The subject that just keeps giving (ethics, acoustics, water treatment, cyclone technology) came through with a gem today. The Story of Stuff was a the prelude to one of the most painful discussion groups I have ever been obliged to be involved with - matched only by discussion groups in yesterday evening's lecture for the same subject which also felt like pulling teeth. In comparison, running health and safety training for scientists and engineers is a breeze.
If you have a spare 20 minutes, a curious inclination and enough spare bandwith, click on the link above and have a ponder. I liked the visual style of line drawings and then adding the "hidden detail" but as much as I loved the message, I struggled with the delivery style. Determine to post a link despite my reservations, I looked up the site and also happened to find the blog of one of the creators. She had written a post entitled "What's the best way not to get invited back for dinner" which ironically captured the essence of what I didn't like. To me, the greatest art of selling a sustainable message is in the crafting. The power of persuasion, the management of change, capturing hearts and minds - can it be painless? How do we make that voice a chorus, in time and in tune with today?
You see, very few of my fellow students want to be in this subject. It is compulsory for their engineering studies and merely stands between them and a qualification for a career they are not even sure they want or even know why they are there. The discussion group was painful because at the end of this clip they didn't want to discuss it, they didn't want to think about it, they didn't want to be there. We handed up our summary because everyone gets a bonus mark for their assignment if their name and student number is on one of those summaries.
When do we all realise that doing the right thing isn't about a bonus mark, it's the only way we'll be able to participate on the planet!
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