I received an email this morning that gets the prize for reader comment of the week. In Wikinomics, we referenced Isaac Newton’s “shoulders of Giants” quote to illustrate the idea that all knowledge and scientific discovery is cumulative . . . one great discovery builds on the foundation of previous discoveries, and so […]

[Read more →]

One of the most intriguing books I’ve read of late is The Gift of Athena, by economic historian Joel Mokyr. Mokyr traces the rise of the industrial revolution and the important role of the Enlightenment and the scientific revolution in increasing access to knowledge in society at large. Here’s his thesis in a nutshell:

[…]

[Read more →]

Scientists created and pioneered the Internet, so its natural that they would be among the main proponents and early adopters of web 2.0. In fact, there is arguably no area where web 2.0 principles and technologies are more vital than in the research communities that working to solve the long list of critical issues that […]

[Read more →]

Every decade or so a piece of writing appears that conditions our thinking and helps shape the course of history. Work like Eric S. Raymond’s, “The Cathedral and the Bazaar” for example, help expose truths to us that, until they’re written down, somehow remain outside our grasp. In some cases it can be decades […]

[Read more →]

Novartis is the latest pharmaceutical company to throw some wikinomics at its approach to research and development. After investing millions of dollars trying to unlock the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes, the company released all of its raw data on the Internet, for free.
To some, this will sound peculiar. After all, type 2 diabetes […]

[Read more →]

Climate change policy has been in the news a lot recently with the United Kingdom set to release its report on the economic costs of climate change today. I’ve had a chance to read the highlights and find myself increasingly convinced that we have reached a tipping point in a decades-long campaign for a more […]

[Read more →]

One of my favorite chapters in Wikinomics describes the rise of a new paradigm we call collaborative science or Science 2.0. Of course, the pursuit of scientific knowledge has been a collaborative activity for a long time — at least since the ideas of the Enlightenment inspired pioneers such as Newton and Bacon to devise […]

[Read more →]

Sony recently announced a partnership with the folding@home project that will allow scientists to harness the spare processing power of millions of Sony PlayStation 3 users. All of that processor power, in turn, will be used to better understand the causes of diseases like Alzheimer’s, cystic fibrosis, and cancer.

Sony’s new processor and graphics technology reportedly […]

[Read more →]