Stephen Downes

I was half way through reading this article when I picked up on Clint Lalonde's post referencing a Scott Leslie article from 2008 that resonated perfectly. Jeremy Bendik-Keymer writes, "There is a nouveau riche of academia, an academic bourgeoisie: they love their distinctions, and they display them first prominently, then subtly (for the initiated)." Leslie writes, "We grow our network by sharing, they start their network by setting up initial agreements." He probably also wears metaphorical work shirts to the opera. Bendik-Keymer writes, "must live a resolutely open life where knowledge is for all, especially those farthest from the academic game by dint of poverty, oppression, alienation, stigmatization, and shame. They must face the psychological and practical difficulties of those finding it untenable, although desirable, to pursue the mind's original joy in seeking to make sense of the world." Begin with sharing, not with privilege.