The World's First Open Source Think Tank Empowers Ordinary People and Challenges Special Interest Politics

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/9/emw156092.htm

The World's First Open Source Think Tank Empowers Ordinary People and Challenges Special Interest
Politics

The Wisdom Project combines the free exchange of open source
politics with discussion board and wiki technology to create
an idea development environment unlike any other. Using
specially designed tools, members identify, develop, and
publish solutions to real world problems. Building upon the
open source political movement, the Wisdom Project aims to
foster practical wisdom while remaining immune to the
ideological bias and special interest influence common in
privately funded "closed source" think tanks.

(PRWEB) September 9, 2004 -- The Wisdom Project
(http://www.wisdomproject.net) combines the free exchange of
open source politics with discussion board and wiki
technology to create an idea development environment unlike
any other. As founder Matthew Ready says, "Every internet
forum is a type of think tank where great ideas are
expressed every day." What is unique about the The Wisdom
Project is the sharp focus on identifying the most important
issues and the use of tools to help extract and refine the
best nuggets of wisdom from the open discussions. Ready
says, "I think of the project as a 'wisdom machine'. Just as
a cider press extracts apple juice from raw pulp, our goal
is to extract wisdom from free and open dialogue."

The Open Source model inspired the Wisdom Project to operate
in fundamentally different ways than most modern think
tanks. Unlike most think tanks which are classic closed
source "invitation only" systems, The Wisdom Project invites
anyone and everyone to enter their forums and present their
arguments and solutions. Members then work together to
evaluate the quality of the commentary and the solutions
offered using a simple system of judging the "wisdom" of
individual posts. Post ratings are then used to identify the
most promising solutions and to calculate a 'wisdom rating'
for each active member. Ready says, "Our tools help us
easily identify the best contributions to our dialogues and
the people who most regularly make those contributions." The
system is unique and it encourages accountability. Ready
explains, "Our post rating system discourages the juvenile
antics common on most internet message boards. As a result,
we are building a membership culture of healthy, energized,
and creative thought."

One of the ironies of traditional think tanks today is that
they often have little inclination to question their
assumptions. As Wikipedia describes, many think tanks may be
"little more than tools for propaganda." Ready adds, "The
purpose of many think tanks is not to figure out how to
solve problems, but rather to figure out how to promote
their ideology. When you are watching Fox News or reading
the New York Times editorials, the arguments and solutions
you hear about are not always the result of individual
inspiration. Often, those ideas are born in privately funded
think tanks and force fed to the public through sympathetic
media outlets." The Wisdom Project open source model
guarantees that any and all ideological premises are open to
examination.

We have two fundamental challenges as a society. First we
need to find the best solutions to our greatest problems.
Second, we need to all agree upon those solutions and
implement them. The Wisdom Project is built to help us
achieve both these goals. "The most basic tool for the
promotion of wisdom in a society is free speech," says
Ready. "I believe our most profound problems can be solved
if we shift our energy away from ideological warfare and
sincerely focus our attention on building a better world. We
need to foster genuine substantive dialogue. Let's not
bombard people through one-way media, rather let's engage
people in quality discussion. Encourage people to think! If
someone believes a national sales tax really is the solution
to our nation's problems-or that gay marriage will lead to
the collapse of civilization, then let's talk about it in a
totally open forum. You foster wisdom and solve problems by
encouraging people to think, not by telling them what to
think."

The Wisdom Project is already working on its first official
report from one of its more active think tanks to date:
Think Tank USA. The focus is upon 4 essential national
issues: Identifying the most important problems in the USA,
analyzing election 2004, improving education, and assessing
the impact of legalized gay marriage. Ready expects the
content and quality of their reports to rapidly improve as
they continue to enhance their tools and attract more
participants to the forums. He says, "Everything about the
project is an open source work in progress. Anyone who has
ideas to how we can do this better is encouraged to join the
effort."

The long term goal of The Wisdom Project is to maintain an
active think tank for every important issue, whether it is
regional or global, spiritual or philosophical. Ready says,
"There is no limit to how these tools can be applied. Every
city and town should have a think tank forum where they can
discuss their most burning issues. Eventually, I believe
open source think tanks will pick up where Town Meetings
stop and draw people back into local and national discourse.
Through open dialogue we can build consensus and work
together to solve our greatest problems."

About the Wisdom Project

The Wisdom Project is a website located at
http://www.wisdomproject.net. Founded by philosopher Matthew
Ready, members work to fulfill the true promise of the think
tank concept by using an open source model. The purpose is
to foster wisdom and develop solutions to our most urgent
problems. Whether or not that goal is accomplished is
entirely up to you. Anyone interested in participating in
the world's first Open Source Think Tank is encouraged to
visit http://www.wisdomproject.net.

For information or to schedule an interview please contact
Matthew Ready at wisdomproject@gmail.com or call (360)
477-1447 ###

To facilitate co-ordination regarding the introduction of OSS SW in Vietnam

Subscribe to OSS:

Subscribe | Unsubscribe