Reason TV: Mark Frauenfelder on DIY Super-Humanism, Unschooling and the Future of Print Journalism

"You know, I studied mechanical engineering in school and I ended up becoming a journalist. I can name a dozen people right now that I think are amazing people who didn't go to college," says editor of Boing Boing Mark Frauenfelder.

He sat down with managing editor of Reason.com Tim Cavanaugh to talk about alternatives to public school and education in the real world.

Frauenfelder is also the editor of Make magazine, whose newest issue takes a look at do-it-yourself superhumanism, a way of modifying human capabilities through gadgets. Some of the gadgets include a device to play Guitar Hero only using the muscles in your arm and an ankle strap that directs you to where you want to go using cell phone vibraters and GPS.

Cavanaugh and Frauenfelder finally discuss the future of print journalism and why putting a magazine out in 2012 is still a good idea.  

About 9:48 minutes.

Camera by Tracy Oppenheimer, Paul Detrick, and Zach Weismueller. Edited by Detrick.

Go to Reason TV for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel  to receive automatic notifications when new material goes live.

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[Spiny Norman]

Anonbot? Is that you?

[Jesus H. Christ]

It's been a long time since I visited Boing Boing. I got so tired of the relentless lefty BS there, and Frauenfelder is one of the worst. Total commie. That and I'm pretty much past my steam punk phase. Unfortunately, nestled amongst all the nausea inducing liberalism are some cool links.

[skr]

You are so full of shit. He is nowhere near one of the worst lefties there. He is the one people mistake for a libertarian because of his anti-authoritarianism.

[Jesus H. Christ]

I guess we use different methods to weight leftyism.

[Libertarian2]

They (Boing Boing) lean libertarian a lot of the time, but then, yeah, you're right - a lot of time they don't and it's disappointing.

By the way, if you had asked me what a Mark Frauenfelder would look like, I think I would have nailed it.

[oncogenesis]

FrauenfelderCory Doctorow is one of the worst. Total commie.

Plus, his name is Cory.

[Rico]

Ugh, tell me about it. I wonder if there's a way just to block Cory's posts. In the same breath, he'll demand net neutrality and decry SOPA. He'll then go on to lament police brutality and the encroaching CCTV state while calling anybody who doesn't support public libraries and universal health care a troglodyte. Can't have it both ways dude.

Mark pimps reason content fairly regularly, which immediately elicits comments that he's a Koch shill from boingboingers. He posted this video yesterday and sure enough, within 10 comments, somebody brought up the K word.

[formerbber]

I got tired of bb when Fraunfelder posted some new crap about Limbaugh every day for 2 weeks.

[MPO]

Ok, so what's with the hair? I think someone is trying a little too hard to appear eccentric and hip ? not unlike some Reason editors. And anyone who uses the word "amazing" to describe anything isn't worth your time. "Superhumanism"? Good grief.

[Suthenboy]

Mark, dude, what happened to your hair? You should see someone about that.

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[d]

He seems like a reasonably intelligent guy (modulo the lefty nonsense), but, IIRC, he said his son didn't learn to read under his "unschooling" regime until he was 9 years old (9!), because he didn't feel like it. And he only learned to read then, because he wanted to read the text of his video games.

Holy crap, his kid(s?) is (are?) going to be at a disadvantage. They'll probably never even get into a mechanical engineering program. (Not that I disagree with the claim that , for most majors, college is largely a social club and a waste of time that could be better spent learning useful things.)

[Mark Frauenfelder]

I don't have a son. I think you are talking about an unschooling family I interviewed for my book.

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[Jeff]

What's his Super-Human power? Super-Bedhead?

[MacKlingon]

Double dosing Viagra

[R. Franklin Carter]

A self-educating man will never be ideologically pure. You have to attend a seminary for that.

The background music in this video is cool, and I'd like to know the name and the artist.