fubarobfusco comments on Engaging Intellectual Elites at Less Wrong - Less Wrong

11 Post author: lukeprog 13 August 2013 05:55PM

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Comment author: fubarobfusco 14 August 2013 02:56:37AM 1 point [-]

This sounds a great deal like the Knol-and-Citizendium-vs.-Wikipedia disagreement over whether subject-matter experts should have to put up with having their work edited by uncredentialed dogs. It seems that exposure — actually getting readers and responses — is more relevant than tight authorial control in creating things that people actually find worth reading and working on.

Comment author: [deleted] 14 August 2013 06:34:09AM 6 points [-]

It's easy to cite Knol and Citizendium as failures of scholarly curation, but what of Springer's Encyclopedia of Mathematics? I know at least five of epic-level mathematicians who wouldn't dream of writing an article for any random website, but jumped at the chance to write a section of the EOM.

Comment author: Kaj_Sotala 14 August 2013 02:43:06PM *  8 points [-]

It's easy to cite Knol and Citizendium as failures of scholarly curation, but what of Springer's Encyclopedia of Mathematics?

Or the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which tends to be my first resource to visit if there's a new philosophical topic I'm interested in.

Comment author: RichardKennaway 14 August 2013 12:22:20PM 3 points [-]

I know at least five of epic-level mathematicians who wouldn't dream of writing an article for any random website, but jumped at the chance to write a section of the EOM.

Does anyone read what they write? I did not know of the EOM until you mentioned it, although I do have occasion to look up mathematical topics now and then. I have never known Google to turn up a link to it, and checking a few searches now, it's nowhere in the results. Wikipedia is always in the first page, and usually Mathworld also.

Comment author: [deleted] 14 August 2013 12:45:29PM 3 points [-]

Does anyone read what they write?

Yes? One can usually find a concise introduction to X in it, and it's typically easier than doing a lit review oneself.

I have never known Google to turn up a link to it, and checking a few searches now, it's nowhere in the results.

That's Springer for you. They're not exactly new media geniuses.