On Rating Colleges in Earth in Mind by David Orr
“Rating Colleges” has been my favorite chapter so far in Earth in Mind. In discussion people said Orr was too over the top, but I thought the chapter’s playfulness was its greatest feature. To often in Earth in Mind, Orr has merely listed problems, obvious problems, without really offering solutions, or exploring alternative options, causes of the problems, alternative ways of thinking, etc. What the book has consisted of, I feel, is a surface-level description that offers the reader very little in terms of how they can respond — pretty much you can either say “yeah, that’s right,” or “no, that’s wrong”. But by venturing into a humorous discussion, Orr is actually making a first step towards solving problems — changing the way people talk about them. I think humor is a terrific tool for discussing systems and institutions and precedents. The tone of the humor doesn’t necessarily need to be vitriolic, just funny enough to mix people’s neurons up a little bit.
aaron :: Nov.14.2005 :: Inscape / Landscape class ::