Another Word For It Patrick Durusau on Topic Maps and Semantic Diversity

February 9, 2014

OTexts.org Update!

Filed under: Books,Open Access — Patrick Durusau @ 3:59 pm

OTexts.org has added three new books since my post on the launch of OTexts.

New titles:

Applied biostatistical analysis using R by Stephen B. Cox.

Introduction to Computing : Explorations in Language, Logic, and Machines by David Evans.

Modal logic of strict necessity and possibility by Evgeni Latinov.

The STEM fields have put the humanities to shame in terms of open access to high quality materials.

Don’t you think it was about time the humanities started using open access technologies?

2 Comments

  1. Maybe it’s more a matter of focus than availability?
    Project Gutenberg (42,000 books).
    Google Books (over 1,000,000 open access)
    http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2009/08/download-over-million-public-domain.html
    http://openhumanitiespress.org/
    https://www.openlibhums.org/

    Comment by clemp — February 9, 2014 @ 5:16 pm

  2. Possibly, possibly, but all the material is Gutenberg is decades out of date for the humanities. Same for Google Books. Interesting historical material and sometimes very valuable, but that isn’t the same thing as current literature.

    Quick example, in the 1940’s Amenhotep the IV (aka Akhenaten), who tried to change Egyptian religion in some readings to monotheism, was hailed as the first individual in history, etc. and that sort of thing. With basically the same texts and more archaeological context, he is now regarded as a very bad ruler, etc. If you brought up the old stuff in a modern classroom, you would not be treated as informed.

    That’s very unfortunate in my view. It isn’t like people are making pots of gold writing about Egyptology. If anything, you would expect the CS types to be very closed mouthed about what they do. But for the most part they don’t.

    Not enough space for the full story but I think the humanities have marginalized themselves by not participating in the public spaces and discussions. Safer to stay among their colleagues. I felt that way the decade or more I was in academic publishing and continue to feel so now.

    Comment by Patrick Durusau — February 9, 2014 @ 8:48 pm

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