Comments on: Expertise and Authority 2.0 http://coffeeonthekeyboard.com/expertise-and-authority-20-104/ Technical 2.0 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:39:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: ira http://coffeeonthekeyboard.com/expertise-and-authority-20-104/#comment-177 ira Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:53:55 +0000 http://coffeeonthekeyboard.com/expertise-and-authority-20-104/#comment-177 Human knowledge authority was always built this way. If people had a resonant message, and they were followed, that message spread. From the mid-19th century through the 20th academics attempted to construct a club to defeat that method - at least from a democratic point of view. In their vision of knowledge followers still mattered as much as before (they called them "citations") but who might be counted as a follower was limited to those within the club - those who were admitted by those who wanted to be followed (the PhD system). Now we've returned to the more humanist view. Both have great dangers. A resonant message can be really wrong (see your picture). A scholarly message often goes unchallenged by reality outside of "the academe." But I think the internet, if it is not crushing the academic system directly, will force it to adapt and change dramatically if it will survive. Human knowledge authority was always built this way. If people had a resonant message, and they were followed, that message spread. From the mid-19th century through the 20th academics attempted to construct a club to defeat that method - at least from a democratic point of view. In their vision of knowledge followers still mattered as much as before (they called them “citations”) but who might be counted as a follower was limited to those within the club - those who were admitted by those who wanted to be followed (the PhD system). Now we’ve returned to the more humanist view.

Both have great dangers. A resonant message can be really wrong (see your picture). A scholarly message often goes unchallenged by reality outside of “the academe.”

But I think the internet, if it is not crushing the academic system directly, will force it to adapt and change dramatically if it will survive.

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