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strong.” But nevertheless, “the theory (through its applications) has had far
greater impact in educational circles and is recognised, internationally, as a
major contribution to educational praxis” (on which see B. Scott 2001b).
Pask was integrally involved, for example, in pedagogical innovation at
Britain's new Open University (OU). David Hawkridge joined the OU as head
of their Institute of Educational Technology in 1969. He knew of Pask's work
on SAKI and hired Brian Lewis who had worked at System Research as his
deputy (Hawkridge 2001, 688-90):
[Lewis] lost no time in introducing me and other Institute staff to Gordon,
his great friend and former boss. In fact, quite a few of us went on expeditions
down to System Research Ltd in Richmond in the early 1970s, and came back
bemused and sometimes confused. What was Pask up to and could it be turned
to advantage in the OU? I suggested to Brian that we should ask Pask to be our
Visiting Professor (part-time). That would regularise the Richmond visits, and
Brian said he thought Gordon would be delighted to give a few seminars at the
Institute. I had little idea what these might involve, but the Institute had just
won a large grant from the Ford Foundation, and Gordon's appointment (and,
indeed, Bernard Scott's as a consultant) seemed entirely appropriate. He was
the pre-eminent British scholar in our field. . . . It was probably Brian who sug-
gested to Gordon that there was a DSc to be had from the OU if only he would
submit all his publications. Finding sufficiently knowledgeable referees for his
case was not easy, but I had the pleasure of seeing him receive the award to
great applause. I think he was delighted with it, and with the robes.
19
There is much more that could be said on Pask's teaching machines, but I
want to close this section by noting that his work on these devices led him to
a distinctive general perspective on mind.
20
In earlier chapters we saw how,
in different ways, cybernetics shaded into Eastern philosophy and spirituality.
None of this figures prominently in Pask's work, nor does religion in gen-
eral (though he did convert to Catholicism shortly before his death: Amanda
Heitler, personal communication). But a 1977 essay, “Minds and Media in Ed-
ucation and Entertainment,” is worth examining from this perspective. Here
the initial referent of “mind” was the human mind, and the “media” were the
usual means of communication between minds: speech, texts, information
systems like CASTE. But (Pask 1977, 40)
there is no
need
to see minds as neatly encapsulated in brains connected by a
network of channels called “the media” [fig. 7.10a]. . . . I am inviting the reader
