groundwork

me worship

The following video was featured on a website I was reading this morning.  I have found that humor is truly effective when it contains an element of truth.  This video is effective because it touches upon a 'truth' about our world, society, culture, and (most uncomfortably) ourselves.

More Than Words

It is becoming clear to most of us that the world is in a state of continual change.  The constant flow of information seems to come to us from all directions. Advertisers are examining ways of placing their ads in front of us via our cell phones, PDAs, gas pumps, flat panel monitors in hallways, and elevators. 

A change has also occurred in the manner that we process information.  There are those are striving to define the significant shift in the learning style of the average person today.

Andy Crouch, director of the Christian Vision Project, believes that the world has entered a new era.

"We're entering the third age of the human race.  The first was 'orality', where people communicated primarily by oral, spoken language.  The second was literacy, when suddenly, after Gutenberg, the printed page became the main means by which culture was shaped and imaginations were formed.  Now we're entering a third age; the age of visualcy."

I would have to agree with him on many levels.  At the recent event, I used a video in a presentation on the influence of media for a group of young people.  During the video, I noticed the participants sat quietly while watching with more rapt attention than during the lecture session.  I am not exactly sure if this was a commentary on my presentation.  But there was a noticeable difference in their response to the material in the video.   

I am struggling in an attempt to understand as to how to capitalize on the visual element in learning.  We are in a transitional time when those who learn by 'literacy' are sitting aside those who learn by 'visualcy'.  It will take an enormous effort to provide both of these approaches with the information that they need.

There are no easy answers....only more questions to consider.

The Big Top - Part II

I have received a couple of interesting comments in response to the recent post on the subject of Truth.  A friend of mine sent me a link to a November 27, 2006 article focusing on Pope Benedict's late 2006 visit to Turkey.  One of the fascinating parts of the article highlights the manner the media approaches the subject of Truth.

The article has this insightful paragraph (emphasis mine):

Implicit in the article is the viewpoint that there is no such thing as truth, no such thing as right or wrong.  The writers have absorbed the relativistic view inculcated in today's colleges and universities that flexibility and pragmatism, other names for moral relativism, ought to be the sole criteria for belief and action.  Adherence to the truth is characterized as impractical rigidity.

read the entire article

It certainly addresses the challenges we face on a personal and corporate level in this postmodern 'anything goes' world.

The Big Top

I have been away from the keyboard while attending to various things.  It seems that each time I plan to sit down to post something - there is another phone call to make, e-mail to write, problem to solve, or meeting.  It is what it is!

There have been a couple of items that I thought were noteworthy to touch upon today.  The first one involves an excellent article on the subject of Truth. 

I enjoyed the authors insight in this amusing but thought provoking quote:

Today truth has come under the Big Top. It’s a circus full of sideshows. We have for our approval an endless cacophony of ideas. The fringes are attacking the core. Nonsense is taking center stage. All opinions and feelings are valid and up for grabs, because society no longer considers any truth to be absolute. Instead, there are many beliefs, many realities, many truths.

read the entire article

The article is well worth the time to peruse this evening.  I hope to get back to a regular schedule in the next couple of days.  Again, we should soon see!