Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 39, No. 277.
        Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
                      Hosted by DH-Cologne
                       www.dhhumanist.org
                Submit to: humanist@dhhumanist.org


    [1]    From: Sheldon Richmond <askthephilosopher@gmail.com>
           Subject: Re: [Humanist] 39.275: In the Wake of Failure (52)

    [2]    From: maurizio lana <maurizio.lana@uniupo.it>
           Subject: Re: [Humanist] 39.275: In the Wake of Failure (20)

    [3]    From: Sheldon Richmond <askthephilosopher@gmail.com>
           Subject: Re: [Humanist] 39.275: In the Wake of Failure (3)


--[1]------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Date: 2025-12-30 12:40:54+00:00
        From: Sheldon Richmond <askthephilosopher@gmail.com>
        Subject: Re: [Humanist] 39.275: In the Wake of Failure

Dear Willard,
Would it be possible to obtain an electronic copy of the failure paper you
mention?

Best regards, and congratulations on keeping the “Humanist” alive and
thriving for so many years.

Respectfully,
Sheldon

Sheldon Richmond
Independent Scholar, PhD

On Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 3:40 AM Humanist <humanist@dhhumanist.org> wrote:

>
>               Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 39, No. 275.
>         Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
>                       Hosted by DH-Cologne
>                        www.dhhumanist.org
>                 Submit to: humanist@dhhumanist.org
>
>
>
>
>         Date: 2025-12-28 16:52:42+00:00
>         From: scholar-at-large@bell.net <scholar-at-large@bell.net>
>         Subject: In the Wake of Failure
>
> Willard
>
> Sorting through some boxes of documents, I came across a printout of John
> Unsworth’s 1997 paper, The Importance of Failure.
>
> It opens with a sharp observation: “If an electronic scholarly project
> can’t
> fail and doesn’t produce new ignorance, then it isn’t worth a damn.”
>
> The paper then methodically details a set of questions that would be
> responsive
> to such a situation. Its peroration calls on Karl Popper to the effect
> “that our
> knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be
> infinite.”
>
> I wonder how in the years that have followed how diligent scholars have
> been in
> documenting failures…
>
>
> François


--[2]------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Date: 2025-12-30 18:11:07+00:00
        From: maurizio lana <maurizio.lana@uniupo.it>
        Subject: Re: [Humanist] 39.275: In the Wake of Failure

the article is
Unsworth, John. «Documenting the Reinvention of Text: The Importance of
Failure». Journal of Electronic Publishing 3, fasc. 2 (1 dicembre 1997).
https://doi.org/10.3998/3336451.0003.201.
Maurizio



-----

μνάσασθαί τινά φαιμι †καὶ ἕτερον† ἀμμέων
sono certa che qualcuno si ricorderà di noi anche quando ce ne saremo andati
I’m sure someone will remember us even when we’re gone
Saffo, Lobel-Page 147

-----
Maurizio Lana
Università del Piemonte Orientale
Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici
Piazza Roma 36 - 13100 Vercelli

--[3]------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Date: 2025-12-30 16:19:12+00:00
        From: Sheldon Richmond <askthephilosopher@gmail.com>
        Subject: Re: [Humanist] 39.275: In the Wake of Failure

Not to bother Willard.  I used Google Scholar and found the e-text there.
Thanks—Sheldon



_______________________________________________
Unsubscribe at: http://dhhumanist.org/Restricted
List posts to: humanist@dhhumanist.org
List info and archives at at: http://dhhumanist.org
Listmember interface at: http://dhhumanist.org/Restricted/
Subscribe at: http://dhhumanist.org/membership_form.php