WEEK 2

Epistemology

The study of the nature of knowledge and how we know what we know.

Homophily

The tendency for people to have close friendships primarily with people similar to themselves.

Philia

The Greek word for the dispassionate love between friends.

Primary Source

A source that is as close as possible to the topic being studied, such as Benjamin Franklin's letters for a biographer.

Secondary Source

A source that discusses information presented elsewhere, like an authoritative history of the Revolutionary War for a biography of Benjamin Franklin.

Tertiary Source

A survey or summary of other work that does not include full evidence, sources, or technical details, like Wikipedia.

Crowdsourcing

Taking tasks that would normally be performed by experts and allowing the public to do them, as seen in Wikipedia's editorial model.

Cybernetics

The study of self-regulating or self-controlling systems, including biological organisms with computer or machine components.

Cyborg

A biological organism with computer or machine components, used to distinguish between the scientific study of cybernetics and hybrid organisms.

Cybernetic Augmentation

A computerized prosthesis that gives the user abilities that normal human beings do not have, such as implanting a chip in the retina for augmented vision or allowing a direct interface between the brain and computer.