COLOR IN MOTION

COLOR IN MOTION is an "interactive experience of color communication and color symbolism." What do you think? Do you think 106 students would benefit from this introduction?

Some links on wikis

As promised, here are some links to discussions about wikis, specifically about wikipedia.

First, here's a multi-threaded discussion about wikipedia and anti-elitism at Many 2 Many. Clay Shirky responds to a Kuro5hin article, and danah boyd responds to Clay. Clay responds again, and so does danah.

Historyflow shows you the history of a wiki page.

Wiki design principles and some commentary.

Finally, Chapter 4 of The Wiki Way is available online as a pdf.

How Google gets its results

As per today's discussion, here is a brief summary of the technology Google uses to get its results (PageRank)

PageRank explained

the power of anonymity

Our conversation last week on social networks touched upon academic peer reviewed work, which is generally reviewed anonymously. Such a process seems to ensure that the best work gets published. Some organizations are starting to question the nature of this academic practice. I don’t know if anyone saw the CFP: “Ethics of Anonymity: Violence of the Peer Review” sent out a week or so ago by the Planetdevotion Group. “Planetdevotion is a group of artists and writers dedicated to fostering the creative spirit, to the healing power of imaginative expression and to the critical vocation of thought and of art.” They encourage questions on the bullying nature of the peer review process, the power within the academy that goes along with it, and “fair use” of intellectual property in such an environment. Their first paragraph reads,

"Imagine if scholars applying for promotion, instead of strutting their stuff - publications, praise from various quarters - were obliged to show their betters and/or peers all the worst things that had ever been written or said of them, whether anonymously or otherwise. What would happen to academic culture if failures to publish and present were given equal weight with success? Or greater weight? Better still, imagine if all the vitriol the aspiring had - under the cover of anonymity - themselves delivered their peers, were to come back to bite them in this manner. Imagine if scholars were judged on what they had said of others (students, peers, superiors) rather than on what had been said of them. "

I thought this was an interesting tangent to our conversation last Thursday – the power of an anonymous social network.

If you want me to forward the entire email, let me know.