On Sun, Sep 16, 2012 at 9:57 PM, Ward Cunningham <ward(a)c2.com> wrote:
Joe -- I like all three scenarios because they seem to
have been "plucked
from reality". However, I worry...
Wikipedia has shown that such massive collaboration is possible. But
Wikipedia also operates under some norms that may not extend gracefully to
the scenarios you suggest... I'm thinking specifically of "no original
research".
arXiv.org has dealt fairly well with the question and perils of original
research. I regret that they've pulled back from potential growth -- if
they had found a way to limit their overhead further, that model could be
used much more widely today than it is.
Some of the most powerful ideas we can pass on are ways to do important,
complex, and creative things without 'overhead' that feels painful and
'expensive'. The entire edifice of academia is built on a society in which
some professions are dedicated to peer review, knowledge production,
teaching, writing, and dissemination. As long as we live in a society that
cherishes this, anything we can dream of in the universe of knowledge
organization and sharing is possible -- and already implicitly has all of
the support that it needs to succeed. The greatest obstacles are those we
throw up ourselves.
My suspicion is that to be successful, a massively
collaborating academia
will have to revise traditional assumptions of leadership
Yes. Just getting work done, allowing people of all backgrounds and ages
to lead wherever they have time and inclination, is a fine first-order
solution to this problem. In the journal universe, Law Reviews managed
this nicely (the history of how and why they settled on student-run reviews
is worth a discussion of its own).
Its a good time to think big, especially if big
doesn't cost too much.
Truly priceless things rarely cost money; they are outside our financial
shorthand. But they are tied to our dreams and our sense of humanity.
This is why the most extraordinary dreams are often attainable, and draw
whole societies with them.
SJ