Sunday, October 01, 2006

The Dark Side of Wikipedia

You'll notice that I often link to Wikipedia here at SYJ. I always try to confirm with several sources, but Wikipedia usually offers the most clear and thorough description, and a quick, concise introduction.
But I recently learned something disturbing when I looked up Wikipedia's founder, Jimmy Wales.

He's a vocal proponent of Ayn Rand's Objectivism philosophy. They propose that unrestrained capitalism will cure society's ills, and self-interest should be one's highest goal. Rand did, and her current proponents do attack social and environmental movements, and ignorantly deny that human activity is undermining the ecosystem that supports human life.
But to be fair, Wales' hand has only touched a tiny fraction of the content on Wikipedia, and he claims that it's creation was spurned by an interest to help the world's underpriveleged people, in clear defiance of objectivist ideals.

The World's Greatest Impressionist

This has not been faked. The Lyrebird (Australia) is the most accomplished sound mimic in the world. It not only copies the calls of many other birds, it also accurately replicates the sounds of machinery, such as cameras and chainsaws. The Lyrebird in action in this segment from an astounding BBC miniseries called The Life of Birds with Sir David Attenborough.
Draw your own conclusions about the encroachment of man into this habitat.