I don’t usually blog on the weekends, but I’m gonna today. I’m in a manic mood with lots of things of interesting thing around me, and I want to share.

So, let’s talk about this interview with Sebastian Thrun, one of the champions of MOOCs. At least from the article, Thrun sounds like the very model of a modern international mega-millionaire. A TED-talk in the morning and a bike trip on a $5,000 bicycle in the afternoon.

Thrun says that despite being one of the leading MOOC visionaries, he thinks that the model is a failure.  Very few people, only 7%, finish the classes.

I’m a glass half full sort of gal and think that 7% is surprising and great. It’s a free class! It’s open to anyone! There are no admission filters! There are no downsides to failure! A good number of people are curious bystanders like me who has signed up for a MOOC here and there. 7% is such a good number that I’m revising my previous luke-warm reaction to MOOCs.

I like Thrun’s parenting style.

Thrun’s 5-year-old son, Jasper, is not yet old enough to be impressed by his father’s work, but he’s already starting his education. “In my son’s kindergarten, they’re telling us how to get him into Stanford,” he says. “By their advice, I’m doing everything wrong, because I’m trying to make him happy rather than putting him through as many piano lessons as possible.” He dreams that his son will take a less conventional view of education. “I hope he can hit the workforce relatively early and engage in lifelong education,” Thrun says. “I wish to do away with the idea of spending one big chunk of time learning.”