Impact of Ideas Initiative, or I3
I3 is a project to research the consequences of popular ideas about various aspects of social life. The exact areas of social life and the exact ideas are open. The areas I had in mind to invesitgate are science, government, religion, economy, politics, ethics, education, family, and technology.
Those areas seem to make the most sense as focal points because of their impact on social life.
Why do we want to systematically study the consequences of ideas? We want to be able to quantify their effects on modern life/ If that is not possible we at least want to make a systematic qualititative assessment of how ideas shape our lives. This seems like good basic research and may have a practical use.
If we know how popular ideas are affecting modern life we can do one of three things. We can adjust our advocacy and public education efforts to better focus on our goals. We can measure the real effect of ideas we are currently promoting. The research results could also be used to inform, shame, or oppose opinion leaders in areas like politics (President Bush) or religion (Pat Robertson). Of course the applications to social criticism are so obvious I won't bother. The results of I3 research could also help support and improve the operations of our existing social institutions.
(An aside: we can also measure the costs of what I like to call "social pollution" - ideas that are illogical, counterfactual, or contrary to widely held human values.)
Yes, I know this stuff gets done now. I'm just suggesting a deliberately organized effort to investigate the ideas that underlie modern life in certain key areas. Oh, and I do have another purpose in mind!
We can gather the information we need to design and "sell" alternatives to current ideas that are not getting the results we may have hoped for. I'd have to elaborate on what I mean here in a future blog.
It seems that I3 would make a great project for a nonprofit think tank. As far as making this into a business opportunity, well, my imagination fails me. The business angle includes selling books based on the Initiative's research or creating a television show devoted to the impact of ideas in various areas of social life. I'll elaborate on the possibilities in my next blog. (Yes, I'm aware of the difficulties involved in getting deals from book publishers and television studios.)
The Initiative could have a cross-cultural focus, rather than being an American operation. Starting small, with the USA or with one of those areas of research would make sense.
As always, if you are qualified and interested, you can contact me to discuss this idea at any time. Email me at chetdavis35@peoplepc.com or call 703-823-2145. Please put Impact of Ideas Initiative in the subject line if you decide to email me.
Those areas seem to make the most sense as focal points because of their impact on social life.
Why do we want to systematically study the consequences of ideas? We want to be able to quantify their effects on modern life/ If that is not possible we at least want to make a systematic qualititative assessment of how ideas shape our lives. This seems like good basic research and may have a practical use.
If we know how popular ideas are affecting modern life we can do one of three things. We can adjust our advocacy and public education efforts to better focus on our goals. We can measure the real effect of ideas we are currently promoting. The research results could also be used to inform, shame, or oppose opinion leaders in areas like politics (President Bush) or religion (Pat Robertson). Of course the applications to social criticism are so obvious I won't bother. The results of I3 research could also help support and improve the operations of our existing social institutions.
(An aside: we can also measure the costs of what I like to call "social pollution" - ideas that are illogical, counterfactual, or contrary to widely held human values.)
Yes, I know this stuff gets done now. I'm just suggesting a deliberately organized effort to investigate the ideas that underlie modern life in certain key areas. Oh, and I do have another purpose in mind!
We can gather the information we need to design and "sell" alternatives to current ideas that are not getting the results we may have hoped for. I'd have to elaborate on what I mean here in a future blog.
It seems that I3 would make a great project for a nonprofit think tank. As far as making this into a business opportunity, well, my imagination fails me. The business angle includes selling books based on the Initiative's research or creating a television show devoted to the impact of ideas in various areas of social life. I'll elaborate on the possibilities in my next blog. (Yes, I'm aware of the difficulties involved in getting deals from book publishers and television studios.)
The Initiative could have a cross-cultural focus, rather than being an American operation. Starting small, with the USA or with one of those areas of research would make sense.
As always, if you are qualified and interested, you can contact me to discuss this idea at any time. Email me at chetdavis35@peoplepc.com or call 703-823-2145. Please put Impact of Ideas Initiative in the subject line if you decide to email me.
posted by Dr Society | 11:52 AM
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