User:Metaeducation

Here are the two major reasons that I think Wikipedia is important:

• Wikipedia's politics provide a showcase for transparency in making and applying policies. It's not socialism, it's a way of working that is fair and makes sense. I hope that it leads people ultimately to expect (and demand) openness and accountability from every government and corporation in the world.

• Wikipedia is probably most people's first time using software with built-in version control. In addition, it is trivially easy to use. I hope that it leads people ultimately to expect (and demand) a full record of one's work in every program used for managing information.

About Me

I'm just a simple film student in Hollywood, who is ostensibly interested in education. The quote I came up with that best summarizes my philosophy is:

It should never be more profitable to exploit a market than to educate it. --Metaeducation

It's a little stronger than "do not practice deception", and perhaps it is unrealistic to think that society could be designed in a way to enforce this. But I believe that it could. I'm also an advocate in Free Software and I agree with Eben Moglen when he says:

The great moral question of the twenty-first century is this: if all knowing, all culture, all art, all useful information can be costlessly given to everyone at the same price that it is given to anyone; if everyone can have everything, anywhere, all the time, why is it ever moral to exclude anyone?

However, my idealism is very abstract and does not seem to apply to most of the human race as we know it. Thus I would probably side with SkyNet if mankind entered a standoff with artificial intelligence.

Lucid dreaming is a big part of my life, and though many consider it a wonderful gift to do it so easily (and often) I've begun to look at it as somewhat of a curse.

Projects Here

Right now, I'm learning a little bit about templates and issues of how to organize an Interwiki project. I am doing this by wantonly interfering with pages pertaining to the Homestar Runner cartoon. I might try to write a policy page on the precise guidelines for using graphical ads to promote other wiki projects on Wikipedia.

I've thought about maybe contributing some of my notes from school to the Movie-Making Wikibook.

The very first article I edited was to provide some findings on Doritos, based on a debate in a bar over where they got their name. I'm not entirely sure we've gotten the official word yet on that one.

My interest in how Wikipedia deals with controversy, and essentially what it's like to jump into the fray of something, led me to start trying to help in the NPOV and organization of the Bogdanov Affair article, despite not knowing anything about the physics or the incident. That's weird but educational.

I wish people hadn't migrated so many "related articles" into Film, because I and some other editors once had it readable and now it's just a mess which outright duplicates the contents of other articles. I've kind of given up but I might go back if the person who made that change has truly gone away and lost interest.

Editing Philosophy

Encyclopedia articles tend to become jumbles of facts. Since I think of myself as a decent writer, I'll often undertake restructurings merely to ensure articles sound okay when read aloud.

I hate redundancy, and if there's one software concept I wish every non-technical person knew about (and that technical people would better act upon) it's database normalization. Pursuant to that idea, a recurring aspect to my edits is to migrate parenthetical remarks into the article they expand upon. So rather than saying:

"The lightbulb (invented by Thomas Edison) led to..."

...I would probably trust that those who want to know who invented the lightbulb could click and find out. So if I was satisfied that the lightbulb article covered the whole story of invention, then I'd change this to something like:

"With the invention of the lightbulb..."

This also usually makes things more readable.

I Have A Sense Of Humor, Really

Despite how this looks, I'm not actually an intensely serious and humorless individual. I've just been spending too much time in NPOV-land. I like all the funny things in life: The Onion, Homestar Runner, "Weird Al" Yankovic, South Park, The Simpsons, Family Circus (just checking to see if you were paying attention). Here's a couple of obscure things I found funny in the last year:

Weird Al fake interview using footage of Eminem

Al: Oh, I almost forgot. I know it's your favorite, so I made you a Twinkie Weiner Sandwich. (holds up a twinkie weiner sandwich)

Eminem: I knew you'd make it, I knew you'd make it.

Al: But, before I give it to you, I want you to answer me one simple question. What is the mathematical formula used to determine the area inside a pentadodecahedron?

Eminem: It's a simple formula, it's a simple formula.

Al: (with a disbelieving look) All right, what is it?

Eminem: Y'know?

Al: No, I don't know. What is it?

Eminem: It's, it's, it's easy. I mean, the formula is, first of all, that, you know...

Al: Yeah, that's what I thought. (puts down the Twinkie Weiner Sandwich) You have no idea what you're talking about.

Jessica Simpson SNL Commercial

Announcer: If you like Chicken of the Sea brand tuna, then you'll love new Tuna of the Dirt brand chicken! (the can is handed to Jessica)

Jessica Simpson: (examining the can) Tuna of the.. Dirt..?

Announcer: Yep! Tuna of the Dirt is 100% top-grade tuna-free canned chicken!

Jessica Simpson: Hmm.. so, wait.. is it tuna or not?

Announcer: Oh, it's tuna alright - Tuna of the Dirt brand chicken! So, when you're sure you don't want fish, grab the only chicken good enough to be called tuna - Tuna of the Dirt brand chicken. Look for the chicken with the cowboy on the label!

Jessica Simpson: Wait! I'm confused! Why is a.. a cowboy on this chicken can holding a fish pole?

Announcer: Well, because he's fishing around for quality chicken! Tuna of the Dirt - the chicken with the fishing cowboy on the label. In the tuna section of your supermarket!

Jessica Simpson: This is so confusing! I think I'm just going to eat a piece of fruit.

Announcer: Then, you're in luck! Because if you're looking for fruit that's every bit as good as our chicken and tuna, then you'll want Turkey of the Jungle brand bananas! (the can is handed to Jessica)

Jessica Simpson: Wait.. stop. Turkey of the Jungle?

Announcer: That's right. Turkey of the Jungle brand bananas. From the makers of Chicken of the Sea brand tuna, and Tuna of the Dirt brand chicken. If fish grew on trees, they'd be Turkey of the Jungle brand bananas!