Making invisible patterns , visible

I have been busy studying the new frameworks like Django (Python) and Ruby on Rails to explore if I should switch to the new bandwagon and see if they will really give me productivity benefits. Some background before I present my problem issue or what I am missing. I have developed some production sites using Zope and Tomcat/JSP/Struts . I am a fan of Zope. As a self taught web developer, here are some things I love about Zope. (I do have a programming background from ages ago!) IMHO the simple , powerful, ready- made management interface provided by ZMI with Zope's inbuilt security admin is really unparalleled in its ease-of-use for first time users. It also sets up easily without much fuss and runs well out of the box! No big configuration hassles! (Zope 3 seems to have succumbed to the complex installation syndrome). Zope is also pretty graceful in the way it handles errors. One struggle much less with constant syntax errors typical in Java and other development languages . ...

Wiki's have a very simple and powerful model for content management that seems to follow Tim Berner Lee's orginial concept for the world wide web where all content is linked via a url. Wiki's allow you to create new pages by inserting a link into an existing page. A "navigator" then uses a search or a url to pick a"landing-point" in this content space and explores the links from there. Wiki's also use the pattern of "view-edit-save" thru the browser - so there is no separate step for transferring information from a "composer" program to the web server. As most web sites are a collection of web pages anyway ,why are not all web sites done this way? Some common reasons with my thoughts on resolving them. A) Preventing Grafiti Solution: A "Lock" on pages - to ensure only authorized people can edit it B) A "nice" aesthetic look to the pages Solution: A Use-Template type command line at the top of the page C) Image...

For team collaboration - there is always a lot of information floating around. Messages, Documents, Alerts, Events , Info about events, Presentations . You get the idea. Generally everything can be stored as a linear list - ordered by creation date or some other scheme. But this does not provide any "chunking" info that is helpful to grouping and classifying information so it is easily understood. Different users may have different ways of grouping the information. But this can lead to anarchy if the information repository is a common repository. What are good "models" to organize the info? a) Use time honored library classification schemes (hierarchical decimal dewey system)? (1-d) b) Index Terms with Concept Maps ? (you are here!) Concept maps can be spacial.. humans easily grasp 2-d views c) Allow people to customize their own grouping or frame slots. I am curious to know if there are any good models to follow here.

I have a hypothesis. All progress depends on making the the invisible visible. As humans it appears that we have to be able to "see" to be able to do something about it; So many people would easily support enivronmental conservation efforts if it was easy to "see" how dirty the air is in some places or how forests are disappearing. People would not have to "imagine" so much. They would be able to "see" it. The same would be true of many "theories" that affect our lives or our future. Is socialism better or capitalism ? This would not be a matter of ideology - but of science if there was a way it could be "shown" that one was better than the other. X-Rays and Catscans improved diagnosis and treatment. They made the "invisible" visible. So an x-ray for the environment , interpersonal relationships, strategies and so on would be nice. You "see" my point?