http://hps.phil.pku.edu.cn/bbs/read.php?tid=409
Before reading this post, you may as well first look at: the 4th and 5th floor of http://hps.phil.pku.edu.cn/bbs/read.php?tid=408.
I have never attended an academic conference, so my understanding of the matter is purely speculative. If there are any inaccuracies or improprieties, please do point them out.
Many activities are epochal: in a certain era, such activities possess important practical significance; yet as the times change, the original practical purpose may no longer be needed, or may be replaced by other activities, while the activity itself may still continue in form, becoming a symbolic, ritual, ceremonial, or recreational activity. Perhaps “academic conferences” will also be like this?
Are there any irreplaceable functions of academic conferences? — As a friend gathering, a meal, a travel activity, and as a conference that can properly and justifiably apply for large amounts of funding, these “benefits” are things that BBS can no matter what never replace……
However, I would point out that, considering scholarship alone, online forums will comprehensively surpass academic conferences in every respect.
The advantages of online forums are:
1. More time-saving:
Typing on a computer is of course much slower than speaking (though with the development of input technologies, this weakness may sooner or later be overcome). For the older generation, this obstacle cannot be overcome; but for our generation, typing is nothing more than “a little slower” than speaking, and yet it may well make thought flow more smoothly (I often feel that when speaking, my thoughts cannot keep up with the pace; I keep not knowing what I am saying, whereas when typing, thinking and expression happen in perfect synchrony, which feels rather comfortable). The key point is that online forums save the large amount of travel and preparation time required by academic conferences, and save all the useless formalities and procedural going-through-the-motions; taken as a whole, they undoubtedly save a great deal of time.
2. More freedom:
Another factor in saving time is that reading text is obviously much faster than listening to text. For those long-winded, rambling stretches of nonsense, one has no choice but to endure them at an academic conference; on an online forum, however, one can simply ignore them. For reports one is interested in and finds brilliant, one can spend more time reading them, mulling them over repeatedly, and scrutinizing them word by word. Read them however you like. Clearly, the internet is a kind of “cold medium.”
3. More equal:
On an online forum, although there can still be a moderator and a guide, everyone can become the main character.
4. More flexible:
An online forum can fully imitate the model of an academic conference, or even simply hold a video conference, but it can also adopt a variety of methods flexibly. Slides, diagrams, image materials, and so on used in academic conferences can of course be conveniently placed online, and newer, more interactive technologies can also be used to present them. Of course, one can also communicate using nothing but plain black-on-white text. Moreover, online, one can organize small breakout sessions at any time, pull a few people aside for private conversation at any time, without having to worry about venue issues. (By the way, it seems that the function of the “blackboard” is very difficult to replace by computer technology, so perhaps only mathematicians’ conferences remain difficult to be replaced by online forums.)
5. More ample thinking
In an academic conference, after hearing a report, there is not much time before discussion must begin, and in that discussion one must respond before having time to think carefully about the other side’s questions. An online forum, however, makes it possible to give participants enough time for reflection and organization before responding. The time spent waiting for replies is indeed longer than in immediate exchange, but that is not necessarily always the case, because reading can be much faster than listening to a talk. Moreover, responses that come after a longer wait carry more weight than off-the-cuff comments, and during the waiting period one can also think things over, or go browse other topics, and so on. Of course, the form of online forums is absolutely flexible; if you say that in some circumstances an unthought-out, spontaneous utterance is more genuine, then an online forum can also require participants to speak immediately, (for example, using chatroom technology can achieve the effect of immediate exchange) depending on the wishes of the organizers and participants.
6. More rigorous:
In an online forum, participants can at any time verify the relevant concepts, quotations, and evidence; on the one hand, one can search the internet and databases on one’s computer at a moment’s notice, and on the other hand, one can at any time consult books, reference materials, and handbooks nearby, and can also contact relevant friends, teachers, and elders for advice and discussion at any time. Clearly, people cannot possibly attend an academic conference carrying a huge pile of materials, nor call for help during the conference. With solid verification, one can undoubtedly take part in discussion with more evidence, more coherence, and better order.
7. More responsible:
The words typed out are clear and unambiguous; one cannot deny them, and there is less possibility of tampering when the meeting record is compiled.
8. More open:
There is no need to ask one’s workplace for leave or apply for funding; there is no need necessarily to travel across oceans. As long as one can get online, one can join in. As long as one can get online, one can observe. Of course, according to the needs of the topic, different degrees of openness can also be set flexibly.
9. More lasting impact:
The influence of an academic conference is limited to a small circle at most, perhaps producing a conference volume or a joint declaration and the like. An online forum, however, can preserve the results of the conference together with its entire process, exactly as they were, and they can be conveniently searched and consulted at any time. Especially in philosophical research, questions are often more important than conclusions; an online forum preserves the process of questioning and discussion for a long time, so that when others later have similar discussions, they can conveniently check what questions have already been discussed and in what way, and thus are more likely to avoid repetitive discussion, thereby advancing further on the basis of the existing platform.
10. More environmentally friendly:
Although going online does consume some electricity, compared with the waste involved in a great many aspects of an academic conference—travel, rituals, printing and distributing materials, and so on—an online forum is absolutely the first choice for cleanliness and environmental protection.
Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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