Book Notes: "The Faber Book of Exploration" by Benedict Allen

The Faber Book Of Exploration by Benedict Allen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is certainly a tome. The text is very small, with introduction to each piece is written in even smaller font, with the notes in the smallest font I can read without a magnifying glass and my glasses. The book is about 3 inches thick, too, so getting through all 800 pages was no mean feat. This is an anthology of great texts, and for someone who is interested in, but not enthralled by, travel literature, the book is ideal. The "anthologer" is an ardent cultural "immerser" - a technique I enjoy - and an adventurer, so the anthology is put together rather well. Thoroughly enjoyable, and I am considerably more knowledgeable about far-off places and the extremes of geography.



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My Top Ten Tips for University Students

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I am often asked to name my top ten tips for first-year students. You can probably guess that I am not a fan of post-modern "happy-clappy". And when the metal meets the meat, it will be your hard-earned skills that will matter, not the euphoria of being all kumbaya. Here's my top ten:

1. Read the unit outline. Twice. Then read it before you start every assignment. Then read it before you submit every assignment. Then read it once more for fun.

2. This is university. The standard is high, always, and you must lift yourself to the standard. The only way to lower the standard is to devalue your degree. Of course, you are here to prepare yourself for professional life, and it is nigh impossible to do so without a degree of some quality. Therefore, it is sound logic to lift your own standards.

3. If you have never read a journal article, you have never read an essay. If you have never read an essay, how can you expect to write one?

4. “The first draft of anything is shit” (attributed to Papa Hemingway).

5. Every unit is different. Every discipline is different. There is no such thing as “standardised” in the real world. If you expect your university education to be standardised, you are planning for a fake world. Learn the differences, however subtle, because otherwise you are not receiving the education you have signed up to receive.

6. A university degree provides you with formal proof that you can navigate your way through bureaucracy. When, and I say when, the system screws you over, and before you whinge and moan and blame everybody else as if the world owes you a living, take charge of your own life, and remember that the ability to navigate your way through bureaucracy is one of the single most important skills you will gain here and this will distinguish you in the workplace from non-graduates.

7. The way you write an email to your lecturers is how you will communicate in your professional life. If you do not get a response from your lecturer when you used twitter-speak, expect to get the same response from your bosses or your clients.

8. Before you ask: “Do we need to include references?” The answer is yes, always. Nobody ever lost marks for including references.

9. Respect your fellow students. They are paying for this, too. If you want to waste your money, do it in silence or far enough away from non-like-minded students that nobody else cares that you don’t.

10. Learn to receive feedback. The lecturers who offend you the most with their feedback will probably be those who taught you the most. If you want lollipops and rainbows, then do not listen to feedback. If you want to learn, then learn to receive feedback.

Net Neutrality: Does it really matter?

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The decision by the US Federal Communications Commission to regulate broadband providers to ensure that all data traffic is treated equally has been hailed by some as a step forward in achieving net neutrality. But does forcing a common-carrier regulatory approach on internet service providers really make any difference to consumers?

Not according to Margeurite Reardon at CNet.

The basic premise of the net neutrality movement is that by preventing commercial controls over how and whose data is prioritised via the internet, the network itself can remain neutral as to how and whose data is moved. The internet has largely been unregulated for the last two decades, unlike telecommunications services which have been subjected to common carrier rules since at least the early 20th century.

The original purpose of the common carrier rule was to prevent telegraph and later telephone operators from controlling newspaper content sent via the infrastructure. This regulatory concept, among other things such as commercial agreements, became the basis for the divergence of the newspaper, telecommunications (telegraph and telephone were diverged further in North America) and later the broadcasting industry.

Traditionally, broadcast content was regulated for cultural reasons, whereas telecommunications common carriers were required to carry any message to prevent the control of information. Of course, in the age of technological convergence, the distinction between these industries has become less clear.

The debate in the US is fierce. While proponents suggest net neutrality will keep the internet free, opponents see it as nothing more than government meddling.


The trouble is that net neutrality assumes limited resources and is still somewhat based on the natural monopoly argument. That is, where one carrier dominates, it must be a common carrier to prevent the prioritisation of traffic. But with so many providers and so many ways to access the internet, it all seems rather passé

Will net neutrality keep the internet open? Better to ask if it was ever open. Does it really matter to consumers  whether some content gets delivered via fast lanes? It would seem that this would be something that consumers want. Indeed, if they did not like it then there is always another provider. Why shouldn't you be able to get what you pay for?


So despite all the brouhaha, the net neutrality decision in the US is little more than a big win for the idealists. And it won't make much difference to what happens here in Australia.

I were to make a prediction, I doubt net neutrality will survive the court appeals that will no doubt follow. Even if it does, a Republican win at the next election would probably kick it into touch anyway.

And does it really matter to consumers? Not really, other than it might mean it costs more to access the internet in the US.