THE PREMISE

Okay, here's David's whole premise in a nutshell: Knowledge is dynamic. Static knowledge systems cover more than they reveal. Peer-reviews are elitist. And hierarchies actually frustrate knowledge which is supposedly social.

David’s answer to that: The Wikipediation of knowledge. Rather than an individual endeavor working toward fact vetted through an objective tested hierarchical standard, knowledge becomes a subjective group endeavor vetted by popular opinion.

FURTHERMORE

Here's where it really gets tangled: To the above fairly simple premise, David sets out to make a case for his personal favorite subject, "tagging." See, to the fact that (generally speaking) the world of supply-chain management has become increasingly sophisticated, i.e. we're labeling and controlling stuff with far more extensive criteria; users of the Web are now tagging their blog articles. David argues that that changes everything. Knowledge then becomes an asymmetric global open-source project driven by amateurs basically. Everything Is Miscellaneous does for knowledge what Weinberger's former book Cluetrain Manefesto did for business. The king "control" is dead; and Jarvis' 6 million strong torch-and-pitchfork bearing peasants stand over his body in the lobby. Power to the people!

To quote another Web 2.0 evangelist, Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail: “The world is messy, like it or not, and it’s only going to get messier as the Web destroys rules and rule-makers. You can either complain about the chaos and wish for the good old days of order, or you can understand why delirious disorder will soon make us all smarter.”

REFUTATIONS

First off, for those that are just tuning in... THIS IS ABSOLUTELY A CLASS STRUGGLE! But this isn't just the union wanting a seat at the table. This is the revenge of the have-not nerds. But they don't just want access to the library. In the name of "democratization," they want to raid it spray-paint cans in hand. They want to pee on the carpets, tag the walls and carry out what loot's left over.

As to it all making us smarter, here are a few fresh examples torn from recent headlines: Digg's Mob Rules; German Investigators Probe Use of Second Life to Trade Kiddie Porn; Copyright Infringement Woes Coming Home to Roost for YouTube; Rampant Trademark Infringement in Second Life Costs Millions Yearly; and Myspace using new technology to weed out sexual predators. Smarter? Excuse me but the Web has become a cyberswamp. So rather than drain it, the evangelists are now re-characterizing it as rich in life. Sure chaos increases variability... but at what overall cost?

Excuse me but David like the other evangelists seem to have forgotten a few basics while imaging their utopia: people and natural law.

Keep in mind, people are disgusting filthy animals known for their laziness, proclivity for theft and near total preoccupation with eating and sex. C'mon! And when they travel in packs, the mob is an animal that loves hangins, lootin', public urination and the sound of breaking glass. You ever see a riot? Ever been in one? Have you been to the restroom of any public venue? And you wanna live there?! You want to dine there? You want to send your kids to school there? Excuse me but the creeps in the men's room of the Chicago Avenue stop "tag" every chance they get. C'mon!

Seriously, at its best, Miscellaneous is a proposal for a worldwide "Group Think" system. Sure, when you're in that environment, it seems smart. Ask the engineers who built the Challenger.

And of course, to all that, Mother Nature will weigh in, too. She loves entropy. Messes don't get better; they just naturally deteriorate. Certainly, to David's point, static systems loose there relevance gradually over time. But unmanaged free-for-alls lose their accuracy geometrically and fast. Now, of course, it depends on what you're using the Net for. Do you want your brain surgeon consulting the top peer journals or Wikipedia? You want to feed your kids junk food information just because it's fast, easy and readily available? C'mon!

BETTER?

Again, David argues that the knowledge system we have presently is antiquated and failing. Libraries, books, peer reviews, encyclopedias... all of it will soon be replaced by a global system of mob "conversation."

"Better" is the assumption. It's completely wrong. Let me tell you why.

Here, for comparison sake, let's take math as a model for knowledge. Much like library cataloguing systems, books, peer reviews, encyclopedias... and even the Web... is all boils down to just symbols, units and various functions. In that sense, a system is pretty arbitrary.

Okay, here's a fundamental philosophical question that might shed light on why thinking "better" is wrong-headed: why did we variously invent calculus? If you've ever studied math, you know that we only use a mere fraction of what's possible. Systems we might devise are only limited to our imagination.

So why calculus? Well, the answer is simple: "Because." Because, at the time, it seemed to express a "natural order." Is it a perfect system? Absolutely not. But tomorrow as you get on that train, go over that bridge, and go up to you office in that elevator... keep in mind, it's all the product of calculus.

The point is that the minor systemic flaws and the dynamic nature of the language are not necessarily strong arguments for a complete system reboot, so to speak. They are ABSOLUTELY NOT an argument for substituting independent controls with real-time populace whim.

Here's the rub: David and others are not only recommending a radical new system; they're strongly advocating something that at its core disintermediates everything we hold dear. Not only is David's Promised Land amorphous, the principles offered in Everything is Miscellaneous eats the present order that feeds us. Take it a step further: Could we do away with money? Sure. Could we come up with a system where we universally “EBay-itize” barter of goods and services... sure. Cue Lennon’s "Imagine." But that’s not real. It just isn’t. Which makes the idea of replacing our current system with chaos all the more ludicrous.

TURNING A MESS INTO A RECOMMENDATION

Listen: Buy this book. Seriously, I'm not asking you; I'm telling you.

Among the true evangelists of the Web movement, there seems to be a fundamental disconnect. Everything is Miscellaneous articulates that very well. Now that their Cluetrain has wrecked and lay in a tangled heap of twisted broken mess... they want to rationalize it and move on to new targets. This is an excellent primer on how they think. If you want to protect what makes sense, best know the language of nonsense.

PS

In David's world, a Strumpette reviewing a book by an esteemed Harvard professor is perfectly legit. Bah! How f-ed up is that?