ABSTRACT
A report in the Times Educational Supplement of 14 August 1998 carried a stunning photograph: against the background of red sand dunes and grey saltbush, a Kalahari Bushman stands holding a clockwork radio. The juxtaposition of the ‘advanced’ and the ‘primitive’ in this image is arresting. The addition of the headline : ‘University of the air nears blast off is sufficient to ensure the attention of anyone not already intrigued to know more. The article (it emerges) is about the World Space Corporation’s decision to devote some of the digital channels of its satellites to educational programmes. The point is clearly made that the combination of space-age technology with the otherwise archaic clockwork motor may bring the information revolution even to the most remote and primitive corners of the world.
