Here’s a metaphor: if I planted seeds in a desert and no crops grew, would it constitute a revolution if I invented a machine that planted seeds in a desert?
The real revolution comes when we decide to plant seeds in fertile soil. The real revolution comes when we decide that school is the place where we ask kids what they’re passionate about learning and match them with talented teachers who are passionate about teaching it.
To focus only on WikiLeaks is to miss the big picture of what’s happening with information — just like focusing only on Napter in 1999 would have led you to miss the bigger revolution in digital music. The original Napster was shut down in 2001, but its P2P heirs continue to share pirated files, and it paved the way for the rise of iTunes and Pandora — and the fall of Tower Records. Similarly, you can jail Julian Assange, but you probably can’t jail every 17 year old hacker whose blood is boiling because you just jailed Julian Assange — nor can you get a restraining order on every fed-up associate, manager, or cashier who wants to blow the whistle on you.
