Think about your own city or town. Think about your own situation. Include the newly minted college graduates and the newly retired college professors. Include the people who work in the factories and farms. Well this is on the same order of magnitude because the implications of my radius assertion are just as stunning.
People spend their whole lives acquiring knowledge, expertise and experience.
Up to this point in our history the benefits of those resources, for most people, have been confined to that person's family, immediate friends, employer, and that's about it. Up to now, the ultimate rationale for our educational system has been to prepare new generations to enter the work force. Up to now, formal education has been largely textbook based. All too often learning is front-loaded in peoples lives. Seen in this light the construction and operation of a community network is not simply something neat you can do with an interesting technology.