Jimmy Wales jwales@bomis.com writes:
Still, I think there is something to it, and I have strong doubts that a wiki or similarly "wide-open" collaborative process could produce a great novel or play or poem.
Well that's something else entirely. We're not writing a poem. More imaginative creative endeavours require a singularity of vision that, as you point out, is often detrimental to encyclopedias. A group of poets of mixed ability can produce a great anthology.
_Greatness_ for an encyclopedia article involves a pretty healthy dose of "averaging"
Balancing of content, but thats not the same as but averaging of quality.