The first thing that needs to change in developing countries is mentality, that is the most fundamental problem, even though lack of food, housing, jobs etc. are also important. That sounds crazy, but I think anyone who's lived in a developing country would agree - most of the lack of food, housing, jobs etc. comes from the fact that people are stuck thinking in a counterproductive way and lack access to the information to stimulate them to think differently. That should be a central goal of development, and for addressing that most important issue I commend those who want to give the world 100 dollar laptops.
However, by itself it probably won't have the effect it should, for a variety of reasons. I hope, however, that we don't get back to the "let's give them food and tractors and other crap for free" attitude, that is ABSOLUTELY the most destructive method of using aid money. It's like trying to stop a sand bag from leaking by adding more sand to it. I would take that 100 dollars and use it for exchange programs so that people in the developing world can expand their knowledge of how things can work, either in other developing nations or in first world nations.
Slashdot Mirror
The first thing that needs to change in developing countries is mentality, that is the most fundamental problem, even though lack of food, housing, jobs etc. are also important. That sounds crazy, but I think anyone who's lived in a developing country would agree - most of the lack of food, housing, jobs etc. comes from the fact that people are stuck thinking in a counterproductive way and lack access to the information to stimulate them to think differently. That should be a central goal of development, and for addressing that most important issue I commend those who want to give the world 100 dollar laptops.
However, by itself it probably won't have the effect it should, for a variety of reasons. I hope, however, that we don't get back to the "let's give them food and tractors and other crap for free" attitude, that is ABSOLUTELY the most destructive method of using aid money. It's like trying to stop a sand bag from leaking by adding more sand to it. I would take that 100 dollars and use it for exchange programs so that people in the developing world can expand their knowledge of how things can work, either in other developing nations or in first world nations.