Hmmm... There is always the possibility of prejudices guiding the "good will" choice of students, but afaik the shamans chose their apprentices by criteria such as emotional stability and intelligence. Nothing wrong with a little oligarchy and elitism in my book. ;) (strange thing to say for a communist slut, huh?)
I believe that there is a small, but crucial amount of knowledge that should definitely be controlled and not be passed on to anybody just beacuse they have the cash to pay for it. E.g. I would not want your local religious fanatics to get their hands on, say, the formula for anthrax 8) . It remains in question who should have the power to control that knowledge, to censor, though.
(I only got some 10 hrs of sleep ever since Tuesday, and there is way too much blood left in the caffeine stream running through my veins. So, if none of the above makes any sense, blame it on the next foreigner available. Thanks. ;))
correct me if i'm wrong...nachtalpOctober 9 2004, 17:22:57 UTC
but i've got the feeling that elitism/oligarchy were among the main reasons why all real world examples of communism failed - not to mention some other things as reduced flexbility, lack of motivation etc.
yeah, the risk of prejudice was what bothered me about those good will choices - i mean, don't get me wrong, there's nothing bad about having a mentor of some sort, it'll boost your understanding of whatever his proficiency is big time, but such occasions are rare and there ought to be good alternatives for those who don't belong to the small circle of chosen ones - but i guess we agree there anyways ;)
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There is always the possibility of prejudices guiding the "good will" choice of students, but afaik the shamans chose their apprentices by criteria such as emotional stability and intelligence. Nothing wrong with a little oligarchy and elitism in my book. ;) (strange thing to say for a communist slut, huh?)
I believe that there is a small, but crucial amount of knowledge that should definitely be controlled and not be passed on to anybody just beacuse they have the cash to pay for it. E.g. I would not want your local religious fanatics to get their hands on, say, the formula for anthrax 8) . It remains in question who should have the power to control that knowledge, to censor, though.
(I only got some 10 hrs of sleep ever since Tuesday, and there is way too much blood left in the caffeine stream running through my veins. So, if none of the above makes any sense, blame it on the next foreigner available. Thanks. ;))
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yeah, the risk of prejudice was what bothered me about those good will choices - i mean, don't get me wrong, there's nothing bad about having a mentor of some sort, it'll boost your understanding of whatever his proficiency is big time, but such occasions are rare and there ought to be good alternatives for those who don't belong to the small circle of chosen ones - but i guess we agree there anyways ;)
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