by Hugh MacLeod, Gaping Void (CC by-nc-nd)

Presenter: Chris Lott

We create, discover, discuss and exchange ideas, but what are they, really? How does an idea mean? And once we have one, can collaboration and creation of the highest order even co-exist, much less be meaningfully combined?

The contrary history of the idea of the idea, from Plato and the poets to the Perl Parrot, not only sheds new light on the contemporary world of memes and microblogs but provides valuable insight into fundamental– and too often forgotten– aspects of the practice of teaching and learning, such as fostering creativity, allowing for originality and making sense of individual insight in the connected and networked world.