Origins of Technology

                                                   work work work

     I'm not writing this piece for fun. Not at all. in fact, it's brutally difficult and I'll tell 

you why. The purpose is to help me and others clarify something that has had me 

very hard down for quite a while and very difficult to explain. I can recall working for 

the Church of Scientology in the UK. We were at the American University, not the

 large American University in London, but a smaller one and closer to East

 Grinstead  where our organization was based. We were trying to recruit students

 and sell books  by L. Ron Hubbard to the students there. If students from the

 American University  had come to St. Hill - the place where scientology was

 located - in order to sell  books  - any books at all - or recruit students for their

 courses - they would not have been  allowed on the grounds. 

     The L. Ron Hubbard  policy toward standard education  was

 that it was not only worthless, but down right close to evil. Anything not written by

 L.  Ron Hubbard was largely and usually worthless and down right close to evil.

 This  attitude  would make many people defensive and probably somewhat

 annoyed or  offended since they'd spent much time in schools where they'd

 learned to read and  write and add numbers and learn about many important

 subjects. 

     Hubbard  attended George Washington University for two years, had poor

 grades and  dropped out. He majored in Civil Engineering and told Look magazine

 "He never  took his degree". 

     For the record, engineering school is hard work, very hard work. Landing a man

 on the Moon is no little thing, and neither is building a bridge. 

     What got to me at that school was that after having adopted Hubbard's attitude 

 about the worthlessness of higher education, and despite my own real experience

 in excellent schools, I found myself in their gym shooting baskets and had very

 mixed emotions that day about the experience. Something was wrong. Something 

was gnawing at me. Sure, people should not be judged totally by their grades in

 public school or any school for that matter. There are many other important things

 in life. Additionally, many students who haven't the resources, can't afford school or

are pressed into working early instead for economic reasons. Still, most schools

 usually do an excellent job of helping students live better, more useful lives no

 matter their circumstances and, in fact, are there first to help any student have a

 complete and practical education. To say less and to ignore the good schools do is

 far from what you what expect from the "humanitarian" that Hubbard continually

 claimed he was. He's gone now. May he rest in peace. My purpose here is not to

 find things that are wrong about others in my estimation, but to point out the best I

 can the true and most important contributors to today's current and most

 successful technologies, whatever area of life they might be concerned with. 

     I felt bad at that gym because I had stopped supporting standard education and

 instead was supporting those who considered it a waste of time at best. And, here

 it  had done so much good for myself and my friends. 

     Look, it is probably true that Hitler's camps for Germany's youth had many fond

 moments for the young boys and girls that attended. That's not the point at all. The

point is that there is practically no hard sell to public school or most private

 universities either, yet the human and social value is extremely high. The same

 thing can be said about good family. The parents do everything they can to help

 their children. In the same way, schools are among the finest things a community

 has to help  its children. Technologies are developed to help people, to make their

 lives easier, their work more efficient. The best, the true sources that help man, do

 not make fun of other people. They point out the good and they point out the

 failures in a way that is simply to prevent others making the same mistakes. This is

 a characteristic of a good technology, whether it is in medicine, study itself, or

 basketball. It has this about it. It is humble and wishes only to serve and help man,

 not in the spirit of sacrifice, but in the spirit of having fun, enjoying life. Like most

 people really are when they are being themselves..,.