The Fredösphere

I'm not angry--just hurt.  The Great Firewall of China is blocking Daniel Wolf, but found the Fredösphere too compliant (or, worse, insignificant) to be worth blocking.

Meanwhile....

Gawker's cool new SF blog, called io9, found a study that shows too much communication stifles creativity.  I'll try to summarize:  the right number of communication channels within groups--some, but not too many--allows members of the group to develop several ideas simultaneously.  Too much communication dissolves sub-groups and causes all members to converge too quickly on a single idea that initially appears to be the most promising.  Thus, too much communication is bad for innovation.  The study's conclusion dovetails nicely with Paul Cantor's claim that, in a nation (such as France) with a single metropolitan area dominating culture, and a history of top-down government patronage, cultural diversity and innovation achieve sub-optimal results.

It also dovetails nicely with my long-standing practice of warning the Wifeösphere on the dangers of over-communicating.

Furthermore, it's Source Fource!  I haven't seen anything this good since Captain Euro came along. 

Labels: Creativity, Culture