Stephen Downes

This gist of this article is that we as individuals know a lot less than we think we know; most of what we know is known collectively. In times of stress, however, the bonds that hold that knowledge slip, and the basis for what we know disappears. I think this analysis is largely correct, though not limited (as sometimes suggested in the article) to a single society. It's remarkable how closely the analogy lines up with Wittgenstein's analogy 'riverbed propositions', and I think as well that it might be useful to introduce a theory of plate tectonics to the analogy as well. Anyhow, it's a great article, worth a read.