod, a professor at Univ. of Minnesota, generalized the presentation and created "Shift Happens".)

[EllieJ]

Wow, that was really well put together. It really evokes a feel of teamwork and coming together to fix things. I wish I was more a part of this, but I'm just a volunteer...
Wish I could be in some of those shots.

[wilsonmw04]

Originally Posted by artdutra04

This video reminded me a lot of Spaceship Earth at Epcot. All they need is for Walter Cronkite to narrate it.


If there is anything the Information Age has taught me, it's that Google is your friend. [Read: Here's the film's references for their statistics]

Here's a little background information about this video:

Just having a link to the BLOG someone got their "information" from doesn't make it a credible sources. Very Few of these claims are based on primary sources. The majority of them are from a single author (Ian Jukes) who does not sources his own paper. Others are simply a quote without context or someone's personal opinion.

This Vid is interesting Drama, nothing else.

[Jeffrafa]

Originally Posted by Luckyfish05

Very interesting video, some of which I think is highly credible, however.... I remember a book that I read in high school called 1984 (great thought provoking book) that seemed to try and forcast the future and not do such a great job at it. Basically, what I'm trying to say here is lets just see what the future brings and deal with it then. .....Though I'd like cheaper laptops....

I read George Orwell's book 1984 not too long ago, and although I agree entirely that it was an excellent thought provoking book I disagree that it was meant as a prediction of the future. I think his purpose for writing it was to paint a picture of a rather extreme totalitarian setting with the intent of raising controversy and opposition to such events. The title may suggest that it was an image of the future, but in fact his title originally was to be The Last Man In Europe. This was changed due to suggestion from the publisher.

Even today you can find references almost weekly in the news to 1984, as every issue surrounding privacy is highly contested and suggested as being just one step closer to the totalitarianism of Orwell's society. This just proves that issues addressed in a book written almost sixty years ago are still relevant today, despite the title suggesting a fictional society of twenty three years ago.

In comparison, this is a compilation of facts and statistics (now mostly backed with sources) largely relating to the world as it currently stands. I as well find them fascinating. Although I don't think the US will find itself jobless and economically crushed in five years, I do think we are on a slippery slope regarding our position in the world. If things aren't addressed soon, then the dominant role we have taken for granted as a country could be lost very quickly. The best way to go about solving this is to accept the facts at hand and seek out a solution.

Even if we are all personally morally committed to the greater good of our own country, many corporations are not - and our own actions quite often don't reflect such a position.

- Jeff

[MGoelz]

No matter if all the sources can be found, it is still very thought provoking. It kind of forces you to see different perspectives that I know I normally wouldn't take the time to acknowledge. It was fascinating, to say the least.

[wilsonmw04]

Originally Posted by MGoelz

No matter if all the sources can be found, it is still very thought provoking. It kind of forces you to see different perspectives that I know I normally wouldn't take the time to acknowledge. It was fascinating, to say the least.

So it doesn't matter that it could all be made up and not based on fact? What if i made a vid based on articles from TheOnion.com? would it still be fascinating?

[Travis Hoffman]

....and then, the Terminators appeared.

If countries would stop being so dang competitively "us vs. them" and instead SHIFTED their focus to "all of us vs. the world's problems", perhaps we'd live in a better world?

If people focused their efforts on raising the standard of living in poorer and less developed countries, perhaps we wouldn't have to worry so much about the influx of illegal immigrants, because they might actually want to stay in their own countries and enjoy and appreciate the better life we helped create for them?

Fix education here. Get more engineers here. Solve our problems, but instead of letting those solutions stop at the border, pool resources with the engineers in other countries. Collaborate and share the benefits of technology with the entire world. Stop trying to improve and hoard resources on your small patch of land at the expense of everyone else.

And I'd kindly suggest to the world's people that we work harder at making the world a better place for children to live in before bringing so many dang children into the world. We're only making it harder on ourselves.

Humans can be a greedy lot.