Connections and networking

I was just wondering what lessons would look like if they treated the ability to understand networks of social connections as being important alongside all the analytical stuff we did get.

Like, it's important who was related to who when they're queens and suchlike, and it's important who the personalities involved were, and how factors in all the different lessons (geography and history and literature and science) came together into networks of people making decisions.

But I remember more linear lists.

Like, being the girl in school who can stay popular because they remember birthdays and say hi to people is a *skill*, but in movies it gets turned into a gendered role where the opposition is drawing attention away to frivolous things?

Like logically Cordelia Chase should have been really good at getting the whole school educated and mobilised, even if they couldn't frame it as being about vampires. People that can run fundraisers or get all their friends friends to turn up for self defence classes and, like, actually pay attention, or just... notice who is getting home with who? Survival skills all.

I feel like nothing I learned in school was a sound foundation for being a politician, or being part of the local volunteer network, or any of the things that actually get stuff done.

Granted I need to learn social skills out of books
but
do rich people get different lessons somewhere?
what model are they working off that works to put them in power so often?
like, money obvs, but what is it doing and how does one learn how to do it?

Learning history as a series of laws or battles is helpful, but learning it as a network of needs going unmet until things go boom is another angle.



I don't know, I'm just sitting here thinking more people need to learn how to be center of the web, and why that's valuable.

But social media makes it look like everyone can?

But if I was I think I would know where more people went.





If I invent power fantasy characters they're a lot more Cordelia than Buffy, except for I don't believe I could do that.

Someone who can connect and organise is super valuable.

I wonder what school would look like if teaching that was deliberate.

Doctor Who

It's 0746 and the fire alarm went off for two seconds then seven seconds, again, like every Friday lately, but very early

not that I was asleep this time.

Last night I watched School Reunion, Girl In The Fireplace, Rise of the Cybermen, and Age of Steel.
With long gaps after the first two because
my heart
all the feels!

I mean first School Reunion breaks your heart, and then again when you remember the real world and it's just extra sad now

and then

Girl in the Fireplace just speed runs that same sadness
and you go from oh hi new person to argh I was using that heart in a single episode.

The cybusmen aren't exactly a bunch of roses either. ( Read more... )

There is a lot going on with this show. Even when they're running around acting unsubtly and trying to take the bit with the horse seriously, there is so much going on.

It's a bit brilliant.

Successful evening

The Idiot's Lantern isn't as bad as I remember.
It suffers from being after the tear your heart out ones but going all shallow again.
The Wire being all Hungry doesn't suck. Well, does suck, but in a theoretically reasonably creepy way.
It's weird equating face with personal identity, but okay.
I just hate the last minute so much I end up remembering it all as awful. ( Read more... )

So, episode is fine, ending makes me very angry.




But I just watched that while I ate, having done shopping and dancing successfully :-)

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