If we were now to summarize a few key contributions or advantages of the Plott Project in the light of both its printed and unprinted aspects, and the academic and personal characteristics of Plott himself, the right words would surely be open, multidisciplinary, multi-perspectival, democratic, and peace-oriented.

The chief limitation of the project can be summarized in one sentence, No one knows what to do with it. Its political and economic agenda, though not obtrusive, seems to some to be doomed, dead, or impractical. And how in the world is anyone to use a resource of this magnitude and erudition in any classroom, public or private, undergraduate or graduate? One small but irritating example of the problem concerns Sanskrit. Because of Plott's immersion in contemporary and classical Indian culture, he used Sanskrit with ease whenever he spoke or wrote. The team tried by the creation of glossaries and careful indexing to help Plott's readers through the Sanskrit-sprinkled prose. Sometimes we felt like a mother going around picking up clothing after an exuberant teenager.

What I have called a limitation may more properly be regarded as a challenge. The Sanskrit, for example, prevents readers, at whatever level, from assuming that everything significant in other cultures can be gained either from smoothly constructed translations or simplified popularizations. Plott produces potentially-constructive culture shock for people who do not have the will or the money to go abroad. That is, he can produce it if his readers do not simply give up and turn to other, more manageable activities than contemplating the global history of philosophy.

A major suggestion of one way to meet this challenge is now emerging. Why not hypertext some of the synchronological charts, period maps, and even technical or foreign glossaries? By hypertexting I mean both a conceptual and technological reformulation of the Plott project, both what has already been published and what might be published in the future. More recent textbooks in philosophy, - for example, James Christian's Philosophy: An Introduction to the Art of Wondering (now in its 6th ed., New York: Harcourt Brace Publishers, 1994) - use marginal quotations, boxed analyses, biographies in multiple-page interludes, as well as photographs, pictorial art, and comic strips and cartoons to lead the reader or rather to encourage wandering while wondering in an order somewhat of the reader's own choosing. Histoire de l'Europe does the same thing for European history. (See Section 6 of the present homepage on the Plott Project.)

The various electronic encyclopedias add a new wrinkle: highlighted terms and names which the reader can click on for definitions or expositions beyond the more linear narrative text. Sanskrit would lend itself to this treatment as would the synchronological charts which could be called up from the narrative text or from which one could click for articles on the events and philosophers displayed. Some of us think that the Plott Project may have been ahead of the technology, just waiting for the computer developments which have made expert systems and hypertexting a reality.

It should be mentioned that the published scholarly work of John C. Plott and his associates is only the print media component of the total project. The twenty-four file folders for the total publication venture, published and unpublished, occupy about two feet (60 centimeters) of one of my office filing cabinet drawers. One mystery is how this rough material was ever transformed by Plott and his main editor into five volumes of coherent, sometimes eloquent text; a deeper mystery is what to do with the unedited material intended for eventual publication. In addition to that, John also had a file drawer or so of related educational materials written by him and others, and not necessarily intended for publication but more for his own classroom use. I still have almost two feet of this "monstrosity," as we associates called it, with affectionate exasperation.

For a number of years I have engaged small classes and seminars of undergraduates with the Plott materials, first with the unpublished and then with the published materials. Generally students have had two reactions. "This material must be intended for someone else." But also: "It is worthwhile and deserves as wide an audience as possible." Some of my students have done quite substantial studies (class reports and term papers) related to the Plott materials and the objectives behind their production.

I am even more impressed by Professor Plott's own ability to inspire undergraduates as well as established scholars. Through the years he shared with some of us audio tapes from his seminars and classes at Marshall University. The level of exposition, comment, and dialog among the students and with the non-dominating help of Plott was highly motivating not only to me but to these students several of whom got caught up in Project travel with Plott and even in Project editing.

In connection with who helped Plott, whom he helped, and the philosophers he wrote about, James Christian's question (in his 6th ed., p. 90) is appropriate here, "Where are the women?" You may wish to look up what Christian says about the few published women in philosophy (and hence in Plott's indexes). As to those who worked with this dedicated bachelor-philosopher, I merely cite the acknowlegments in Volume V where he expresses thanks and appreciation to Becky Fife, Margaret O'Neill, and Connie Hager, with Sharon Luman, not as women but as co-workers. For example, the last two named produced the index for Volume V. Yes, Heloise was a philosopher and is listed in this index.