Philosophy hasn't been exhausted. We have. After being on line for as long as
there has been a line to be on, this social anthropologist has seen it happen
over and over again. A new list/site/forum/whatever begins with a burst of
excitement as people introduce themselves and start to sort out where they
stand. Then things settle down to predictable tit-for-tat. Most folk drift
away. Only the hard core are left at the bar. The hour is late, the air is
stale, it's time for the last round. This process is predictable–regardless of
subject matter. The only examples where it doesn't happen are a few group blogs
where the founders make it their responsibility to continually add new material
and actively invite new voices to join the conversation. In my field,
anthropology, the exemplary case is Savage Minds (http://savageminds.org). Even
though some of the founders have drifted away, a strong core remains and is
periodically refreshed through a process of using invited blog posts as a
try-out for joining the core.
Gossip? What about? David's chickens are a great topic, but, let's face it, he
has all the poop.
John
Sent from my iPad
On 2015/05/15, at 5:27, Mike Geary <jejunejesuit.geary2@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:------------------------------------------------------------------
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight, near the village,
the peaceful village, the lion sleeps tonight. Hush, my darling, don't cry,
my darling, the lion sleeps tonight.
So it's my guess that philosophy has been exhausted. All questions answered.
All problems solved. A doubts decided. We thank God for that. Now we can
get on with gossip.
