Great Things Happen Unexpectedly

Now let's suppose that someone wants to set up the perfect social experiment. First, you gather people from all over the world. Hopefully your sample will contain all personalities, gifts, traits, and eccentricities. Now you cram them into a small space and make them live together, but you leave the door wide open so that anyone can come and go as they please (also this allows new random people to enter as well). Now you give them something simple to do, like a problem or task to try to concentrate on. You do not tell them that they are part of an experiment, as far as they know they are doing important and serious work. Now, sit back and observe the interaction, take your notes and keep your records, write your thesis or books and become a Nobel prize winner.

This is Wiki. A simple tool, designed for a simple task. Wiki is this great experiment that has just happened unexpectedly, and most of the participants, and maybe even its creator do not realize where the real magic is. But, that is what makes this so perfect, in that the participants and the creator are most probably totally unaware.

Wiki is not about programming any longer, and has not been for a long time. Wiki is about social interaction..yes social interaction.

There are some misconceptions. This WikiWikiWeb is just one wiki project, it is not "Wiki", though being the first and - for a long time - the most prominent wiki. Single wiki systems have goals - e. g. software patterns and software engineering - but wikis like people have no general goals. One could discuss whether the WikiWikiWeb has reached its goal, still has a WikiMission, or lost its goals out of sight. Wiki systems in general are maybe 30% technical and 70% social in nature, so the social issues are of utmost importance. But this doesn't mean that this WikiWikiWeb is about social interactions. And it surely is no social experiment, although everyone is free to observe and learn from it every day, just as from any observable social system. -- HelmutLeitner

• Wiki, is this wiki, as requested that wiki be written about from the third person. You have missed the point, and are still concentrating on the given task. Open the window, and look outside. Open all the doors in the rooms and look inside them. Stand back and take a picture of the people and what they are attempting to do, but especially what is the focus of their concentration. Now ask yourself: "What is the end result of all of this effort and chaos?"
  • Mental masturbation?

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CategoryTheGreatExperiment?