I just had an epiphany reading this article that explains how curation is the shaping out of a global brain for mankind. I've used this analogy in the past (such as recently in this TechCoktail interview) and I've always thought I was maybe sounding a bit crazy.
Well, good to see I'm not the only one. Thanks Eliot van Buskirk: you just made my day!
And as I said in the comments on this post, the other important point that's happening is that human curators are not just passing the information: they enrich it. With context and meaning to a particular audience. So yes, this global brain we're building will be smart.
Big idea - collective consciousness