Institute Of Network Cultures, Koolaid Is The New “Kritikal� Options Rating

[Jon Awbrey]

The Institute of Network Cultures maintains an engaging complex of activities, blogs, conferences, discussion groups, and assorted websites. A lot of what I read there is bit too much the Helium Hermenautical Armchair (HeHa) for my down-to-earth tastes, but I do see a concerted effort toward real understanding that is but rarely encountered these days.

I'll just collect a few links here �

Institute of Network Cultures : Main Portal

Society of the Query : Collaborative Research Blog

Jon (IMG:http://wikipediareview.com/stimg9x0b4fsr2/1/folder_post_icons/icon9.gif)

[Moulton]

The "susceptibility to sudden belief system conversion" is the issue that I find most intriguing and perplexing.

It's intriguing because it is seen to actually happen (so we know it's possible).

It's perplexing because the beliefs in question do not necessarily progress towards increasingly accurate ones. The gains in accurate knowledge are neither monotonic nor fluid in time.

As near as I can tell (from recent observations), belief system reversals seem to correspond to guidance from selected mentors whom one respects. Guidance from disrespected sources tends to be rejected, no matter how authoritative or accurate the disrespected source might be.

[Jon Awbrey]

The "susceptibility to sudden belief system conversion" is the issue that I find most intriguing and perplexing.

It's intriguing because it is seen to actually happen (so we know it's possible).

It's perplexing because the beliefs in question do not necessarily progress towards increasingly accurate ones. The gains in accurate knowledge are neither monotonic nor fluid in time.

As near as I can tell (from recent observations), belief system reversals seem to correspond to guidance from selected mentors whom one respects. Guidance from disrespected sources tends to be rejected, no matter how authoritative or accurate the disrespected source might be.

Once you open your eyes to the presence of the phenomenon, the next couple of questions are:

• What is the belief that these wannabelievers so desperately wannabelieve?
• And why?

As for Mentor FX, look to Homer and Freud for guidance.

Just an aside. I did not say “belief system reversals� � whatever those are � though I suppose they could be special cases of conversion experiences.

Jon Awbrey

[thekohser]

Once you open your eyes to the presence of the phenomenon, the next couple of questions are:

• What is the belief that these wannabelievers so desperately wannabelieve?
• And why?

(1) That a volunteer-generated encyclopedia will be better than all other encyclopedias, and that said encyclopedia will help and empower ordinary people in profound ways.

(2) We live in a world where a very few hold much of the wealth and power. By making a transfer of knowledge management from the restrictive wealthy/powerful minority to the impoverished/weak majority, there will be a more equitable, peaceful, productive global society that emerges.

I honestly believe these are the sorts of answers that Wikipediots would provide to you, Jon. I don't honestly believe in the rationale behind these beliefs.

[Jon Awbrey]

Once you open your eyes to the presence of the phenomenon, the next couple of questions are:

• What is the belief that these wannabelievers so desperately wannabelieve?
• And why?

1. That a volunteer-generated encyclopedia will be better than all other encyclopedias, and that said encyclopedia will help and empower ordinary people in profound ways.
2. We live in a world where a very few hold much of the wealth and power. By making a transfer of knowledge management from the restrictive wealthy/powerful minority to the impoverished/weak majority, there will be a more equitable, peaceful, productive global society that emerges.

I honestly believe these are the sorts of answers that Wikipediots would provide to you, Jon. I don't honestly believe in the rationale behind these beliefs.

That sounds a bit closer to what a Wikipedim, Wikipedist, or Wikipedyterian might articulate as espoused tenets of belief, but those aren't the forces that drive souls to Wikiperdition. What we need to excavate is buried far deeper and dimmer in the psyche than the brands of fully conscious, semi-rational beliefs that a person might be capable of stating in so many words, since by those words the beliefs in question are made more available to critical reflection. (Not always, of course � with too many reps they can become mantras.)

Try starting from Alexander Bain's definition of “belief� � expressed in gender-neutral terms as “That On Which A Person Is Prepared To Act� (TOWAPIPTA) � and think about the complex of largely unexamined beliefs that would lead a person to fall for the usual run of "bank examiner", "found money", "pigeon drop", or "unclaimed inheritance" scams.

Jon Awbrey