View source for Disputation Arenas

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[[Category:Important]]
[[Category:David Brin]]
{{DES | des = [[David Brin]] identifies science, democracy, the justice system and fair markets as accountability forums where we benefit from non-violent resolution of disagreements. He proposes a fifth which already exists (as culture) but was later instantiated on the internet as Wikipedia. | show=}}
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[[David Brin]]'s accountability forums (disputation arenas) are really SOCIAL accountability forums.

* elections
* courts
* science
* markets

These are characterized by having to put your money where your mouth is.  In other words, participants in these forums have a strong stake in the outcome.  The outcome is not determined directly by the contesting participants, but rather indirectly by statistical judgement of non-contestants.  Thus, while dueling, war, and obeying rulers/commanders/bosses are accountability forums, they are inter-personal, not social, because the results are determined directly by participants and are usually based on force or authority.

"What might a fifth accountability arena test? [...] Judging from what already fills the Internet today, it might be opinions, memes, schemes... ideas themselves."
It already exists, and is called culture.  It includes all sorts of education: formal, parental, religious, commercial, and peer to peer.

There is a small fifth accountability arena, created after Brin's article: Wikipedia.  It is arguable how well Wikipedia works, but it is becoming culturally dominant as the first place to go for new information.  That is an incredibly powerful cultural position: which is why reactionary responses such as Conservapedia have arisen.  Wikipedia's approach shares some features in common with Brin's proposal, but has disposed of much of the elaborate staging.

Of the forums, only science tends to give a single answer.  That's because only science tends to have a single standard of judgement: based on accuracy of models (which is close to objective.)  All the other forums are tolerant of multiple, local standards because they are based on subjective human desires.  In order to well satisfy a multitude of different desires, many answers are needed or many compromises need to be made.  As desires change, so the results track them.
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