I disagree with Tarquin's determination that this is off-topic. It is
healthy for a project such as this to periodically discuss the nature of
an encyclopedia. Even if no concrete action arises from one particular
discussion, it still helps in maintaining focus.
Merritt L. Perkins wrote:
What is an encyclopedia? I expect an encyclopedia to be
a reference work
where I can quickly find information on many subjects. The information
may be more or less extensive and more or less accurate.
How would I use an encyclopedia? I would expect to use it to look up
information that I would use in my activities or for recreational
purposes.
An accurate observation that applies to ANY encyclopedia. Encyclopedias
are good initial sources of information and broad perspective on a
subject. They are certainly not primary sources. A researcher with a
serious interest in an article will want to go further. Some of our
articles have links to outside sources, but where those links have not
been written it is to be hoped that the reader will have acquired enough
basic vocabulary to bootstrap his research.
The longer our mind is occupied with a given subject
the less productive
we become. We get bored. If we change to another activity for a while our
minds productivity will gradually recover.
This is more true than many would have us believe. The dilemma is faced
by every genius that writes for Wikipedia. In extreme cases of boredom
thay become our most prominent vandals. It may also be the key to why
Wikipedia works so well.
Over the years I have observed that professionals in many fields adopt a
view of that profession that has been narrowed by their educational and
formative experience. The professions demand conformity. Alternatives
that require unapproved solutions are seriously discouraged,... more
seriously when those alternatives work. The requirement that someone be
certified (or some word of similar effect) in his profession may
ostensibly be to protect the public from fraud and incompetence, but the
effect is really to enforce narrow thinking and to protect the
privileges of the profession. Fraudulent or otherwise criminal
professionals continue to exist; incompetence is encouraged through
rule-bound practice.
I have on numerous occasions embarked on a Wikipedia project that I
eventually left incomplete. Most of these remain on my personal
unpublished to-do list, and I hope to get back to them at some point in
the future. The subject areas involved are very broad indeed. This
kind of behaviour would be totally unacceptable in an ordinary work
environment. It would get me fired.
The remarkable thing is that this kind of behaviour is the norm on
Wikipedia, even as it accepts that there are others with a compulsion to
bring an article to some relatively complete state. What's more amazing
is that the two co-exist quite well with a complementarity that is
missing in other environments.
This paradigm has implications beyond Wikimedia. We have harnessed the
power of boredom.
The encyclopedia may tell how lady GodGifu rode naked
through the streets
of Coventry more than 1000 years ago, but there may only be records that
such a person existed and the ride may only be legend. We would be
interested in this legend only for recreational reasons. We have no need
or use for the information.
This sounds like an argument against including such material, despite
earlier contradictory views.
We may be interested in medical information because it
may help us care
for health.
Caveat emptor!
Is there danger that information in encyclopedia
articles would be used
by terrorists?
We can have articles about explosives and tell how to make nitroglycerin
or other explosives. Of course the articles would not tell where or how
to buy the ingredients.
"Danger" is there in '''everything''' we say, not
just in the obvious
subjects. What varies most is the responsibility that people accept for
what happens in their own lives, and the extraordinary lengths to which
they will go to ensure that their security is protected by restricting
the freedom of others. The smart terrorist will always be able to think
outside the box. If his plans involve the use of explosives, he'll
either find a way to get them or change his plans to suit the
circumstances. If his plans involve the use of sharp objects where
knives are forbidden, he can sharpen the edge of a plastic credit card.
(It's not as though he needs something made of fine steel that will
keep its edge for many years. ;-) )
Writing is tricky business. The impression in the mind
of the reader may
be quite different from what you intend to convey.
Different readers may interpret what you write in different ways
depending on their past experiences.
A feature of good fiction is that it is very adaptable to the reader's
ability to visualize or fantasize
Readers may not know the meaning of many unfamiliar
terms.
A reasonable proportion can elevate the reader's perspectives. If there
are too many the work will remain unread.
After you write something put away for a while. When
you come back to it
later youll notice things that you overlooked before.
Now that you are satisfied with it, set it aside and start over new from
the beginning.
When you get tired of working on it either trash it or send it.
This laborious process may be essential in a "normal" writing
environment. Here, where the individual does not "own" the writing
(copyright issues aside) we can be confident that there will always be
someon else to find something wrong.
Do you agree with my ideas?
Some
Eclecticology