"I have no count, but I sense a dwindling number of people in the academic world who are unclassifiable. Neil Postman, who died Sunday, was one, and now we can say he will always be one. Such figures -- with reputation but no real discipline -- have a tendency to make people think. Postman had that."(Salon.com: technology:Neil Postman: A civilized man in a century of barbarism)

Neil Postman, 72, Mass Media Critic, Dies(NYTimes.com > Obituaries)

:: note :: . . . remembering reading "The Disappearance of Childhood" (1982) as a first year education student and the passion the words stirred . . . though later felt the need to pursue the ideas in a larger context the writings of Postman always sparked topics of research . . . the insights, provocative analogies and metaphors were often far more arcane than the culture they sought to illuminate . . . am reminded of when McLuhan was called upon to explain, he said his intention was not to explain, but to explore . . . rest in peace . . .

11:52:33 AM     comment []   . .    Open firefly