Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

This website is a database about people, concepts, projects and websites related to [[Convivial Tools]], a concept defined by [[Ivan Illich]] in his 1973 book [[Tools for Conviviality]]. This site is a work in progress, and some sections are more complete than others.

See the [[Site Map]] for the list of Main Categories, or go to [[:Category:Root]]. See also the companion website the [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org Convivial Tools Encyclopedia].

The ideas put developed by [[Ivan Illich]] in [[Tools for Conviviality]] follow on a long tradition of criticism of industrial technology and of a search for viable alternatives. The [[Historical Roots]] of the idea of [[Convivial Tools]] extend back to the eighteenth century French Enlightenment and the philosophy of [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]. Twentieth-century precursers include philosophers such as [[Lewis Mumford]] and [[Jacques Ellul]], and counter-culture movements such as [[Whole Earth]] and [[Appropriate Technology]].

==[[:Category:Post-War Cybernetics]]==

During and after the Second World War, emerging tendencies in scientific thought coalesced into a new field which [[Norbert Wiener]] called [[Cybernetics]], formed at the crossroads of computer science, electrical engineering, biology and social science. [[Post-War Cybernetics]] exercised a major influence on thinking about society, information, the environment and the use of computers. The concepts of [[Cybernetics]] were taken up by the [[Whole Earth]] movement. More recently, the arrival of the Internet spawned derivative terms such as [[Cyberspace]] and [[Cybernaut]].

==[[:Category:Whole Earth]]==

The [[Whole Earth]] movement began with the publication of the first [[Whole Earth Catalog]] by [[Stewart Brand]] in 1968. The [[Whole Earth Catalog]], which appeared regularly until 1972 and periodically thereafter, served as the center of an informal community of users and contributors. Due to their interest in [[Cybernetics]], the [[Whole Earth]] community spawned influential network-based spin-offs, such as the Internet community called the [[WELL]] and the cyber-magazine [[Wired]].

==[[:Category:Convivial Tools]]==

[[Ivan Illich]] coined the term [[Convivial Tools]] in his 1973 book [[Tools for Conviviality]]. [[Convivial Tools]] can be defined as tools which allow the user to operate with independent efficiency.

In an earlier book [[Deschooling Society]], Illich looked for ways that citizens could take back the control of their own learning processes. He thus proposed the development of computerized "learning webs," at a time before the Internet existed. In [[Tools for Conviviality]] he looked for ways that citizen's could take back the control of technology, and imagined tools that would be developed and maintained by a community of users. This vision influenced members of the [[Hacker Generation]], who developed the first personal computer in the 1970s. One of these was inventor [[Lee Felsenstein]], who helped form the [[Homebrew Computer Club]] as a community of do-it-yourself computer developers. This vision of community tool development is embodied in more recent movements such as [[Free and Open Source Software]], [[Wiki]]s, [[Open Design]] and the whole of [[Web 2.0]].

==[[:Category:Hacker Generation]]==

The [[Hacker Generation]] of the late 1970s was formed by the individuals and communities that created the hardware and software of the personal computer. It includes people such as [[Steve Wozniak]] and [[Steve Jobs]], who created the [[Apple Computer]], and [[Lee Felsenstein]], an electronic engineer who along with Wozniak and Jobs was a member of the [[Homebrew Computer Club]].

==[[:Category:Cyberspace]]==

 

 

 

 

 

[[Convivial Websites]] are those which demonstrate the characteristics of the [[Convivial Product]]. They may notably include [[Review Sites]], [[How-to Websites]], and other useful websites. Other types of [[Convivial Websites]] include [[wiki]] websites and [[Social Software]] sites (see [[Web 2.0]]).

 

 

==[[:Category:Web 3.0]]==

This website operates under [[MediaWiki]] software and thus has the potential to be a [[Wiki]]. However, to avoid continual hassles with spammers, the site is configured so that only WikiSysop can create new accounts, and no new accounts have been created. This website is thus the single-handed creation of one person.

 

See also the [[ConvivialTools Blog List]].