§Enabling environments, games, and the Primer

The Primer isn’t a viable enabling environment

Nell doesn’t know or share the Primer’s goals

Nell doesn’t do any original thinking inside the Primer

The Primer’s explicit learning quests teach Nell to delegate her curiosity and interest

Dynamic mediums usually lack an authored time dimension

The Primer’s activities are only intrinsically meaningful to Nell because her life is impoverished

The Primer is fundamentally an educational game

2023-03-05 – 2023-03-11

The Primer to me was a moving example of a child’s curiosities being taken seriously at all times. I can’t help but believe this would change civilization. It is the stark opposite of my and probably most peoples experience with education

Hackworth makes secret modifications to the Han girls’ Primers

2022-12-04 – 2022-12-10

2020-01-27

I have significant differences with people who say they aspire to create the Primer

# The Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer

As described in *The Diamond Age*, the Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer (often just called “The Primer”) is a fictional electronic book which facilitates the remote, asynchronous education of children. Its curriculum includes practical skills like math and reading, but [[zvMhuE5FyXVfspgazybETDJwHrYPVxN2Cere:::The Primer’s goal is to produce creative, subversive youth]]. 

For many in educational technology, the Primer represents an inspiring vision for a future of education:

*   [[z6y1YwYjJS1YAjjegXPTQzoxhrX8CUpk5PjS8:::The Primer reminds people of their own experiences with profound enablement]]
*   [[z2jyRMUkQTjP6DAtD6h5S4sWfSL4ybCX8prvc:::The Primer doesn’t appear to coerce its students]]
*   [[z5NZs4GTsEc9n8zyYoVCTA9AfSMDNrHwdQRoF:::The Primer is scalable]]

Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s a viable vision: [[z4WNFDsAy4sqT8eU9VUfKwW1gdSL4UGB4mbyG:::The Primer isn’t a viable enabling environment]].

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## References

Stephenson, N. (2003). *The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer* (Reprint edition). Spectra.






The Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer