Mountain/\Ash @mountainash - Tumblr Blog

“…last year this photograph of children looking at their smartphones by Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam [went viral.] It was often accompanied by outraged, dispirited comments such as “a perfect metaphor for our age,” “the end of civilization” or “a sad picture of our society”.

…It turns out that the Rijksmuseum has an app that, among other things, contains guided tours and further information about the works on display. As part of their visit to the museum, the children, who minutes earlier had admired the art and listened attentively to explanations by expert adults, had been instructed to complete an assignment by their school teachers, using, among other things, the museum’s excellent smartphone app….

The tragic thing is that this — the truth — will never go viral. So, I wonder, what is more likely to bring about the death of civilization, children using smartphones to learn about art or the willful ignorance of adults who are too quick to make assumptions?” José Picardo, Medium

mountainash

And this why I don't Facebook

Very true - this is one of the reasons hy I think most European countries are more liveable than Australia

austin maynard believes that as a result of large homes and their associated sprawl, services and infrastructure are stretched at great expense to the public, both financially and environmentally. dwellings with deep floorplates are less responsive to the climates of australia’s cities, meaning that heating and cooling demands are increased. this urbanization also results in more residents requiring the use of private cars — a means of transport considered to be environmentally harmful. ‘in short, large homes are an environmental disaster for our cities, whilst also being a cultural and social disaster for our communities,’ surmises the design team.

(via 'that house' in melbourne by austin maynard architects)