Ventura":32xw7azq said:
I believe this will be my life's work once I'm done playing 'the game'... For those of you not sure what is implied by 'the game', I use this term when referring to the world of education to profession to remuneration to consumerism [repeat as so seemingly necessary].
I find it odd that over the last few decades, ever since the industrial revolution really, the things once thought important, such as art, song, dance, and writing are no longer considered quality attributes. In fact, they're getting phased out of the education hierarchy more and more. Oddly enough, it was those very things that were "free" to people to explore and express. Now we reward the sciences, the maths, the chemistries and so forth - all to feed the industrial revolution machine that started decades ago. What's up with that? The only reason we have access (for the most part) to talented people is because 'typically' they sell product - NOT - because they're truly awesome and gifted.
Ah, don't get me started....
V.
I think a lot of it had to do with the church. Science, math, etc. was practically forbidden when it came even close to contradicting the church, so until these fields could first become fair topic for discussion and then become advanced enough to be of any use, you had dominance in art, music and so forth.
I absolutely hear what you're saying though, and it's truly sad to see how the education system seems to care less and less about the arts. What I do know is that much of it is in response to globalization; the fact that Asia's students score, on average, so much higher than here in the US in science and math is definitely cause for concern. I was lucky enough to go to a high school where there was a prominent arts and music program while maintaining strong math and science departments. The downside is it just can't be realistic for the rest of the country because the area I came from was pretty well off, and if that budget weren't there, there's no way I would have gotten the experience I did.
As for having access to talented people? I'm actually going to take a different stance on that one. Before the industrial revolution - in the US - most people worked on farms. They worked sun-up to sun-down six days a week and on Sunday would go to church. The reason I mention that is because there was very little time to do much of anything that didn't involve survival. Now, if we get an education, in theory, we can get a 9 - 5 job and have the rest of our time to do what we please, and though many people choose not to, many others fill this up with arts, music, etc. where they wouldn't have been able to do so before the industrial revolution.
In the age of technology, it's also become increasingly possible to find other artists and art you appreciate. The simple fact that we can communicate on a discussion board about an amp company that relatively few people know about is incredible; fifteen years ago it was pretty much unthinkable. I feel the internet has been an invaluable resource in my artistic life, and were it not there, I'd probably still be playing out of a Mesa Rectifier!
Anyway, there's certainly a few glaring bugs in the system, but I think there's a lot more to be appreciated in today's system. If you feel I'm wrong in what I've said, or that I've missed a point or something, by all means argue with me!