Talk:Individual knowledge in the Internet age

The article says:
 * His argument to the first claim is that a strong focus is necessary for true knowledge, but the internet – the instant availability of information online - is a distraction for people who find it difficult to focus, and hinders them acquiring true knowledge. Therefore the internet is a hindrance to true knowledge.
 * His argument to the second claim is that this view makes the views of the great thinkers of history irrelevant, when they clearly aren't.

These are both not even summaries of my arguments, which makes me think that the summarizer him/herself didn't actually read the paper. I don't recall saying a single thing about "focus" being "necessary for true knowledge," and I certainly don't say that "the internet is a hindrance to true knowledge." As to the second argument, "the views of the great thinkers of history" are completely irrelevant to my response to it.

This summary really sort of makes the paper's point: some of us are so gung-ho about collective knowledge-building, as in the case of this summary, that we don't even take the time needed to practice the (individual) intellectual virtues inculcated by liberal arts education--such as close, accurate reading and carefully-crafted writing.

--Larry Sanger (sanger (at) watchknow.org if you want to verify)


 * Both those claims were added by an anonymous IP address -- that IP's only contributions to AcaWiki. They are both off-base and not likely to be a good part of any summary. I've removed all three of the points (essentially reverting the edit). I'm not sure what else to say except I agree that it reinforces both the point you make in the article as well some other points you've been making for a long time. Thanks for all you've done. --mako 02:00, 26 January 2011 (CET)