"Internet discussion forums are the answer."
I have to say that I find, by and large, that internet forums are a waste of time, apart from some very useful hobby related forums. The fact that I return time and again to SAGG says more about my perception of some of the users present than the value of the ideas and information that I gain or contribute. By that, I don't mean to put anyone down - the obstacle is the medium itself.
So, enhanced social osmosis? I don't believe so. What we have here on SAGG, for example, is - from the entire world - a tiny active group who indulge in an exchange of view points on a limited range of issues which we tend to recycled perpetually. I find it no substitute, and no match, for live face-to-face chatter, as in coffee break at the work place. Conversing directly and efficiently with people who are more than vague ideas on forum pages, who can communicate in real time, non-verbally too, is worth infinitely on the social osmosis scale.
I am suggesting that the discussion forum is a vehicle that can be very useful if we were to use it in a more sophisticated manner than it is now used. The forum does not have to be confined to idle chit chat. If we were to begin to use it in a sophisticated manner we could attract sophisticated individuals or individuals who wished to grow into sophisticated thinkers. It could grow to be a very important means for intellectual discourse.
