FYI: Interesting news about MIT's planned attempt to publish a "Wikipedia" style collaboratively written scholarly book. I think the more fascinating story is the initial varying reaction of the media headlines from "MIT Opens Junk Science Institute" to "MIT Looks to Give 'Group Think' A Good Name" ====================================================================== MIT Invests in Collective Research Today administrators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology unveiled the Center for Collective Intelligence <http://cci.mit.edu/>, a program that would use technology and what officials describe as "large numbers of people" to solve business, scientific, and societal problems. The center's director, Thomas W. Malone, cited Google and Wikipedia as inspiration for the center. He said the basic research question there would be "How can people and computers be connected so that, collectively, they act more intelligently than any individuals, groups, or computers have ever done before?" One of the center's first projects will be a Wikipedia-style business book about the effects of social networks on business operations. The SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Pearson Publishing will also be involved. The book is expected to be published in the spring. --Andrea L. Foster Posted on Friday October 13, 2006 | CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION ================================================================= "MIT Opens ..." http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/11/mit_junk_science/ "MIT Looks ..." http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/8836 <http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/8836&t5> &t5 ------ Robin Y. Mabry Hubbard, MBA, EdS Rural Sociology Doctoral Student - Community Informatics Email: <mailto:ryh352@mizzou.edu> ryh352@mizzou.edu My Homepage: <http://www.rrchubbard.org/> http://www.rrchubbard.org Murphy's Law: There is never enough time to do it right; but there is always time to do it over ~ Our Future arrived Yesterday! ~ [I am not inviting any postmodernist to my party!]