Aaron Schwartz at Stanford

Aaron Schwartz is one of my favourite Bloggers. He’s just gone to Stanford as an undergraduate, and he’s blogging the experience. His account makes a riveting read, not least because it demonstrates vividly how stupid the customs and rituals of soi disant great universities can be — and how idiotic their attempts to build student solidarity are. Stuff that kids raw from school accept with a kind of timid acquiescence looks totally bizarre when viewed through the lens of a mature intelligence. This is brave and interesting material, not least because the administration at Stanford will be as mad as hell when it discovers what their sainted institution looks like when viewed with a detached and sceptical eye.