Thanks to some digital hocus pocus, John Lennon is back and helping promote One Laptop Per Child, a charity working to bring cheap computers and internet access to children in developing countries. Done with the approval of Yoko Ono, the commercial stitches together old recordings of Lennon’s voice and adds at least a couple of new words (did Lennon ever say “laptop”?). In the end, it all comes out fairly seamlessly. If you want to give a laptop (starting at $199) and change the world, go here. Otherwise, here’s John:
via Goings On via Rolling Stone
The goal expressed by this charity is education. But show me a kid on a computer and I’ll show you a kid wasting hours of his time with video games, chat rooms, music and video downloads, etc. I would not be surprised if there were an inverse correlation between the ubiquity of technology and chidrens’ proficiency in fundamental areas of knowledge such as math, science, literacy, and history. Educating a child takes time and effort on the part of parents and/or other dedicated adults; throwing a computer onto a child’s lap is no substitute, and is probably more of a distraction than anything else.