I did listen to a little Genesis on the way to work today (“Supper’s Ready” just gets better and better), but most of my time was taken up with a very stirring ITConversations/Open Source Conversations podcast featuring Netscape founder Marc Andreessen. Given the speed with which the Web has developed, it shouldn’t surprise me to hear pioneers of the first generation who are still young, vital, and moving forward–but it always does.

Andresson’s take on changes in programming, on the ways in which Moore’s Law will affect an ever-more-pervasive online culture, and on the resources available to talented human beings worldwide is both fascinating and inspiring. And as always, my mind moves toward considering the ramifications for education. When our children have access not only to most of the world’s knowledge but also–and crucially–open and welcoming communities of practice, why will they choose to go to school?

I have some answers to that question, of course, and I don’t think they’re all merely about keeping myself employed, either. It’s my hope that open knowledge and pervasive, inspiring communities of practice will help education find its way to becoming a community of consideration, a meta-place that provides compelling opportunities for innovation, re-invention, and deliberation.

A skunk works for civilization.