Post APmwWFNt143XphPXc0 by robertbwalker55@mastodon.nz
(DIR) More posts by robertbwalker55@mastodon.nz
(DIR) Post #APkLuM5XemdsxHXjRQ by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-19T01:47:26Z
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I just found out the politicalcompass.org folks do a podcast. Here's an episode where they interview retired Auckland University Professor Peter Wills about the corporatization of the universities: https://www.buzzsprout.com/451003/8835572-the-corporatised-university.mp3#podcast #university #ProfPeterWills #corporatization #NeoLiberalism #privatization #PoliticalCompass
(DIR) Post #APkMJKgxzANBrcxTgu by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-19T01:51:57Z
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Intriguingly, Prof Wills talks about how the corporatization of university research, and especially the greater secrecy of research methods and data, may have compromised the WHO investigation into the Wuhan lab at the centre of some of the origins theories of COVID19.#WHO #COVID19
(DIR) Post #APkOB9zi4jBsHFxLNY by robertbwalker55@mastodon.nz
2022-11-19T02:12:39Z
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@strypey I remember reading a while back wry commentary from Britain commenting upon the squeezing out of studies in music on the basis that it didn’t contribute economically. To which the writer said: really? Music since the 1960s with the advent of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones has been a massive earner for Britain. Content is just as important as the means of delivery.
(DIR) Post #APkUaLZyjswjAjJWDY by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-19T03:24:40Z
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@robertbwalker55The assumption that an academic discipline must...> contribute economically... to be valuable is a fallacy in itself. An excellent example of the kind of economism Prof Wills identifies as wrecking the university as a democratic institution.
(DIR) Post #APkWqbahAyWxNAWsds by robertbwalker55@mastodon.nz
2022-11-19T03:49:59Z
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@strypey I am applying what might be thought of as the law of the oblique. Focus on what you are good at and everything else falls into place. Boeing is the best example. When it was run by its founder it made aircraft. Money didn’t come into it but it made vast sums (and changed the world if not for the better). It began to fail when it fell into the hands of accountants whose objective was to make money. I am an accountant (of sorts). I have no love for managerialism.
(DIR) Post #APkX3M1cMPTCrRCXHk by robertbwalker55@mastodon.nz
2022-11-19T03:52:18Z
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@strypey I ran out of numbers. It so happens that I was part of a team that proved the output theory of government didn’t work back in 1996. Accountants make great servants but poor masters.
(DIR) Post #APkZPeWkRzbgWVWT2W by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-19T04:18:46Z
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@robertbwalker55Looked up "oblique", still confused.Just to clarify, I totally agree with the critique you were referencing. I was just going meta on it ;)
(DIR) Post #APkZeU6JUv6qWwELZ2 by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-19T04:21:27Z
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@robertbwalker55Looked up "oblique", still confused.Just to clarify, I totally agree with the critique you were referencing. I was just going meta on it ;)Clarification #2; my use of "economism" isn't intended as a criticism of economists (or accountants) per se, just as my use of "scientism" isn't a criticism of scientists per se. Managerialism is an appropriate word, although to my mind it's a superset of economism.
(DIR) Post #APkZzgNn1rqQheVrEW by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-19T04:25:17Z
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@robertbwalker55Do you mean you ran out of characters to get your whole thought across in one post?If so, I sometimes hack around that by putting (1/2) or (2/?) at the bottom of a post, to indicate that I have more to say on the subject, and to increase the chances the post will be read in context.Also, there are fediverse platforms that don't have arbitrary character limits (eg Friendica) but still federate with Mastodon.
(DIR) Post #APkaCVK3SiESAHsbHk by robertbwalker55@mastodon.nz
2022-11-19T04:27:32Z
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@strypey I got the idea from a Financial Times article. Successful ventures almost invariably arise from a creative impulse. Making money is a by-product. Here is an example: Aotearoa should make the nurturing of Teo Reo a priority. Not because you can sell it. But it will repay in economic terms many times over. Precisely how idk but it will.
(DIR) Post #APlgRORg6gJS3xt87M by robertbwalker55@mastodon.nz
2022-11-19T17:12:10Z
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@strypey that was the problem - TY. I never used Twitter so I am new to character limitation.
(DIR) Post #APmw8zzy3PhrSE8alk by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-20T07:42:54Z
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@robertbwalker55 It's a good way to practice brevity. I enjoy the challenge of pruning excess verbiage to get down under 500 chars. But some thoughts are just too big for that, especially when they require some sensitivity or diplomacy in their expression.
(DIR) Post #APmwBvlOFyBfBiiWJc by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-20T07:43:25Z
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@robertbwalker55 It's a good way to practice brevity. I enjoy the challenge of pruning excess verbiage to get down under 500 chars. But some thoughts are just too big for that, especially when they're about sensitive subjects require some diplomacy in their expression.
(DIR) Post #APmwWFNt143XphPXc0 by robertbwalker55@mastodon.nz
2022-11-20T07:47:05Z
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@strypey Nietzsche reckoned the aphoristic style was how philosophy should be written. The Tao Te Ching is known as the work of 5,000 characters and it says everything that ever needed to be said. As for me, I am not in Nietzsche’s league and am given to prolixity 😢
(DIR) Post #APoDAq1G1JRLSjACP2 by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-20T22:28:24Z
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@robertbwalker55> I am not in Nietzsche’s league and am given to prolixityMe too. BTW top marks on the vocab, I had to look up prolixity before I could say that :) Hopefully you'll find posting here at helpful as I have for working on being more concise.
(DIR) Post #APoDrAPma2C0seopvs by robertbwalker55@mastodon.nz
2022-11-20T22:36:03Z
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@strypey I spend my life writing long winded prose no one reads. What my non-readers cannot say later is that I didn’t tell them 😊.
(DIR) Post #APoEBGEsdTp6jfIivY by robertbwalker55@mastodon.nz
2022-11-20T22:39:41Z
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@strypey here is my favourite Nietzsche aphorism: if you fight with monsters take care not to become a monster. If you gaze into the abyss long enough, the abyss gazes into you.It exercises a spell on me as a snake does on a mouse.