Friday 3 February 2017

Open by David Price

I had a brilliant break thanks for asking. A number of days of it was sat on a train trundling across Siberia. In that time I read nine books. I was reflecting on how I could use what I had learnt, and how this applied to my life and work. I realised that I’m likely to forget lots and have decided that by writing about them, I will remember the key points, and be able to tip off other folk to some great reads.
So check out my brief reflections, and feel free to get in touch if anything piques your interest.



Open - How we’ll work, live and learn in the future. David Price
This book is a thoroughly believable look at how things could go in the future. Price argues a case that many of the things that hold value in our current world, education, property, energy are going to lose their value due to the spread of ‘openness’ and self organisation. Although I found all interesting, the key one here is knowledge. He discusses how knowledge is becoming free. The premium of having a high academic qualification is diminishing and how learners are cutting out the middlemen of established learning institutes as a physical entity. The explosion of online courses and homeschooling being prime examples.


Pros: Lots of real examples on how these trends are beginning, easy to believe, wake up call for educators and many established investors in traditional markets.

Cons: Makes you feel that it is urgent that established education institutes get on the front foot with this, but I struggle to see how they will. Also, if he is right, then as students have less need to physically attend university, my recent investment in a student apartment doesn’t look too clever.