The Postmodern Condition is remarkable in the fact that it is simultaneously a core work of Postmodern philosophy and also a quite accurate forecast of technological trends in academia. The Performativity Principle which Lyotard articulates describes the essentials of how academia has in fact been adapting to the demands it has encountered to act in more "accountable", commercial ways. [Pratt, pp.35-40] The myriad recommendations Lyotard makes about improving the performativity of higher education are sometimes startling, because many or all of his proposals have indeed been implemented or at least advocated in many universities since The Postmodern Condition was written.

Among the recommendations of interest to a discussion of the Internet, we find: universities should strive to provide for adult continuing education and job retraining (p. 49), new instructional delivery technologies should be used in curricula (p. 50), all students should have training in the "telematic" (usage of computer and network technology) aspects of their relevant field of study (p. 51), provide students with training in how to function in interdisciplinary teams (pp. 52-53), free access to all networks and databases should be granted to the public (p. 67).

What consequences do these recommendations have for scholarly communication? Lyotard's concept of paralogy is frequently considered utopian; can it be realistic to think that the commodification of the internet currently underway on a massive scale can possibly be thrown open for public access?

There is an intelligible sense of performative works as what (in the case of hypermedia) have been termed functional works, as described in the section on hypermedia vs. paper. Functional works are dynamic and not static. They can do work for us. Software tools such as computer based training systems, and even spreadsheets and word processors are performative works which have radically changed the nature of research, and the nature of what is considered an intellectual property. [OTA, 1986] Works of scholarly communication must be considered in a much broader context in light of this new category of performative works, to include items that would previously have been thought technological artifacts. [Coyne, 1995] If these works advance the academic project, however, they surely must be considered valid contributions to scholarly communication.

An emphasis on new techniques in instructional delivery through technology has been a recurring theme of higher education in the 1990s. Extensive efforts in distance learning by means of technology have occured since Lyotard wrote, including major new radical attempts at decentralized academic institutions linked via the Internet. [Blumenstyk, 1997] [Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/24/97] As the ground rules of academic scholarship increasingly shift toward the development of practical pedagogical contributions rather than theory, the development of performative distance learning systems will become more prominent features of scholarly communication. Similarly, continuing education has been valorized by society and government in recent years [Haworth, 1996], and has become a standard component of many colleges and universities. Continuing education and distance learning are inevitable trends because of the changing demographics of higher education. [Pascarella, 1998] Lyotard charaterizes these categories of learning as dealing in ala carte knowledge. Performative works which advance these academic goals will undoubtedly be sought after by universities, just as Lyotard suggests. The research ghetto of instructional materials will likely become more prominent for these reasons. This trend can already be observed in the momentum developing in the pragmatic concerns of ala carte learning.

Telematic training, or preparatory instruction in the use of technology for learning, is clearly a growing component of higher education. The sheer complexity of the networked infrastructure that is rapidly becoming an integral part of the educational necessitates this...

[Interdisciplinarity]

[Free Access to Data and Paralogy] Lyotard's strongest recommendation is to: "give the public free access to the memory and data banks." [Lyotard 1984, p.67] In the years since the publication of The Postmodern Condition his radical prescription for free access to data has frequently been considered a utopian dream in light of the very mercantilization of knowledge that he describes. I wish to contest this dismissal of Lyotard's fundamental prescription, as I believe that many of the best practical proposals for improving the system of scholarly communication have been built upon precisely the notion of a widespread subsidization of access to data via networks. [Harnad, 1995] [Bailey, 1994] I also believe that the practical experience in providing widespread subsidized database to academic communities reveals that the practice can realize dramatic benefits for scholars. [Williams, 1997] [Halbert, 1997] Paralogy is, rather than a utopian concept, a quite practical idea for particular communities of researchers.