Star Will the Internet Really Improve the Way We Think?
Linked by Smith Johnson on Wed 25th Jun 2008 19:14 UTC, submitted by pas de calais
In the News In a recent interview with the British Sunday Observer, Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, claimed that "it's the next billion [internet users] who will change the way we think". Such a big claim deserves some critical house room. Will the internet really change the way we think? Or are we just getting carried away? Gary Richmond explores the implications of the Wikipedia open source/free software knowledge paradigm and what it might mean for the way we think. You can read the full story at Freesoftware Magazine
E-mail Print r 2   18 Comment(s) http://osne.ws/fdb
Thread beginning with comment 320263
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
RE[6]: The Revolutionary Change
by fretinator on Thu 26th Jun 2008 19:00 UTC in reply to "RE[5]: The Revolutionary Change"
fretinator
Member since:
2005-07-06

You see, where your example breaks down is that a good pharmacist will ask you questions about things you might not even think to ask yourself if you simply attempt to do a brain dump into a database, like what other things are you currently using in conjunction with other things, what's your physiology do in response to this item


Mine always asks me for my insurance card and whether it is a debit or a credit.

ps. - The point of my original post wasn't to state an all or nothing proposition. There will always be a need for Doctors, Lawyers, Nurses, Electricians, Pharmacists, etc, etc. I am merely pointing out that as the general knowledge of the public increases - and especially the _availability_ of that knowledge - the dependence on high-priced specialicts _lessens_. It doesn't go away. Ultimately, everyone benefits except my "hyperbolic" pharmacist above who only want your credit card. Those who do (and there are some!) interact with the customer and provide a service to the community will remain. It is those positions who exist (in whatever knowledge-driven profession) merely due to the locked-down information of a specific body of knowledge that have the most to fear. I especially think of universities. Often, the information in a given major could be obtained and demonstrated though testing. Most of the CS classes I take, I know far more about the subject than the teacher. What if there were a proficiency exam for CS that anyone could take to demonstrate their proficiency? Schools would lose a ton of money. Textbook manufacturers/publishers above all should fear. They have locked in whole generations into buying fat, expensive books to lug around. Most of classes don't even use the book, yet I ahve to spend the dough.

Wow, this thread generated a lot of text!

Edited 2008-06-26 19:12 UTC

Reply Parent Bookmark Score: 2