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More copies of this ISBN:A Crowd of One: The Future of Individual Identityby John Clippinger
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Great leaps forward in scientific understanding have, throughout history, engendered similar leaps forward in how we understand ourselves. Now, the new hybrid disciplines of evolutionary biology and social physics are making the next leap possible—and fundamentally altering our notions of individual identity. If identity is a fact not derived from within the individual, but conferred on an individual by a group, or network, a host of assumptions about how governments work, how conflicts arise and are resolved, and how societies can be coaxed toward good are overturned. John Clippinger brilliantly illuminates how the Enlightenment itself—the high point of individual assertiveness—was a product not just of a few moments of individual inspiration and creativity, but rather of a societal shift that allowed innovation and creativity to flourish. Michelangelo owes quite as much to the circumstances of the Renaissance as the Renaissance does to the work of Michelangelo. Now, the digitalization of society, which affects all of us already, allows new insight into these questions: What does it require for societies, organizations and individuals, to thrive? Who decides who you are? How can happiness be shared and spread? Who can you trust? Review:"Why do drivers warn people they'll never meet of police traps by flashing their lights? How did eBay's community of trust make it victorious over the competition? Why do terrorists tend to come from richer, better educated families? These are some of the questions posed by Clippinger, a senior fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. Calling on philosophers, scientists and economists for support, Clippinger looks to human evolution for answers, and expounds on how human phenomena like language and social customs evolved not for individual advancement, but for the benefit of the group. Along the way, the author finds evolutionary forces at work in Renaissance Florence and Enlightenment-era Edinburgh, the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes in the presidency of George W. Bush and the genius of the human immune system in the case of identity fraud Mark Spengler. Despite the data-heavy material, Clippinger has a breezy pace, an impressive breadth of knowledge and a knack for clear explanation that recalls Malcolm Gladwell. The volume's prime weakness is its overbroad range; Clippinger leaves no doubt he's willing to ask interesting questions, but without a central thesis it's hard to hook a reader-much less a crowd." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Synopsis:A visionary thought leader explains what cutting edge science and digital technology reveal about who we are: not just ourselves alone, but always an expression of the networks we're a part of
About the AuthorJohn Henry Clippinger is a Senior Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society where he directs a program on open security and digital identity which under the social physics project (www. socialphysics.org) supported the development of an open source, interoperability identity framework called Higgins to and to give people control over their personal information. John also conducts multi-disciplinary research and workshops with the Gruter Institute (www.gruterinstitute.org) and the Aspen Institute (www.aspeninstitute.org) on the impact of trust, reciprocity, reputation, social signaling on the formation of digital institutions. John has consulted on networked organizations to the Command and Control Research Program (CCRP) in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Networks, Information and Integration). Previously, he was CEO of Context Media LLC, a knowledge management software and services company and Director, Intellectual Capital, at Coopers & Lybrand (now Price Waterhouse Coopers). Prior to joining Coopers & Lybrand, he was CEO of Brattle Research Corporation, which developed artificial intelligence, language processing and search software. He is author/editor of the book, The Biology of Business: Decoding the Natural Laws of Enterprise (Jossey-Bass, 1999) and the author of Meaning and Discourse: A Computational Model of Psychoanalytic Discourse, Johns Hopkins, 1977) John is a graduate of Yale University and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member and regular participant of the Pentagon sponsored Highland Forum, The Aspen Institute, CEO Leadership Institute of Yale University School of Management, and The Santa Fe Institute Business Network. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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