The visible and the invisible colleges
Okay, so in lecture we looked at the transformation of knowledge and the arrival of the “Third Place”.
Oldenburg’s theory of three places where we spend time are home, work and the third place (neutral ground). The thing is I do not really think that it can be classified so simply into those three categories. Today people can do their work from home they can do it will on holiday as well.
The invisible colleges we talked about in the lecture are very much like Mary said, less recognised or held in lower regard than the visible colleges. However, does this mean that the information and knowledge we gain from these colleges is less meaningful? My opinion is that it is not. Invisible colleges often give us information which is often more subjective but information that we would probably struggle to find in a visible college. I really think that the invisible and the visible college are both beneficial, one no more than the other is, unless of course you only seek recognition and credentials. Students at school and university often use Wikipedia when researching topics for essays, discussion etc. In these instances, we have the intertwining of the visible and the visible. Although Wikipedia may not be as factual as Britannica, what we see in today’s world is that people are often willing to substitute absolute facts for speed of information. The problem I see in this is that if the average Joe is willing to substitute absolute fact for speed of information don’t you think that there’s a strong possibility that newspapers, learning institutions etc might start doing the same thing?
That is a very good point that people can work from home and so Oldenburg’s third place theory and his categories of home, work and the third place isnt so straighforward when you look at it from this way of thinking.
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So that it can make sense i think it is better to think of home, work and the third place as an act of doing.
I dont no if i’m making much sense so i will try to explain what i mean. I agree that alot of people nowadays mix up work and home and say work and holiday. Many people do work from home so i think in this instance we need to think of it as the act of working or the act of being at home.
So while you can be working from home, when you are working you are doing work so it dosnt matter that you are at home, and likewise you could be on a business holiday (say a conference overseas) and so you are at work but if you interact with your family while you are away then you are doing ‘home’ stuff . so these categories can still be applied but if you look at home work and the third place as an act of doing rather than a place then i think that the third place categories can still make sense.
(I’m not always good at explaining myself to others so while in my head i’m making perfect sense to me (because i know what i mean), i may not be to others.fingers crossed i am