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Page 6 of 9 Cerri. Chem Synth 2023;3:18 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/cs.2022.37
Figure 1. Building a consensus in presence of different viewpoints. (A) Each agent makes his own abduction, according to his local
horizon; (B) each agent takes into account the other’s abduction and proceeds to a revision of one’s theory.
research tool developed by Dr. Laurenco and seldom shown outside his laboratory), and Microsoft
PowerPoint (operated by Prof. Krief during a “classical” lecture at a distance).
The duties and rights of the five components of AGORA, the core software behind its interface, the Grid
Shared Desktop, were set previously to coordinate the reasoned exploitation of the collaborative processes
during the interactions at a distance. To the author, no other software tool currently offers the same robust
control and communication functionalities.
Human learning in these experiments occurred in many ways because of the interactions. Each participant
“learned” continuously from the others and the whole experience. Two examples highlight how this
experiment was an exceptional source of human learning at a distance.
The first was linked to Prof. Krief, a senior scientist learning to use complex software. Previously, he had
never been in a situation where he could build an ontology, i.e., a written, formal symbolic representation of
concepts, properties, and relations, that software could use to infer new concepts/properties/relations. His
profound knowledge of chemistry was indispensable for the success of the enterprise. No other (younger)
scientist - probably better acquainted with the tool - could replace him. Therefore, he needed to
