Crowd-sourcing of theory development

[opentheory]

Open source software development has demonstrated that unaffiliated volunteers from all over the world, can produce projects of quality that equals or exceeds that of small(er) groups of paid professionals. The volunteer status of the contributors is only coincidental. The reason for the success of the open-source paradigm of development is that it enables an unlimited number of minds from all over the world, not necessarily affiliated beyond a common interest in the project, to work together. Ideally, everyone, paid as well as volunteer, will contribute merely because they have something to contribute. This concept should work equally as well for theory development as it does for software development.
A website attempting to pioneer this Open Theory concept is http://www.vidainstitute.org Anyone with a quality theory in the physical or natural sciences, or related, may submit it. All registered users can post contributions and comments.
Not much there yet, but this should soon change.

[Joy Christian]

Open source software development has demonstrated that unaffiliated volunteers from all over the world, can produce projects of quality that equals or exceeds that of small(er) groups of paid professionals. The volunteer status of the contributors is only coincidental. The reason for the success of the open-source paradigm of development is that it enables an unlimited number of minds from all over the world, not necessarily affiliated beyond a common interest in the project, to work together. Ideally, everyone, paid as well as volunteer, will contribute merely because they have something to contribute. This concept should work equally as well for theory development as it does for software development.
A website attempting to pioneer this Open Theory concept is http://www.vidainstitute.org Anyone with a quality theory in the physical or natural sciences, or related, may submit it. All registered users can post contributions and comments.
Not much there yet, but this should soon change.

Thank you for this valuable information. I have an extensive, long term theoretical and experimental program that deserves to be funded. So I will certainly consider the website you have linked. I have already explained my theoretical ideas on the pages of this forum as well as on my blog: http://libertesphilosophica.info/blog/.

Unfortunately my theoretical ideas are viciously opposed by an extremely noisy vocal minority, with powerful political connections and backing. Some members of this vocal minority have made sure that whatever tiny financial support I had in the past is no longer available to me. They have even stooped as low as medalling with my academic affiliations with malicious actions and intentions. Under these debilitating circumstances open source funding may put my research program back on course.

[Q-reeus]

Having glanced through the currently sole article published there: http://vidainstitute.org/?page_id=18
and sole theory published there: http://vidainstitute.org/?page_id=32
both by the same author, I'd say at best visit again in a years time and hope by then it would not prove a severe embarrassment to be associated with in any way.

Has anyone here had experience with EJTP (http://www.ejtp.com/authors.html)? Looks promising in that no particular academic institution affiliations seem needed, nor any hefty publication fees. Not sure of any peer-review process there but has a decent spread of board members. On the minus side is the sparse publication rate: http://www.ejtp.com/volumes.html

[Joy Christian]

Having glanced through the currently sole article published there: http://vidainstitute.org/?page_id=18
and sole theory published there: http://vidainstitute.org/?page_id=32
both by the same author, I'd say at best visit again in a years time and hope by then it would not prove a severe embarrassment to be associated with in any way.

Hmm... Thanks for the warning. Caution is certainly warranted.

[Q-reeus]

Hmm... Thanks for the warning. Caution is certainly warranted.

Quite, and while one should hope the best for such a fresh startup, a free-for-all crank fest is not the right way for it to go.
Regarding that query re EJTP, you are probably aware of an article there by an author with evidently similar views to your own:
http://www.ejtp.com/articles/ejtpv9i27p111.pdf (#7 item under http://www.ejtp.com/ejtpv9i27).
[he sites your work in his references]

[Joy Christian]

Regarding that query re EJTP, you are probably aware of an article there by an author with evidently similar views to your own:
http://www.ejtp.com/articles/ejtpv9i27p111.pdf (#7 item under http://www.ejtp.com/ejtpv9i27).
[he sites your work in his references]

I had a look at the paper. I was aware of it, but only vaguely. His model seems explicitly non-local to me. I am surprised that the referees of EJTP did not spot this.

[Q-reeus]

I had a look at the paper. I was aware of it, but only vaguely. His model seems explicitly non-local to me. I am surprised that the referees of EJTP did not spot this.

Joy you may be right but I got the impression his 'entanglement' concept didn't go beyond the perfect anti-correlation at point of creation, while soliton modelling of individual spin 1/2 particles didn't seem to imply spooky action-at-a-distance. Unless he completely misunderstood your work, seems to have basically endorsed your own local realistic work as an equivalent 'geometric approach'. Just an impression and his website at http://www.classicalmatter.net/ may provide a broader picture of his philosophy, particularly articles there like http://www.classicalmatter.net/Classical_Electron.htm.

Anyway it was the EJTP site as such I mainly wanted to draw attention to. A listing of open access sites is at http://de.physnet.net/PhysNet/journals.html.