At 12:13 AM 6/15/99 -0700, Michael Nielsen wrote:
>> ... a user types in some keywords, and gets a sorted list of
>> related course names, paired with textbook titles. Textbook
>> titles are linked directly to a web bookstore where you can buy them,
>> and priority on the list might be given to "top" schools.
>
>I've been considering some parallel ideas for a website, along a slightly
>different track.
>
>Harold Bloom's book "The Western Canon" inspired a lot of thoughts about
>how such a site should be structured. ...
>Bloom's work succeeds in part because of its global nature; he
>examines the works of not one but many many writers in
>considerable depth, ...
>I'd certainly love to use an integrated website with competent and
>in-depth reviews referencing related material, telling potential readers
>what preparatory material they need, what related subjects may be of
>interest, and how the book compares with other books of a similar nature.
>
>Finally, one last comment: the site should be _small_. ... A
>site claiming to be canonical should contain, in my opinion, no more
>material than could be absorbed by a curious individual over their
>lifetime.
The site you have in mind sounds interesting as well, but I see a lot
more uncertainty about whether any one attempt to produce it would
succeed. The site I proposed seems pretty much a sure thing in terms
of our ability to produce it, though of course whether it would attract
enough customers to pay its way is not clear.
Robin Hanson
hanson@econ.berkeley.edu http://hanson.berkeley.edu/
RWJF Health Policy Scholar FAX: 510-643-8614
140 Warren Hall, UC Berkeley, CA 94720-7360 510-643-1884
after 8/99: Assist. Prof. Economics, George Mason Univ.
Received on Tue Jun 15 09:28:02 1999
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