Above is a picture taken of the sculpture entitled, Philosophers' Rock, that sits outside of Barton Springs Pool (a fresh water spring in the middle of Austin, TX). I will quote the plaque that sits at the foot of the piece:

Philosophers' Rock, or Bedi's Rock, was the name given to a shelf of limestone that once rose our of the glittering water at the edge of Barton Springs. It was here, on hot summer days, that the naturalist Roy Bedichek and the chronicler and folklorist J. Frank Dobie sat in the sun and talked for hours about everything from classic works of literature to tall tales of lost Spanish treasure. Their great friend, the historian Walter Prescott Webb, was not a swimmer, but he would often join in the talk.
These three-Dobie, Bedichek, and Webb-strove to create a vibrant and distinctive intellectual climate in Texas, and their influence reached far beyond the state. This monument has been erected to clebrate their friendship, their enlightened spirit, and their love for Barton Springs.

It is my believe that their spirit can live on in the web. The internet can be a place in which people get together and discuss everything from A to Z. My goal, and hopes, are for the internet to allow for a diverse exchange of thoughts and ideas. This is currently taken place in MOOs and MUDs, in chat rooms, and over email, but it can continue to grow, if we only make the effort to keep talking to each other over what ever channel we can.

Bedi's Rock Manifesto is a declaration in the spirit of dialogue. It is my hope to eventually set up a web forum on this site so as to further encourage conversation. Please feel free to email me and/or post to this forum when it arrives. With your permission, I will add and acknowledge your contributions to these pages. Thank you.

I end with the quote taken from the book in the sculpture (if somebody knows Latin, please email me a translation-thanks).

drew.davidson@mail.utexas.edu