by James | Jul 3, 2012 | Exploration I
What are the principles behind the community?
This has been mentioned numerous times before but in different forms the core principles, as opposed to purpose, are an ethical (e57), patient, humble, responsible group of researchers whose principle aim is to alleviate the suffering of mankind where it exists, to prepare for the unexpected, and to help the next generations live the best life possible.
These principles translate into everyday life by each member being a hard working, inventive compassionate person who calmly debates and discusses with fellow members.
by James | Jun 30, 2012 | Life
I have to to say if you had asked me 3 years ago what I would be doing now the answer would not have been sitting in a office in France preparing to start an English lesson. It’s a strange life and I’m not sure now what that means I’ll be doing in another 3 years.
In many ways that’s scary, in many more ways it’s exhilarating, intriguing and motivating. I would never have believed I could be good at English grammar until I had to teach it for thousands of hours, my grammar has always been abysmal. I would never have believed I could live in a foreign country for over 2 years, or speak a foreign language until I had too.
Being a teacher is probably not the career I will follow until the grave but it will always be a part of me, and through teaching I have learnt me a great deal about how we learn, about peoples temperaments, about language, culture and how we approach problems. Not to mention I can now speak happily in front of groups of people manage time a little better and generally I’m more confident when it comes articulating my ideas.
Not to mention all the time I’ve had to write up my various thoughts and clarify what I believe in life and what I want to be in the future.
It’s strange how unexpected events lead to better situations even if they seem at first to be a mistake or a problem, it’s all about framing I guess. Now I’m working seriously on my French, getting my fitness back to a good level and returning to programming.
I can’t wait to see where and what I’ll be doing in 3 years time :).
by James | Jun 29, 2012 | Exploration I
What are the systems of hierarchy and methods of decision making?
The community will be divided into general disciplines or fields of study. Much of the overall system can be taken from existing university structures. Students defer to a teacher or mentor who defers to a department head, who in turn defers to a committee or a faculty leader. Some temporary or oversight committees will be formed by use of a random ballot of all full-time members.
Elected administration officials will hold controlling poitions for the period of time dictated in the initial constitution. When dividing into different people into separate subjects this should be done with great care and should not isolate subjects or members completely from each other. Evolutionary theory and programming can be very inter-related not to mention physics and chemistry, art and biology etc.
Decisions where practical should always be contestable by a dialogue in a public forum once the motion has been overturned or won however the decision should be gracefully accepted until new facts have been found to bear on the case in dispute.
by James | Jun 28, 2012 | Exploration I
What are the rules and regulations of the community?
While a full transcript of the rules should be decided by a committee of the initial members, essentially it should cover the ethical oath of your initial entry, the principal routines during the day of the members. The balance of hours between individuals; work, chores and duties, learning, training and teach, relaxing, reflecting leisure and the assignment of tasks.
The document should also cover inappropriate behaviour but should more generally state what is good and assume a certain level of individual responsibility and cognisance of what is inappropriate or morally wrong . All interactions should stem from respect, patience and responsibility.
Finally, the document should clearly state all the positions within the community, the methods of electing such people, those who are permitted to vote and the powers invested in each station and the procedures for making amendments to the original document.
[note: I know essentially this describes a constitution but I obviously wasn’t thinking about it at the time, it borders on a semi-political / ethical document that describes and enforces the ideals of the community.]
by James | Jun 27, 2012 | Exploration I
What do members do?
Primarily, members research, study, teach and practise their skills as much as possible. On top of this they will have additional duties for the benefit of the community as a whole and physical and mental training as part of their daily routines.
Duties will comprise of community chores like farming, laundry, lab work, cooking. Elected duties such as administrating departments, regulatory matters, community decisions and contractual duties – using ones skills for external groups, peer reviews of studied papers, working on community software and open source educational tools.
There should be a balance between reason, aesthetic and physical conditioning to create well balanced individuals.
[note:These ideas are developed much more in later posts, including specialised positions and methods of electing officials etc.]
