Think Tank can be: * a Spoken Word recording by Henry Rollins * Think Tank (album) by the band Blur * a Thinktank, Birmingham in Birmingham, England * think tanks, idea-producing organizations. * In Ghost in the Shell, an alternative name for a tachikoma.
:''This article is about the institution. For other meanings, see Think Tank.'' A think tank is a group of individuals dedicated to high-level synergy research on a variety of subjects, usually in military laboratory, corporations, or other institutions. Usually this term refers specifically to organizations which support theorists and intellectuals who endeavor to produce analysis or policy recommendations. ==Types of Think Tanks== Some think tanks are clearly aligned with conservative or pro-market approaches to the economics, while others, especially those with an emphasis on social welfare, social equity or environmental outcomes, are viewed as more liberal or left-of-center. ===American Think Tanks=== Think tanks in the United States play an important role in forming both foreign policy and domestic policy. Typically, an issue such as National Missile Defense will be debated within and among think tanks and the result of these debates will influence government policy makers. Think tanks in the United States generally receive funding from private donors, and members of private organization think tanks may feel more free to propose and debate controversial ideas than people within government. ===Communist Chinese Think Tanks=== In the People's Republic of China a number of think tanks are sponsored by governmental agencies but still retain sufficient non-official status to be able to propose and debate ideas more freely. Indeed, most of the actual diplomacy between China and the United States has taken the form of academic exchanges between members of think tanks. ==Criticism== Critics such as Ralph Nader have suggested that the private nature of the funding of think tanks may bias their resulting findings. Some argue members will be inclined to promote or publish only those results that ensure the continued flow of funds from private donors. This risk of distortion similarly threatens the reputation and integrity of organizations such as universities, once considered to stand wholly within the public sector. Some critics go further to assert think tanks are little more than propaganda tools for promoting the ideological arguments of whatever group established them. They charge that most think tanks, which are usually headquartered in state or national seats of government, exist merely for large-scale lobbying to form opinion in favor of special private interests. They give examples such as organizations calling themselves think tanks having hosted lunches for politicians to present research that critics claim is merely in the political interest of major global interests such as Microsoft, but that the connections to these interests are never disclosed. They charge, as another example, that the RAND Corporation issues research reports on National Missile Defense that accelerate investment into the very military products being produced by the military manufacturers who control RAND. Critics assert that the status of most think-tanks as non-profit and tax exempt makes them an even more efficient tool to put special interest money to work. Critics charge as another example that over the past three years Microsoft has [http://linux.sys-con.com/read/45362.htm funded] about a dozen think tanks that have released papers attacking open-source software. They point to an incident in June 2004 during the [http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.07/linux.html dispute] between Microsoft and SCO Group regarding Linux, in which the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, a Washington, D.C. think tank, claimed that Linus Torvalds could never have written Linux and concluded: [http://cgi.cse.unsw.edu.au/~lambert/cgi-bin/blog/2004/06#adti4 "Since Linux is tainted, potential users may one day find themselves in court..."] ==Pseudo Think Tanks== Not all organizations calling themselves think tanks conform to the strict definition in the first paragraph above. Marketing or public relations organizations, especially of an international character, sometimes refer to themselves as think tanks, simultaneously broadening the definition of the term and, as a promotional strategy, calling upon its traditional prestige associations (See Medinge Group). ==See also== * Brain trust * List of economics consultancies and think tanks ==External links== *[http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/under_the_influence/ ''The Economist'' Magazine and NPR's Marketplace report - Under the Influence: Think Tanks and The Money That Fuels Them] *[http://www.namebase.org NameBase] *[http://www.namebase.org/reviews.html NameBase Directory] *[http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Think_tanks Disinfopedia's definition of Think Tank] *[http://www.nira.go.jp/ice/nwdtt/index.html#1 NIRA's World Directory of Think Tanks] *[http://www.worldpress.org/library/ngo.htm ''World Press Review'' Directory of Think-Tanks and NGOs] *[http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/1999/9911.callahan.think.html The Think Tank As Flack, How Microsoft and other corporations use conservative policy groups] *[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A46598-2000Jan28 Think Tanks: Corporations' Quiet Weapon] *[http://schema-root.org/people/political/think_tank/ Schema-root.org: Think Tanks] 109 Think Tank topics, each with a cross-referenced news feed Think tanks *[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/15/AR2005051501035.html Capital Brain Trust Puts Stamp on the World] from the ''Washington Post''
==Out of order?== This page seems, at best, thrown together, and its neutrality is almost disputable. Why does "Centers...or tools for propaganda..." get its own heading. Why is the main "meat" of the writeup under the heading "discoveries?" Why is Ralph Nader's (who founded his own think tank (Public Citizen), and who is connected with the history of the PIRGs) objection mentioned without any corroborating evidence. If it *is* slander, than it has no place here. "Critics such as Ralph Nader have pointed out that the private nature of the funding of such think tanks may bias the resulting findings. Some argue that the members will be inclined to promote or publish only those results which will ensure the continued flow of funds from the private donors. This risk of distortion also threatens the reputation and integrity of organisations such as universities, once considered to stand wholly within the public sector. Some supposed think tanks may be more accurately understood as a front for a marketing or public relations organisation." The last sentence of the above reads like a factual statement. It is not. It's somebody's opinion. "Since think tanks generally prefer secrecy for their internal organising methods, making it to difficult to map their network of connections and interests." This is a fairly wild categorical statement (and the major think tanks, a la the Cato Institute are very public), and the use of the phrase "making it difficult to map their network of connections and interests" makes think-tanks sound like the Yakuza. What does it mean, "network of connections and interests," anyway. I'm posting here first because it would be nice to get input from the person who wrote this stuff, before I go ahead and make some edits. --User:Bkalafut 03:53, 13 May 2004 (UTC) == what is a 'think tank'?! == ive seen this in the media for years and i still dont understand what the hell they are talking about. any definition with the word 'synergistic' is, for the most part, useless. ==A think tank is not just what the dictionary says== Please note that "think tank" is not a protected appellation, anybody can call themselves by it. Marketing organisations can and do, presumably in order to benefit from some of the associations suggested by the introductory paragraphs here "high-level research", "theorists", "intellellectuals", "play an important role". Compare article on branding consultancy or international think tank (depending on who's talking) Medinge Group, and especially the VfD discussion on that article's Talk page. I have changed section Criticism, not in any material way, but so as to avoid saying that some think tanks are "truly" called so and others not. Nobody hates promotespeak more than I do, but an on-line encyclopedia should reflect actual usage (however deplorable it may be, and whether or not dictionary definitions have caught up to it), rather than prescribe what it should be. User:Bishonen 07:59, 11 Sep 2004 (UTC) =="Activities resulting"== Why is the atomic bomb listed under think tanks? I don't really see what the Manhattan Project has which resembles a think tank. Does think tank include massive army projects involving hundreds of thousands of personnel? Also, it might be worthwhile to say that while research was poured into remote viewing, it was eventually ended and concluded unsuccessful. I think the definition of think tank is pretty poor and does not differentiate from other forms of collective investigation -- are all laboratory think tanks? Are all meetings think tanks? Are all concentrated endeavors think tanks? Under the current definition, "yes," but I don't think that is helpful at all. --User:Fastfission 14:46, 3 Sep 2004 (UTC) *Good point, I also felt that and changed "Discoveries" to "Impact". Still, "Events which resulted from think tanks include:" would probably better be "Events which resulted directly or indirectly from think tanks include:"--User:Chealer 03:27, 2004 Oct 3 (UTC) **I still don't see why they are any way relating to "think tanks"... is Los Alamos supposed to be a think tank? It would be nice if said impacts would say the think tank that they were supposedly derived from... --User:Fastfission 03:45, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC) ==Still problems== We need to include justifications/names of think tanks if we are going to say these things resulted from them. As it stands it is a very putative laundry list. How is the development of the atomic bomb attributable to a think tank? This needs to be explained, it is not at all transparent. --User:Fastfission 02:29, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Since nobody has bothered to try, and I think the labeling of the examples as being caused by "think tanks" is fairly up in the air, I've deleted the section. If someone wants to create a section for things that were created by think tanks, they are welcome to, but please give more explanations in the future. --User:Fastfission 05:15, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC) == Mapping think tanks == Is there a need for the Think_tank#Mapping_the_US_think_tank_network? It sounds interesting but doesn't belong in an enyclopedia. User:Commonbrick 03:54, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC) :I agree. --User:Fastfission 05:14, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC) ==Americentric== This article is pretty heavily slanted towards thinking only of American think tanks and American politics. Surely these groups exist in other nations, too? User:Mr. Billion 04:23, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Think_tank:
Think-tank
Think_Tank
Think_tank
Think_tank
Think_tanks
Think_tanks
Think_Tank_(album)
Think_Tank_(album)
Think_tank_(disambiguation)
Think Tank
Think Tank can be: * a Spoken Word recording by Henry Rollins * Think Tank (album) by the band Blur * a Thinktank, Birmingham in Birmingham, England * think tanks, idea-producing organizations. * In Ghost in the Shell, an alternative name for a tachikoma.
Think tank
:''This article is about the institution. For other meanings, see Think Tank.'' A think tank is a group of individuals dedicated to high-level synergy research on a variety of subjects, usually in military laboratory, corporations, or other institutions. Usually this term refers specifically to organizations which support theorists and intellectuals who endeavor to produce analysis or policy recommendations. ==Types of Think Tanks== Some think tanks are clearly aligned with conservative or pro-market approaches to the economics, while others, especially those with an emphasis on social welfare, social equity or environmental outcomes, are viewed as more liberal or left-of-center. ===American Think Tanks=== Think tanks in the United States play an important role in forming both foreign policy and domestic policy. Typically, an issue such as National Missile Defense will be debated within and among think tanks and the result of these debates will influence government policy makers. Think tanks in the United States generally receive funding from private donors, and members of private organization think tanks may feel more free to propose and debate controversial ideas than people within government. ===Communist Chinese Think Tanks=== In the People's Republic of China a number of think tanks are sponsored by governmental agencies but still retain sufficient non-official status to be able to propose and debate ideas more freely. Indeed, most of the actual diplomacy between China and the United States has taken the form of academic exchanges between members of think tanks. ==Criticism== Critics such as Ralph Nader have suggested that the private nature of the funding of think tanks may bias their resulting findings. Some argue members will be inclined to promote or publish only those results that ensure the continued flow of funds from private donors. This risk of distortion similarly threatens the reputation and integrity of organizations such as universities, once considered to stand wholly within the public sector. Some critics go further to assert think tanks are little more than propaganda tools for promoting the ideological arguments of whatever group established them. They charge that most think tanks, which are usually headquartered in state or national seats of government, exist merely for large-scale lobbying to form opinion in favor of special private interests. They give examples such as organizations calling themselves think tanks having hosted lunches for politicians to present research that critics claim is merely in the political interest of major global interests such as Microsoft, but that the connections to these interests are never disclosed. They charge, as another example, that the RAND Corporation issues research reports on National Missile Defense that accelerate investment into the very military products being produced by the military manufacturers who control RAND. Critics assert that the status of most think-tanks as non-profit and tax exempt makes them an even more efficient tool to put special interest money to work. Critics charge as another example that over the past three years Microsoft has [http://linux.sys-con.com/read/45362.htm funded] about a dozen think tanks that have released papers attacking open-source software. They point to an incident in June 2004 during the [http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.07/linux.html dispute] between Microsoft and SCO Group regarding Linux, in which the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, a Washington, D.C. think tank, claimed that Linus Torvalds could never have written Linux and concluded: [http://cgi.cse.unsw.edu.au/~lambert/cgi-bin/blog/2004/06#adti4 "Since Linux is tainted, potential users may one day find themselves in court..."] ==Pseudo Think Tanks== Not all organizations calling themselves think tanks conform to the strict definition in the first paragraph above. Marketing or public relations organizations, especially of an international character, sometimes refer to themselves as think tanks, simultaneously broadening the definition of the term and, as a promotional strategy, calling upon its traditional prestige associations (See Medinge Group). ==See also== * Brain trust * List of economics consultancies and think tanks ==External links== *[http://marketplace.publicradio.org/features/under_the_influence/ ''The Economist'' Magazine and NPR's Marketplace report - Under the Influence: Think Tanks and The Money That Fuels Them] *[http://www.namebase.org NameBase] *[http://www.namebase.org/reviews.html NameBase Directory] *[http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Think_tanks Disinfopedia's definition of Think Tank] *[http://www.nira.go.jp/ice/nwdtt/index.html#1 NIRA's World Directory of Think Tanks] *[http://www.worldpress.org/library/ngo.htm ''World Press Review'' Directory of Think-Tanks and NGOs] *[http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/1999/9911.callahan.think.html The Think Tank As Flack, How Microsoft and other corporations use conservative policy groups] *[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A46598-2000Jan28 Think Tanks: Corporations' Quiet Weapon] *[http://schema-root.org/people/political/think_tank/ Schema-root.org: Think Tanks] 109 Think Tank topics, each with a cross-referenced news feed Think tanks *[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/15/AR2005051501035.html Capital Brain Trust Puts Stamp on the World] from the ''Washington Post''
Think tank
==Out of order?== This page seems, at best, thrown together, and its neutrality is almost disputable. Why does "Centers...or tools for propaganda..." get its own heading. Why is the main "meat" of the writeup under the heading "discoveries?" Why is Ralph Nader's (who founded his own think tank (Public Citizen), and who is connected with the history of the PIRGs) objection mentioned without any corroborating evidence. If it *is* slander, than it has no place here. "Critics such as Ralph Nader have pointed out that the private nature of the funding of such think tanks may bias the resulting findings. Some argue that the members will be inclined to promote or publish only those results which will ensure the continued flow of funds from the private donors. This risk of distortion also threatens the reputation and integrity of organisations such as universities, once considered to stand wholly within the public sector. Some supposed think tanks may be more accurately understood as a front for a marketing or public relations organisation." The last sentence of the above reads like a factual statement. It is not. It's somebody's opinion. "Since think tanks generally prefer secrecy for their internal organising methods, making it to difficult to map their network of connections and interests." This is a fairly wild categorical statement (and the major think tanks, a la the Cato Institute are very public), and the use of the phrase "making it difficult to map their network of connections and interests" makes think-tanks sound like the Yakuza. What does it mean, "network of connections and interests," anyway. I'm posting here first because it would be nice to get input from the person who wrote this stuff, before I go ahead and make some edits. --User:Bkalafut 03:53, 13 May 2004 (UTC) == what is a 'think tank'?! == ive seen this in the media for years and i still dont understand what the hell they are talking about. any definition with the word 'synergistic' is, for the most part, useless. ==A think tank is not just what the dictionary says== Please note that "think tank" is not a protected appellation, anybody can call themselves by it. Marketing organisations can and do, presumably in order to benefit from some of the associations suggested by the introductory paragraphs here "high-level research", "theorists", "intellellectuals", "play an important role". Compare article on branding consultancy or international think tank (depending on who's talking) Medinge Group, and especially the VfD discussion on that article's Talk page. I have changed section Criticism, not in any material way, but so as to avoid saying that some think tanks are "truly" called so and others not. Nobody hates promotespeak more than I do, but an on-line encyclopedia should reflect actual usage (however deplorable it may be, and whether or not dictionary definitions have caught up to it), rather than prescribe what it should be. User:Bishonen 07:59, 11 Sep 2004 (UTC) =="Activities resulting"== Why is the atomic bomb listed under think tanks? I don't really see what the Manhattan Project has which resembles a think tank. Does think tank include massive army projects involving hundreds of thousands of personnel? Also, it might be worthwhile to say that while research was poured into remote viewing, it was eventually ended and concluded unsuccessful. I think the definition of think tank is pretty poor and does not differentiate from other forms of collective investigation -- are all laboratory think tanks? Are all meetings think tanks? Are all concentrated endeavors think tanks? Under the current definition, "yes," but I don't think that is helpful at all. --User:Fastfission 14:46, 3 Sep 2004 (UTC) *Good point, I also felt that and changed "Discoveries" to "Impact". Still, "Events which resulted from think tanks include:" would probably better be "Events which resulted directly or indirectly from think tanks include:"--User:Chealer 03:27, 2004 Oct 3 (UTC) **I still don't see why they are any way relating to "think tanks"... is Los Alamos supposed to be a think tank? It would be nice if said impacts would say the think tank that they were supposedly derived from... --User:Fastfission 03:45, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC) ==Still problems== We need to include justifications/names of think tanks if we are going to say these things resulted from them. As it stands it is a very putative laundry list. How is the development of the atomic bomb attributable to a think tank? This needs to be explained, it is not at all transparent. --User:Fastfission 02:29, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Since nobody has bothered to try, and I think the labeling of the examples as being caused by "think tanks" is fairly up in the air, I've deleted the section. If someone wants to create a section for things that were created by think tanks, they are welcome to, but please give more explanations in the future. --User:Fastfission 05:15, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC) == Mapping think tanks == Is there a need for the Think_tank#Mapping_the_US_think_tank_network? It sounds interesting but doesn't belong in an enyclopedia. User:Commonbrick 03:54, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC) :I agree. --User:Fastfission 05:14, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC) ==Americentric== This article is pretty heavily slanted towards thinking only of American think tanks and American politics. Surely these groups exist in other nations, too? User:Mr. Billion 04:23, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
T
TA | TB | TC | TD | TE | TF | TG | TH | TI | TJ | TK | TL | TŁ | TM | TN | TO | TP | TR | TS | TU | TW | TX | TY | TZ |Words begining with Think_tank:
Think-tank
Think_Tank
Think_tank
Think_tank
Think_tanks
Think_tanks
Think_Tank_(album)
Think_Tank_(album)
Think_tank_(disambiguation)
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