Smelly Knowledge

Here are some worthwhile and interesting responses to and critiques of my last post, The Emergence of Meaning: Wikipedia As Object-Centered Sociality:

• Artichoke posted a response positing, “‘What does it do?’ takes precedence… over what it might mean.”
• Stephan Downes writes, “…I read the value of Wikipedia differently…. Wikipedia’s article selection also varies – while editors and reviewers ensure objectivity, they also narrow the bounds of what is considered [relevant]. Wikipedia carrie[s] no such constraint.” Point well taken. Also informative and well taken is the comment left by an anonymous visitor.
• Albert Ip wrote a very thoughtful and thorough analysis that is more a synthesis of his thinking on the issue of Wikipedia as a source of information.

Also worth reading, in my opinion, is a post I found after posting at Penny Arcade.

I’ve noticed a disconnect between my intentions and my writing before, in which I get caught up in exploring the nature of what I write about, appending the “what to do about it” as almost an afterthought. It may be a reflection of who I am and what interests me, but I was kind of hoping that the instructional implications nestled in there — considering discussions and edit histories when reading Wikipedia articles — would generate more discussion. It’s a good reminder of the law of unintended consequences….