Week3-reading blog-QU HONGYU 굴홍우

Summary:

  This article explores the pursuit of the ideal of a "universal encyclopedia" from the Age of Enlightenment to modern times. As a modern practice of this ideal, Wikipedia has successfully realized the sharing and dissemination of global knowledge through Internet technology and collaborative mode. This article reviews the history of several related projects, such as Nupedia, GNUPedia, Interpedia, and analyzes their success and failure and their impact on Wikipedia. At the same time, the article also mentions some key figures, such as H.G. Wells, Vannevar Bush, Richard Stallman, and others, whose ideas and contributions laid the foundation for the development of modern encyclopedias.

  H.G. Wells' concept of the "world brain" was really ahead of his time. In the 1930s, the Internet had not yet been born and computer technology was in its infancy, and the technical limitations were obvious. Even if Wells had such a grand vision, the technology at the time simply could not support a global knowledge-sharing platform.

  Social perception is also an important factor. At the time of Wells's "world brain", the concept of globalization had not yet taken hold, and international cooperation was more limited to politics and economics than to cultural and knowledge sharing. It was not until the end of the 20th century, with the popularization of the Internet and the acceleration of globalization, that people began to realize the importance of knowledge sharing and gradually accepted the idea of open collaboration.

  Wikipedia's success depends not only on technological maturity, but also on society's acceptance of an open, shared culture. Its appearance marks a revolution in the way human knowledge is transmitted, and also proves Wells's foresight. However, Wikipedia also faced some challenges, such as the accuracy and authority of the information, which Wells may not have anticipated.

Interesting point:

  The article refers to H.G. Wells' concept of the "world brain". In the 1930s, he envisioned the creation of a globally shared knowledge base through technology to promote international cooperation and peace. This vision is very similar to today's Wikipedia, and can even be said to be a "prophetic version" of Wikipedia.

Discussions: 

  H.G. Wells' concept of a "world brain" was proposed nearly a century ago, and Wikipedia didn't really realize that vision until the 21st century. Why is this vision taking so long to materialize? Is it a technological limitation, or a lag in social cognition?