Learning, Technology & Change

I prefer a more poetic title, but in this case the title is too accurate. Periodically I will take a look at my bills in detail to compare services to see what's available. As a Rogers Internet & TV customer I went online to see what packages Rogers has available to see if there is something better suited to our needs. I was shocked to see that Rogers Lite internet service is listed as 19.95 whereas I'm paying 32.95. I then went to check on the price of my Extended Basic package which costs me 53.98/mth. The comparable VIP package is listed at 42.99 !!! But wait of course there's a catch. It's a promo price for new customers. Of course, it was too good to be true. Bait and switch or "good marketing"? So I looked to find out what the Real prices were. And I looked some more. Couldn't find it. I could not find the prices. Even if the prices are there, being that buried is just ridiculous. I had to call in and talk to a rep which was equally painful as...

I normally frown on email forwards, but this one won't bring you bad luck if you don't follow it. Although it might explain some of our current misfortunes. From a learning perspective stories can do wonders in bringing meaning to abstract concepts and helping people learn. Once upon a time, in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each.The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10 and, as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He further announced that he would now buy at $20 for a monkey. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each, and the supply of monkeys became so small that it was an effort to even find a monkey, let alone catch it! The man...