Passion and Slow-ness?

I'm wondering today about Passion in relation to Slow-ness. Taking the time it takes is a principle of learning that I'm far from perfect in building into my teaching. But, as far as I understand research and practice of conceptual change, letting go of the "private universe" one enters a learning situation with cannot be rushed or streamlined, even by teachers who have learned about the range of private universes likely to be held by their students. My question then is how much the emphasis on Passion is a claim that when students are allowed to Play in Projects with Peers, the time that conceptual change takes is much quicker -- and how much the emphasis on Passion is reflective of impatience with Slow-ness? (Part of the motivation for this question is the feeling, as I look at MOOCs I've joined, that digital tools have been promoted in education without enough Slow-ness.* I don;t feel that about LLK's computer clubs. )

• The only thing for certain is that everything changes. The rate of change increases. If you want to hang on, you better speed up. That is the message of today. It could however be useful to remind everyone that our basic needs never change. The need to be seen and appreciated! [T]he need to belong. The need for nearness and care, and for a little love! This is given only through slowness in human relations. In order to master changes, we have to recover slowness, reflection and togetherness. There we will find real renewal.
  Guttorm Fløistad, on Slow Philosophy

@pjtaylor In Daniel Kahneman's book Thinking, Fast and Slow you can’t find something that helps with the issue of time and passions. The lack of understanding for what Kahneman explains around page 40 is one of the largest barriers preventing educators from moving to project based learning. They are hung up on “time requirements” for factory methods of learning which are nothing about mastery and they can't see how learning around passion projects is so much more efficient.

When a passion is discovered and early learning related to a passion has been converted to mastery or intuition, people are able to use this transformational knowledge and enter what Kahneman calls “a state of effortless attending” or Flow. In this state, people lose their sense of time, of themselves,and their problems. In this state there is no mental effort required for the purpose of self-control related to focus or paying attention. All of the brain power being used for self-control in boring learning environments, is under this type of learning environment available for acquiring additional knowledge gathering related to their passion project. Far more knowledge is acquired and converted into true learning or mastery under these circumstances, in much less time than in factory learning environments.

You used the description “Private Universe” for what Kahneman is describing as Flow. There is no need or requirement to rush people in this private universe that naturally comes with passionate project work. As Seth Godin points out, you don't need to worry about getting people to do more art. http://goo.gl/Utu40N

Thanks for reminding me that I must read Kahneman.
I need to make time (find some passion!) for collecting various notes and sources over the years for showing the efficiency of PBL.
Today a colleague shared Hallnäs, L., & Redström, J. (2001). Slow Technology – Designing for Reflection. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 5, 201-212. It has the passage: T]he distinction between fast and slow technology is… a metaphorical distinction that has to do with time presence. When we use a thing as an efficient tool, time disappears, i.e., we get things done. Accepting an invitation for reflection inherent in the design means on the other hand that time will appear, i.e. we open up for time presence..."
thanks,
peter

p.s. "Private universes" was meant in a different way -- see the Annenberg Foundation videos on this subject.

Pete, there is a quote from one of my all-time favorite photo artists, Duane Michals, and it goes like this (I'm paraphrasing grossly!), "Nobody's eating an apple pie until I ate one...until YOU do it, it hasn't yet been done..." If one is passionate about the journey of learning something, it doesn't matter how long it takes because getting there is where the learning happens, if that makes sense. So if we don't compare ourselves to others, then the issue of slowness becomes somewhat irrelevant. What we discover along the way, when we take time to experience the joy of learning, does, I think, increase our passion, both individually and collectively when we share it with others.

Yes. Not comparing ourselves with others is also part of one coming to value what one does without needing extrinsic reward system. E.g., on the extrinsic side, I would like more people to be participating in "Collaborative Explorations" (CEs; http://collabex.wikispaces.com) and Think-Listen-Share hangouts around LCL2 (http://bit.ly/LCLevents). But, on the self-sense-of-worth side, I find myself saying how much I enjoy the experience of CEs for myself -- it's not hard for me to keep doing them.

How gender shapes critical thinking and creative thinking, and vice versa -- A Collaborative Exploration (meets by google+ hangout, 4-5pm Nov 11, 18, 25, Dec 2; more details -- http://cct.wikispaces.com/CENov14)