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Sustain Wisdom

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The Idea:

What will change in the world because this Project happens?

Imagine a web space that lets every scholar see related researchers doing similar work. The site suggests cross-disciplinary relationships between different writings. Sustainability would be referenced for every area of scholarship. As an example, how does research into literature have sustainability implications?

For example, a microbiologist studying a species of frogs in the Amazon may not know that a similar research is happening and the results are similar. By constantly searching and matching keywords, categories, related subjects, GIS information, and other factors, the map could be geo-local and based on subject matter. The website would have different ways of exploring how a given research idea relates to other research subjects. You could then contact those individuals or create online groups using simple social networking features. The system would constantly be pushing cross-disciplinary perspectives of research.

Here is a list of features in the site:
-instant online groups (select up to 10 researchers for an instant group that lasts up to 4 week after the last activity)
-share documents in a virtual space
-share desktops
-video chat
-schedule seminars online for interested students, other researchers, or for the public
-instant message
-idea mapping (see how your ideas are related to other research ideas)
-idea reporting (see where subject areas have deep research and where it is shallow)
-idea journey (explore how ideas relate to each other and read summaries)
-research to reality check (see how media is covering a subject area being researched)
-top of the food chain (explore who are the leading scholars in different areas)

What information will people interact with to make this change?

The biggest benefit would be an online space where cross-disciplinary projects are encouraged using ‘information similarities’. The search tools would constantly be exploring how subject areas relate to each other. When scholars sign in and explore the site, they would be given ‘colleague tips’ that present visual maps of their subject in relationship to others. Every subject would be presented with sustainability relationships for their subject matter.

The truth is that sustainability must become a conscious raising exercise. This can happen through the systematic promotion of sustainability in every academic environment.

In time, the site would be used by grade school teachers to see the relationships that their subjects have with sustainability.

As a professional, one would go into the system and look for a set of experts that may be at a local university, or contact a set of researcher to provide information on a subject.

What else have you done in this Cause Area?

I have developed websites for Ed.org, and jsut founded OneGreener.com which used marketing methods and technology to move people toward a more sustainable lifestyle.