WHAT’S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 28 Aug 09 Washington, DC

1. WIKIPEDIA: IT’S STILL A BEAUTIFUL IDEA, BUT MAYBE NOT PERFECT.
Let me begin with two observations: 1) people often know a lot about
something, and 2) technology exists that can store and retrieve whatever it
is they know. Eight years ago, a visionary group including Jimmy Wales
and Larry Sanger put 1) and 2) together to make a free encyclopedia. They
called it Wikipedia. Here's the visionary part: It’s not just free
information; anyone is free to edit it. The theory behind this embrace-the-
chaos culture is that those who know what they're about will suppress the
fraudulent and the pathological. It works so amazingly well that the
English-language version recently topped 3 million articles. As a basic
scientist who now devotes his waking hours to writing about science and
society, I find Wikipedia to be indispensable. I suppose I shouldn't be so
surprised. Science owes its success and credibility to a policy of
openness, while Wikipedia carries openness to its practical limit. In 2007
I cautioned WN readers that scam artists would inevitably find ways to
manipulate Wikipedia http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN07/wn032307.html .
Indeed, they have. In the Wikipedia article about "Robert L. Park," I
found myself described as a "Wikipedia critic." Actually, I'm a curmudgeon,
but I think Wikipedia is cool.

2. FLAGGING: WIKIPEDIA CURBS EDITING OF ARTICLES ABOUT PEOPLE.
An article by Noam Cohen in Wednesday's New York Times reports that within
weeks Wikipedia will begin imposing a new layer of editorial review on
articles about living people. Such articles will be "flagged" for approval
by an experienced editor. Cohen cites embarrassing examples in which
malicious falsehoods have made their way into Wikipedia articles about
public figures. Wikipedia was due for a little reality therapy.

3. SCOPES REDUX: LOBBYISTS MAY BE NOSTALGIC FOR DAYTON.
Newspapers around the country have carried the story of the US Chamber of
Commerce, the top US lobbying group, calling for the EPA to hold a Scopes-
like hearing on the evidence that climate change is man-made. The EPA
dismisses such a stunt as a "waste of time," but that's the least of its
problems. Having lost the contest over scientific peer review of journal
articles, the global warming deniers are accused have cooked up a Hollywood
stunt.

4. ELECTROSENSITIVITY: REFUGEES FROM WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY.
In the wilds of the Drome Valley in southern France, living in metal-
shielded campers, and wrapped in aluminum foil, they seek relief from the
ubiquitous radio waves that are destroying their lives. The increased use
of WiFi is not making matters any better. Radio waves, they insist, cause
them real physical pain, but double-blind tests consistently show them to
be unable to distinguish between real and sham electromagnetic fields.

5. NESSIE: CLOSE AT LAST TO SILENCING THE DOUBTERS?
There had been concern that the old girl might have fallen victim to global
warming, but there she was on a satellite image. You can't deny that can
you?

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
---
Archives of What's New can be found at http://www.bobpark.org
What's New is moving to a different listserver and our
subscription process has changed. To change your subscription
status please visit this link: