I've taken a few MOOCs and even completed a few. My big problem is that pretty much as soon as I completed the course I forgot everything I'd learned. I have a couple of explanations as to why that is:

- MOOCs don't usually have a project component where you'd get direct feedback from a TA (that's obviously due to the number of people registered). This is changing as peer-assessments are being used more and more as a way to handle project grading.

- the course in question wasn't directly related to what I'm doing in my day job. During university, a course you're taking is at least often useful as a prerequisite for the next one.

- I'm getting old and stupid. Maybe just smart enough to complete the course but not enough to retain it? I wonder how much more I'd have retained, say, 10 years ago.

I like fiction that makes me think:

Fictions - Borges
I, Robot - Asimov
Never Let Me Go - Ishiguro

Because the quality of art and culture can be measured by its financial success?

Definitely not true on all counts, you are letting your ideology cloud your objectivity. Some aspects of French society might be called "socialist" (health care for all, free education, decent minimum wage and generally better protection for workers and the unemployed than in the US), but it is still a country where there is little to no public ownership of the means of production, and no central planning. It is a land of private enterprise just like the USA!

France just had a hardcore capitalist president with Sarkozy for 5 years (succeeding Chirac who was from the same party), and even under Hollande, nothing has changed regarding the general system of government. Ultimately, there's not much room to maneuver system-wise in the EU anyway.

To get back on topic, just like in the US the French government gives incentives for innovation in various sectors, and in France, public research institutes (CNRS, INSERM, CIRAD, etc.) and public hospitals have indeed been at the forefront of many breakthroughs, some that have won Nobel prizes, again thanks to support from the government, not in spite of it.

I read it that way too...

If I understand his point correctly, I guess in the post-information scarcity world you set up a kickstarter project and ask people to pay up *up front* to get to read your work. You then, hopefully, deliver (people won't pay up next time if you don't!). Once your work is delivered, it can be replicated ad nauseam and it won't have any resale value because information is cheap or free.

I think that's a great idea. The ability to browse physical books in a nice environment is a service that I'm willing to pay for.

A "Gaga order" then?

FTFY. :)

There's been a political vacuum when it comes to defending Snowden and more generally people's right to privacy. Good for Green politicians for showing their concern! There are many more orphan causes in search for a party to pick them up: copyright and patent law reform, standing up to lobbies, etc. They'd get my vote.

Well, in the US the poor don't get access to healthcare, in Canada no one does. I guess at least it's fair...

We need to look beyond North America to find a system that works...

I only read Yahoo comments for a good laugh. I take a benign story, and then wonder "how can this be turned into a racist, xenophobic, homophobic, sexist rant in the comment section?", and they never disappoint.

If Brazil wants to flex it muscles with respect to defending privacy, it should give political asylum to Snowden. Now that will send a message. It's crazy how no supposedly democratic country has stepped up yet.

On the other hand, the same overqualified people also make better decisions when voting or keeping in check their government. You have people who understand the world surrounding them (and well beyond their borders) and who aren't prone to democratic apathy (and I guess that's why frequent strikes are a well-known French phenomenon).

The economic/employment viewpoint is certainly a valid one, and I agree with you to a great extent, but it's good to look at the civic one as well. Ideally, maybe a great portion of the people out of high school should go to a vocational school first, then go work, make some money, gain some experience, and only then at some point spend some time at university to gain a better understanding of the world. With MOOCs now, this should be easier hopefully.

You have to start somewhere. If you make enough noise you'll be noticed, just look at the tea party or the gay rights movement. Then you'll influence decisions by the two big parties, but still you shouldn't stop there. There's so much similarity between the two big parties, so many political issues not covered by either and so much apathy toward both, that if there's a determined and well organized alternative it will eventually get a chance. Certainly not doing anything hasn't worked great so much, has it?