King James' Collaboration

David Bollier: Online Collaboration as an 'Irenicon'. We high-tech moderns like to think we have little connection to the past, but as I pondered the new online collaborations, I couldn’t help thinking that we could benefit from considering one of the greatest literary collaborations in history, the King James Bible.

Comments

[Michael Zimmer]

Also, the OED.

[Rex Hammock]

For another incredible example of an early "wikipedia-type" collaborative effort, I suggest the wonderful book by Simon Winchester, "The Professor and the Madman." It's about the volunteer efforts of those who contributed to the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary.

[Rex Hammock]

Ahh. Michael beat me to the punch with suggesting a look at the OED.

[Dan Gillmor]

Rex, another great point. I'm thinking of pulling together a list of stuff like this. Do you know of anyone who's compiling it?

[Dr. Bonzo]

If you're thinking about Biblical collaborations, don't forget the Septuagint and the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds.

[Owen]

The Bible is a good example at another level: the decisions of the collaborators were subjected to intense political pressure, involved highly selective interpretation of incomplete data, and reflected a high degree of prejudice and self interest. All of this was based on what they perceived -- often differently -- to be divine inspiration. Yet it is a book that turned out to be great literature as well as a foundation stone for much of what we term civilization...as well as innumerable wars, abuses and discrimination. It would be well to keep this dark side in mind.

[Rex Hammock]

I don't know of such a list, but I'll look around. By the way, a few months ago, I posted a list of books I called, "Accidental Books About Blogging" -- but I forgot to add God's Secretaries or the Professor and the Madman to it.