For a couple of years my fellow federators and I have been reflecting about a mountain top view that would profile knowledge federation and point at its advantages. Last June I was invited to talk about this subject to the Knowledge and Data Engineering Group of the Trinity College, Dublin, and, I felt, the intuitive ideas finally came together.
When I returned home I made an approximate recording of this lecture (the recording software was unable to handle the movie clip of the phalanx which I used to demonstrate the power of social organization).