What are the arguments from notable thinkers for, say, writing a book over simply having a discussion?
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M$3 Answers
There are a number of good organizations that are more than awareness groups. I suggest finding one that allows you to stand on top of a discussion. Many librarians in Second Life discuss things, but these are what i call soft facts. Nobody there is giving opinion. Like building blocks, ideas are meant to build on top of ideas. Cross currents from Japan vs. US, or Chinese Intellectuals vs. American University are discussions that are not theoretical debate, but soft facts intended to raise not awareness, but connections. Connections for a writer are what i call the before and afters. The before is what we experienced before. The after is our necessary future. i write multiple books a day and if i cannot connect the thoughts, then they are not part of the open discussion. Open discussion means to present the soft facts intended to build new thoughts. The facts are that a writer can do this alone, but all things are connected in some way anyway.
A writer doesn't write alone because the reader is connected by reading so they also enter into the discussion at that point. The argument is also naive in that opinion merely serves ranks off for no reason or only sides with one side or the other. This doesn't serve the intellectual freedom that is constituted for an order of engagement. There are a myriad amount of people that can attain that capacity without any before or afters. The argument therefore, is to find and entertain the engagement that you are looking for. It shouldn't be self-fulfilling but like pieces of a puzzle. when you find one, then you know it, turn it, but never debate it. A building is not built knowing whether or not a brick belongs. It is up to the brick layer to position it perfectly and creatively to justify the argument. The argument then, is to allow yourself to place the brick in the best possible way. If you follow my discussion, then you will find, there are many people that can help you architect all parts of your plan. The first thing is to lay all things on the table and connect them both horizontally and vertically, including the purpose of your own question.
Discussions in the sense you mentioned, means that if you stand on one side of the issue or the other, then really you are alienating the other half as a writer. How do you do this when passion is what drives us to both discussion and writing? Really, that is what we call the conclusion. The conclusion is the hardest part of both a discussion and a book. This is why many people fail to realize the end of the story or realize that things really aren't a debate at all or ranks off in opinion. The goal is to realize all things are connected and this doesn't matter if it is religion or atheism, taxes, or wealth. All things must complement each other in order to build the intellectual property. My only opinion to this would be that if we start believing everything in the world is an opinion, then we surely never build intellectually. We all are simply standing on the side that is either accepted or rebellious. As i grow older, i realize that i must write things that are not in the middle of ideas, but rather, ideas are like mortar, they actually build something that was not standing before.
Finding a cross current that can serve your intellectual building blocks may help you build something you may not have been able to achieve before.
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M$-Writing a book allows one person to craft their thoughts over a long time. Almost all writers who discuss their process have noted that re-writing is a fundamental part of the process. I've always liked this quote from Francis Bacon: "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man."
-Reading allows one to read and contemplate at their own pace, and to read the entire book before responding. The processes are very different. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "There is creative reading as well as creative writing."
-Also, there is the issue of access. Many more people will have access to books than to you personally.
-Books are for posterity, not just for the present. A book can outlast you, whether you are giving testimony to historical events (Thucydides, Anne Frank), or writing works that will be far more popular after your death (Emily Dickinson, countless others).
-Conversations are more strictly governed by rules of propriety and politeness than writing is (in cultures with a free press). Sometimes the things that most need to be said are the least polite.
- Books can be democratizing in that you could possibly judge their words without knowing their social status, identity, or other traits used to judge people. On the other hand, when publishing practices limit the kinds of work that are published, books have an anti-equality aspect to them, particularly in cultures where few have the luxury of education or literacy.
-Books symbolize the culture as a whole, which is why dictators burn the books.
Obviously, blogs and other newer media share some characteristics with books and some with verbal communication. This is a fascinating and complex issue, but since you want the opinion of experts:
http://palinurus.english.ucsb.edu/BIBLIO-it-and-academy+historical.html
http://www.springerlink.com/content/x77p1440040p070m/
http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2008/03/Web-20-Secondary-Orality-and-the-Gutenberg-Parenthesis.aspx
http://books.google.com/books?id=emmitTbOoFgC&pg=PA90&lpg=PA90&dq=information+technology+orality+Gutenberg&source=bl&ots=FhBnGYByTA&sig=D-2uCdcxps9cK1PK2Fv6_1KjEv4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result
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M$Specifically, what are you trying to achieve by doing either of those things? Is the goal to learn about a subject, or to inform the public, or to influence policy?
The type of discussion very much matters. A discussion between two people is going to have less impact and less input than one between several people. And the medium matters also because a written or online form could provide very significant advantages. For example the voting and other features provided by Mahalo Answers, which certainly is a discussion forum.
Writing a book is actually very far down on my list of things to do these days regardless of what your goals are. Publishing your text online with a place to comment on each chapter or at the end of of the book or better yet publishing each chapter as you develop it in a blog offer significant advantages over traditional publishing.
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M$
The discussion will take place at an upcoming Summit which 2000 odd people will attend. At this summit I am hoping to get participants to e-mail in their answer to two key questions that the Summit is considering.
It may be that these answers flow straight onto a live blog before being selectively compiled into a traditional and an online publication for further reflection....but the details of how distract from your relevant questions:
*Specifically, what are you trying to achieve by doing either of those things?
I am trying to bring about ‘long term’ ‘community wide’ thought on the two questions that will be discussed at the Summit. And the problem is that this community of mine attends their Summit, discusses and then forgets. Along the way, a few dominant opinions will be heard at the Summit and these will be shared with other members not attending the Summit by those who attended (more dominant opinions).
I need to convince the administrators of our community of the importance of ‘long term’ ‘community wide’ thought. That writing is a powerful addition to quickly forgotten top down opinion sharing. It may be that I must turn to Plato on the technology of Writing.
It sounds like you want to publish a book about the Summit topic and you need to justify it (maybe to get them to sponsor you?).
'Quickly forgotten' -- sounds like those are important keywords if you are trying to sell them on a book. Because I think that actually a physical book could be more permanent or less quickly forgotten than a web page.
I think that Plato is a good place to start looking for quotes on writing etc. and the power of the book.
But I am not honestly very motivated to research that because I'm not convinced that some technologies like Wikis etc. couldn't really serve your community's purposes better.
If you are looking for funding you might also consider different ways to achieve your goals which could include something easier to sell. I mean the importance of long term community wide thought is a different goal than writing a book for starters.
Thanks for your answer. Now to engage in much worthwhile contemplation.