World 2.0 tries to take over World 1.0

....which will win?
Have you ever wondered that times we all live in are really crazy? Our life is haste and  full of race for cash and pleasure, the faster the better. Our capability of waiting for something  is very limited. Everything we want to get fast, cash, career, women, relationships.

Several things made me think that there is a huge change to what some of us consider normal or good coming with the speed of light.

Let's assume that I have a headache and I am at work. More often I hear "Oh you should take a pill". Maybe one person out of 10 would actually move ass and give me a pill and some hot tea. Shocking right? You would think that action means more than words especially if someone calls himself a friend. Really?!!! I meet more and more people who say "you should". My comment on that: "I know sweedy what I should, but with this you can kiss my ass as far as I know. Piss off. Or move yourself and act, because what you usually get from me is action!". But this is 1.0 person talking to 2.0 one. It can be compared to trying to convince a cow in India to move away from the road.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep ************************** cenzorship

I was advised to cut off this part. :P

How many people of 1.0 do you know and how many of 2.0? Have you encountered more examples of the world getting crazy?

I would say I know them 50/50. But it is always easier to move the boundary further. To equalize all sorts of behavior. To stop calling things good or wrong. To stop having remorse for anything, or cut all social ties and substitute them with fake ones.

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This post was more general, not just about Korea. But I think that these issues touch all of us, globally.
Warm regards to all of my 1.0 friends and 1.0 other users out there.

Form or content?

Higher Education in Korea is a very good example of social stratification. Not that Korea does not fight with inequalities, because numerous attempts are being done.

But this year, I have learnt that Seoul National University was turned into full private one. Most of Gangnam youngsters born with golden spoon in their mouth (if I am to cite my friend literally) voted for it.

It means that the tuition fee will significantly rise and so the door for smart people from less wealthy families will be closed, unless they get scholarship, or do some jobs for survival.Or something other than a "job" but what gives income.

Everyone in Korea beats to take seat at SNU, Korea Universyty or Yonsei, so called SKY. There is a notion that the top elite in the country are SKY graduates with easy path ahead in life.

In Korea however, the name matter more than the actual quality of education. Among lying challenges ahead is growing pressure for international majors made mostly in English. English language, very difficult for Koreans is used to explain matters which are enough complicated and difficult if taught in Korean.

Also big pressure for number of publications causes drop in it's quality, as not many of these poapers are cited by other scholars. Leydesdorff and Han mentioned about it in Scientometrics.

Young Koreans worry enough that they won't be able to pay for tuition fees and the situation when they do not pay for actual quality makes them frustrated even more. Professor Han, a physics scientist of Korean origin who works in USA, says that most of young Koreans did not posess basic skills of creative thinking and connecting facts when they entered PhD studies in USA.

Is the situation changing? I am not sure. Transformation of SNU into private entity is not a good sign. But I remember that I once met a girl who graduated from International Business at Ajou University in Suwon, and who was a successful investment banker at one of the better financial institutions. Being Ajou graduate, not at all top university in Korea, did not stop her from being successful.

Maybe there is some hope? I will get back to the aspects of Korean science in other posts too. Sorry for the long break.