Education in IT era

This is the age of information. Internet is the sum of all knowledge gained by humans throughout our recorded history, (of course except for those behind the scenes R&D and classified information and technology in NASA, Pentagon, etc).

In this IT age, what should be taught to children as part of their education.

Do we need to focus on piling up their brains with more and more information ?
OR
Do we need to concentrate on increasing their analytical skills ?

In other words, facts or concepts ?

Unanimously we all vote for concepts. Facts are now available at our finger tips. A simple search on the internet can retrieve a fact. And given that there is so much information available which is difficult for one single brain to grasp it all, we need to focus on creating specializations oriented education system.

But then ask me, I simply dont believe in ‘jack of all, master of none’
I have been studying a variety of subjects from IT to Physics to Mathematics to Music to History to Politics to Economics to Vedas to what not, and what I have observed is that as a person learns more and more wider range of concepts, theories, etc, it becomes more easier to learn even more things due to the inter-relation between these different fields and going in depth into a field also becomes easy than it would have been if one had studied that field alone !

In other words, to become a master of a wide range of subjects, all you need is strong fundamentals in all the related fields AND analytical ability to co-relate things between different fields.

Please note that, all these different fields are artificial classifications by humans, to make it easier to study one thing at a time, for instance nature does not distinguish between physics and biology, the reason for an apple to fall from a tree is explained in physics while the growth of the apple itself is described by botany, these are artificial classifications we did and there are overlappings too like biophysics, biochemistry, physiochemistry etc.

What I intend to mean here is that by restricting one self to a particular field we might get a particular depth in that field, but one will never get a complete picture of that field till he understands other fields also. This is the reason why today scientists have come across a road block in terms of enquiring more into a particular field. Say for ex to understand the true nature of life we need the person to be an expert in biology which defines how a body functions, and then chemistry which describes how the molecules in the body function, and even physics to see for ex how the brain functions at a quantum mechanical level. Now if you are doing a research on the very depth of life, one needs to be expert in all these fields to truly appreciate and understand the real definition of life, bcos as I said earlier, NATURE DOES NOT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT FIELDS AS PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, ETC

An expert in string theory, quantum mechanics, relativity, cosmology can have some hope of finding a Grand Unified Theory

A very good doctor, but with very limited knowledge of biotechnology is not a really good idea.

In other words, allow children to have as wide interests as possible to go to a greater depth in the ocean of knowledge. A broader view leads to a more analtyical, non prejudiced thinking, when you think from the views of experts in different fields.

This is the age of information. The more information one has, the more accurate he/she is, the more easier it is to understand, the more easier to relate, the more easier to investigate and dig out more knowledge.. 

I have seen people who are great experts at a particular software application, but the moment you show them the same computer screen but with some other application window opened, they get completely confused about where to click or which key to press, and they get so relieved when their familiar screen comes up again :)

Well, thats not how we want to be, dont be afraid of the unknown, for nothing is to be feared, its only to be understood. Take the untravelled paths, uncharted waters, unexplored landscapes, create new paths and be a different person, than to take the same old familiar paths and have no mark of your own…

I think therefore I exist :)