Knowledge media face an awkward chasm between theories.
The old theory was naive transmissionism: "I'll convey this knowledge by telling you about it." That's effectively books' learning model.
But we know that model's wrong: learning is an active process of assimilation.
Conversation
Books (and videos and lectures) sometimes work anyway, but because the learner's doing the heavy lifting—making connections, posing & answering questions, etc
In apprenticeships and great classrooms, the new theory (constructivism) operates: teachers foster active assimilation.
2
3
49
But what's the equivalent of a "book" which was composed using an effective theory of how its reader will learn? We don't know.
It's a rock and a hard place: we know the old theory's wrong; we don't know how to make media which operate under our new theories.
Exciting times.
19
11
80
1
4
Replying to
Lots of valuable ideas, but there's much missing before we can gel the pieces into a general medium for conveying and assimilating knowledge.
I think games are the closest thing we have. may be a close second? Perhaps bullet journals too! In some ways.
How about better tools for making and modifying explorables? Books let you highlight and earmark and doodle in the margins, videos let you slow-mo and mashup and swede. Explorables + hack/remix/excerpt?
2
1
The problem with this is I’m a technologist, and so of course my suggestion has little to say for the humanity/physicality/proximity/interplay of the teacher and student. Ugh.
1