Re: Sobering Stats to Contemplate

[Marsha Hanzi <hanzibra@svn.com.br>]

    Although I  agree in essence that one can be  deluded by internet, it has been a
most valuable tool for  us in Brazil.  It has helped- until now-- to keep transgenics
out, by  coordinated campaigns, it has made free contacts for networking and  courses,
and it has given us instantaneous answers to technical questions in a country where
libraries are pratically inexistant.
    Of course Brazil may be a more sophisticated third-world country than most, but
most NGO's , even the rural ones, have access to internet and computers. Many firms are
donating slightly-obsolete but perfectly funciontal computers  to  such organizations.
    I find the internet most useful in locating people and sources of information and
making first contacts.  Of course it does not replace real fieldwork and face to face
contact, but I confess that some of my most precious and comforting friends (   "a
friendly cyber-shoulder", so to speak) were met here.  An example: I met Robina McCurdy
in the Denmark convergence  in 1993 (?).  We have not seen each other since, but have
had important exchanges via Internet over the years, as she travelled  to New Zealand,
Atrica, Findhorn.  Now I am fulfilling a  dream of bringing her and her  work to
Brazilian schools, and all the arrangements are being facilitated because of the
instant feedback available from the Internet. She will serve as a catalyst for
bringing Permaculture into the local school systems, which  we will then be able to
carry on.
    So I would not dismiss Internet as a precious tool, ESPECIALLY for third-world
workers, who otherwise would not have access  to these contacts and sources of
information. We must just not confuse it with fieldwork.  We should see Internet
fulfilling basically the types of administrative  functions that, for example, a
secretary would fulfill.  It is a most useful tool, and can save us a LOT of time and a
LOT of money in travelling and  interurban telephone calls.
    We have a new project here  of professional training for young people who have had
no access to higher schools and thus have not found a job. ( Our Institute presented a
broad recycling proposal, including compost, medicinl herbs, and the design and
implementation of the grounds of a local social center). Of the thirty-some groups who
had projects approved, some six  were of training street kids to use computers...
Marsha Hanzi
Instituto de Permacultura da Bahia
Brazil




matthew sullivan escreveu:

> being a bit of a nitpicker myself, i think some clarification of the forbes
> article necessary: 300 million computers are in use - that doesn't mean
> each one is owned by an individual - on the contrary, consider a government
> department, investment bank or military institution. these organisations
> own 1000s of machines - and they're owned by the company not the
> individual. your 500%-600% error margin itself is thrown way out then,
> considering this. i don't know exactly how many people own computers, but i
> would sway towards the 1/100 rather than you 5-6/100.
>
> i feel obliged to comment on this point especially, because it seems to me
> that way too many people are seeing internet technology (and therefore pc
> tech) as a global unifier. WRONG! no doubt, it blows my mind daily how much
> more i can learn with my swanky pc and hi-speed internet connection, but i
> am in a small percentage of the world's population who have an integrated
> telecommunications system to gain access to the internet through. what
> good's the internet to an third-world farmer eeking out a living on the
> land? more to the point, what good's the internet without electricity?
>
> and toby, the great huxley quote you mention: seems to me you've slayed a
> beautiful hypothesis yourself by focussing on an obviously arguable
> metric.
>
> ms
>
> ---------------------------\\//-----------------------------
> ----------------------------\/------------------------------
>
> On 08/21/99, "Toby Hemenway <hemenway@jeffnet.org>" wrote:
> > At the risk of seeming a bit of a crank, I want to revisit those sobering
> > stats once more. So in our village of 100 people,
> >
> > >1 would own a computer
> >
> >   I was idly leafing through a copy of Forbes yesterday, and read that
> > "over 300 million computers are in use today." That means, given a
> > population of 5-6 billion, that not 1, but 5 or 6 of our villagers would
> > own a computer. Nitpicking? Hardly; that's a 500-600% error. I'm sorry that
> > the anti-Western political agenda of the author is so strong that he's
> > willing to ignore the facts.
> >    How is this relevant to permaculture? Since we're in the world-changing
> > business, it's important for us to be willing to see the world as it is and
> > not distort it due to anger or optimism. And if we don't have our facts
> > right, no one will take us seriously, as I no longer take the author
> > seriously (this of course doesn't reflect on Guy for forwarding it). A
> > couple of my favorite quotes are relevant:
> >
> > Mark Twain (via Disraeli): "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned
> > lies, and statistics."
> >
> > T.H. Huxley: "The great tragedy of science-the slaying of a beautiful
> > hypothesis by an ugly fact."
>
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